Hi from WA State

[Northern Torti]

Hello everyone,
My name is Carolin and I live in Eastern WA. I have 2 Sulcatas, both are 8 years old. I have been reading this forum for about two years now, and I appreciate all the great advice!
I am looking for fellow large tortoise owners who live in very cold winter climates as I am almost finished with their outdoor enclosure (only took 2 years) and would like to know how other people house theirs.
Thank you !

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome. Please post pictures. We love pictures

 

[Northern Torti]

This is the enclosure and their house as of yesterday, planting season has just begun so I will be putting down seed this week, with all the rain we will get. The inside of their 'house' is empty and the heat mats are not in there yet. They are super nosy and always with me, so both were just in there checking things out for the first time.

 

[JoesMum]

That's an impressive enclosure and shed

Just be warned to keep an eye on them. Pairs don't live in harmony generally and you may need to separate in future.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Carolin , very nice setup !

 

[Northern Torti]

I know, I am keeping an eye on them. I have had them since they were little, (they came to me after they were left to die in their glass tank after the owners abandoned their house, and animals, back in Texas).
Considering our climate up here it is very hard to re-home them. A lot of people love the idea of owning a tortoise, but have no idea the work involved, or what to do with them when it is below freezing out for several months up here.
But I am prepared to separate them into their own enclosures if necessary.

 

[MPRC]

Greetings from a Spokane Native. I'm in Eugene now and we have more mild weather, though the torts do come inside for most of the time between November - March. I'd love ot have a nice outdoor set up like that.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Carolin

 

[Northern Torti]

Greetings from a Spokane Native. I'm in Eugene now and we have more mild weather, though the torts do come inside for most of the time between November - March. I'd love ot have a nice outdoor set up like that.

Thank you, it took me 2 years to build <sigh>, it has power and is fully insulated. During the winter months they are inside, but they are now outgrowing their room and seem to get 'cabin fever' by January. How do you house your tortoise in the winter?

 

[MPRC]

This was our first winter and we weren't exactly prepared because we were trying to buy a house beginning in October and things kept delaying the process. Because of this he lived in our bathroom in a box with a humid hide and his food and water dishes.

Next year we will have a much more clear plan!

 

[JoesMum]

Now I have never kept Sullies, but my vet does here in the UK. I suspect our winters are less severe than yours. His view is that he relieves cabin fever by letting them go out in all weathers. They soon come back into the warm again, but it seems to to help. It's undoubtedly a different matter if you have a lot of snow and temperatures are way below freezing.

 

[Jacqui]

Love the curve to the wall and the house, so cute. Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow, Carolin! That's mighty impressive. I love it.

Please give some thought to some sort of wading pool instead of that bird waterer. Tortoises love to be able to climb into the water and poop.

 

[Jodie]

What a cute house. I love that!

 

[Rue]

That is one cool tortoise house!

I thought mine had it good. ..because she gets her own bedroom...

I'm not telling her some tortoises get their own house!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I live in Corvallis Oregon. Usually our winters are very cold, but this one was almost summer. My big Sulcata died recently, but before he did I opened his doggie door every morning and left it up to him if he wanted to go in the snow, rain, sun etc. He always made up his own mind. If I forced him to stay in he threw a fit, but if he made up his own mind he was great. He lived in a 20'X12' heated and insulated shed. It has a sleeping box with a pig blanket in it and 2 other tort tables with other species. They don't ever meet. There's also a DeLonghi heater keeping the room at a steady 85 degrees. There's a 2 yr old brat Sulcata living in Bob's shed now. She was so bad I couldn't keep her in the house. When we went to visit Kelly, she turned Texican on me and changed her name from Daisy Mae to La Chiquita.
Anyway, I gave Bob his own way of living and he ruled his own life, in or out. I'll try and post a picture.....This is what Bob's yard looks like now, 3 pens for different tortoises. I've gotten some bird netting and am going to cover the pond with it and let the box turtles live in there. How cool for them.....

 

[Northern Torti]

Wow, Carolin! That's mighty impressive. I love it.

Please give some thought to some sort of wading pool instead of that bird waterer. Tortoises love to be able to climb into the water and poop.

The giant chicken water thing is their go to when they want to drink; from kiddie pools to shallow ponds, I have tried a dozen different ways to build and/or set up a wading pool for them, but no luck in a permanent solution. The smaller tortoise seems to have no interest in soaking and likes rain and sprinklers, the big one prefers full on garden hose and sitting in a puddle while throwing mud on his back. So far we have a sprinkler head in the dirt end of the enclosure that is on a timer to make a new /shower plus mud pond twice a day for him. It helps me clean up the mess and to keep the flies away.

Do you have any experience in setting up a large wading area, and how to keep it clean and not turn into a smelly algae mess or mosquito breeding ground?

 

[Northern Torti]

That is one cool tortoise house!

I thought mine had it good. ..because she gets her own bedroom...

I'm not telling her some tortoises get their own house!

Good plan, lol! I never thought I would end up building a small house for tortoises, that has better insulation than mine!

 

[Northern Torti]

I live in Corvallis Oregon. Usually our winters are very cold, but this one was almost summer. My big Sulcata died recently, but before he did I opened his doggie door every morning and left it up to him if he wanted to go in the snow, rain, sun etc. He always made up his own mind. If I forced him to stay in he threw a fit, but if he made up his own mind he was great. He lived in a 20'X12' heated and insulated shed. It has a sleeping box with a pig blanket in it and 2 other tort tables with other species. They don't ever meet. There's also a DeLonghi heater keeping the room at a steady 85 degrees. There's a 2 yr old brat Sulcata living in Bob's shed now. She was so bad I couldn't keep her in the house. When we went to visit Kelly, she turned Texican on me and changed her name from Daisy Mae to La Chiquita.
Anyway, I gave Bob his own way of living and he ruled his own life, in or out. I'll try and post a picture.....This is what Bob's yard looks like now, 3 pens for different tortoises. I've gotten some bird netting and am going to cover the pond with it and let the box turtles live in there. How cool for them.....
View attachment 171259

Sorry to hear about your Sulcata
That is a very cool set up, and a huge space to heat during the winter. I am glad to hear thought that he liked going out in colder weather as well. I will try it for the first time this fall/winter (probably wont sleep, worried the power might go out or something silly), and see how it goes.

We had several box turtles in Texas and a pond in one of the enclosures was probably their favorite thing to do. Since the ground up here freezes several feet, I am not able to keep any here. The ones from TX were wild rescues, and would be released again once they were ok (dog bites, cracked shells, paint from construction sites and sticky stuff , etc).

How many do you have?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Sorry to hear about your Sulcata
That is a very cool set up, and a huge space to heat during the winter. I am glad to hear thought that he liked going out in colder weather as well. I will try it for the first time this fall/winter (probably wont sleep, worried the power might go out or something silly), and see how it goes.

We had several box turtles in Texas and a pond in one of the enclosures was probably their favorite thing to do. Since the ground up here freezes several feet, I am not able to keep any here. The ones from TX were wild rescues, and would be released again once they were ok (dog bites, cracked shells, paint from construction sites and sticky stuff , etc).

How many do you have?

I have 12 box turtles, 3 species, all special needs but one. I have a female Hermanni, a female Russian, 2 female Sulcata and a desert type tortoise. Those are my pets mostly. Only 5 of the box turtles are my pets. I operate a very small special needs turtle and tortoise rescue. Most of my animals are blind, have neurological trouble, missing limbs, or something like that. My latest 5 box turtles are deformed badly and one only has shell rot, so that's an easy one....
The shed is insulated all 4 walls, floor, roof etc. It cost almost nothing to heat. I have the oil filled radiator type heater, kept the shed a steady 85 degrees even in the snow, on the lowest setting. There is a 100 watt basking light for the Hermanni, one for the Russian and another for the Sulcata who lives on the floor. I also run a humidifier 24/7. When Bob died and I shut up the shed the was very little difference in my power bill. Less then $10. Now it's all back on, and my bill is still normal. So even tho EVERYONE thinks it costs a lot to heat, it does not, and it's got enough pacing room for a large Sulcata who is stuck inside. Those night boxes don't give any pacing room at all. But then I guess the time spent inside between Calif and Oregon is much different. But if I were you, I'd do just what I did for Bob. The bigger the better, and when he wanted to pace he had the room. He'd ram the door, the walls, they NEED room to get out all that pent up energy.