Indoor adult enclosure

[Nicholas Bova]

Hi everyone I read a thread about indoor closed top enclosure and was wondering if there is an enclosure that is suitable for indoor adult turtles. I'm having a hard time finding info to provide the proper care for my tortoise. I want him to be happy and healthy after his pyramiding incident. Yes I didn't have the proper beggining requirements and he had some poor conditions but I now want to fix it and would just like the help to give him the best life possible. I live on the east coast in New Jersey and if he needs to be outdoors can someone please be of assistance. I'll even be open to help if someone in New Jersey would like to come help I'm open to anything. You can attack me all you want as long as someone gives me helpful advice.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. An adult sulcata needs to live outside at least during the warm months and needs either a large heated shed for winter or a room in the house dedicated to him even a basement as long as it is heated.
Post a pic of your tortoise and we can better help. Once they are adults, there's not much that can be done to any previous pyramiding done long ago. Many members didn't know the high humidity way so your not alone with not knowing.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

Hello and Welcome. An adult sulcata needs to live outside at least during the warm months and needs either a large heated shed for winter or a room in the house dedicated to him even a basement as long as it is heated.
Post a pic of your tortoise and we can better help. Once they are adults, there's not much that can be done to any previous pyramiding done long ago. Many members didn't know the high humidity way so your not alone with not knowing.

Is he big enough to be outside now or should I leave him inside ? He is two years old at the moment.

 

[tortadise]

Looks large enough to me for sure to go outside. Grazing, sunshine, and lots of shade. Make sure though that the perimeter fence is quite secure. These guys as usual at egoos at diggin and escaping. We had our large female escape not to long ago. Luckily she was found in the neighbors cow pasture grazing with the calves.

 

[wellington]

Not sure if you changed the substrate yet or not. But the sand is a bad thing to use.
He does look big. But only being two years, I would house him outside during the warm days and I would put him in a high humid enclosure for night. 80% humidity with temps 80. Use the ceramic heat emitters for night heat if added heat is needed. If he gets outside at least 3-4 days a week in natural sunlight, you won't need to bother with a UVB bulb

 

[Markw84]

Hi everyone I read a thread about indoor closed top enclosure and was wondering if there is an enclosure that is suitable for indoor adult turtles. I'm having a hard time finding info to provide the proper care for my tortoise. I want him to be happy and healthy after his pyramiding incident. Yes I didn't have the proper beggining requirements and he had some poor conditions but I now want to fix it and would just like the help to give him the best life possible. I live on the east coast in New Jersey and if he needs to be outdoors can someone please be of assistance. I'll even be open to help if someone in New Jersey would like to come help I'm open to anything. You can attack me all you want as long as someone gives me helpful advice.

Nicholas

A secure outdoor enclosure and night box for the tortoise is the way to go.

Most of us keep sulcatas outside year round once they are about 8-10" or so. Even in colder climates we use night boxes to give the tortoise somewhere to adopt as his burrow and retreat for heat and in the summer, cool. At night the sulcata will soon learn to go into the box on his own each evening. In colder weather, a door is closed to keep the temperature up around 80f and they stay nice and warm inside. Even on very cold days, if kept in this way, a sulcata will come out if you open the door and can graze and roam a bit until his body temp starts to cool and then retreat back to his house. Read this post by @Tom on building a night box. I believe it really the best solution for a sulcata once too large to be kept in an enclosed chamber. Some of our members have even posted pictures of their sulcata out in the snow for a brief exercise period with a night box to always retreat back to.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/

 

[Clawem]

Tom's night box is the way to go. I am in NY and we leave ours outside from around May to November and the night box works like a charm. Also when you make his pen make sure he can not see out of it or he will spend his time trying to ram through it. Make it as large as possible they really like to roam.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

Tom's night box is the way to go. I am in NY and we leave ours outside from around May to November and the night box works like a charm. Also when you make his pen make sure he can not see out of it or he will spend his time trying to ram through it. Make it as large as possible they really like to roam.

Awesome yes I am in New Jersey I have a few question, can we private message I need some help with what to do and what conditions I should keep them in! I would really appreciate the help!

 

[Clawem]

No problem I will answer what I can but Tom and Markw84 are the one's who know more than anyone about Sulcata's. First you should look at the top of the Sulcata section and read all the information posted there they will probably answer most of your questions.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

No problem I will answer what I can but Tom and Markw84 are the one's who know more than anyone about Sulcata's. First you should look at the top of the Sulcata section and read all the information posted there they will probably answer most of your questions.

Yeah I know all the good info know I just want a stand point from someone that is in the same climate as me. Cold winters and hot summers

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Nicholas, and welcome to the Forum!

Your tortoise is very thin. Notice the upper legs - it just looks like skin over bones, no meat. See if you can get the tortoise to eat Mazuri Tortoise Diet. It's great for putting weight on tortoises.

Here's an example of a night box:



This one happens to be in a greenhouse, but it works just as well sitting on a patio or next to the house. During the day I open the door and the tortoises are allowed out into the yard (greenhouse door open too), but at night I make sure they're all inside the night box.

Here's where my sulcata lives:

During the day I prop open his door, and he goes out and grazes even if it's frosty and cold. When he needs to warm up he goes back into the shed.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

Hi Nicholas, and welcome to the Forum!

Your tortoise is very thin. Notice the upper legs - it just looks like skin over bones, no meat. See if you can get the tortoise to eat Mazuri Tortoise Diet. It's great for putting weight on tortoises.

Here's an example of a night box:

View attachment 203290 View attachment 203291

This one happens to be in a greenhouse, but it works just as well sitting on a patio or next to the house. During the day I open the door and the tortoises are allowed out into the yard (greenhouse door open too), but at night I make sure they're all inside the night box.

Here's where my sulcata lives:

During the day I prop open his door, and he goes out and grazes even if it's frosty and cold. When he needs to warm up he goes back into the shed.

I have him on a Timothy grass and orchard grass diet with mazuri mixed in every two days. Is that good ?

 

[Yvonne G]

And he eats it all? Maybe start offering more. You can also mix in some zucchini and clean weeds from the yard. Edible weeds include filaree, sow thistle, clover, dandelion, prickly lettuce, etc. Opuntia cactus is nutritious too.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

And he eats it all? Maybe start offering more. You can also mix in some zucchini and clean weeds from the yard. Edible weeds include filaree, sow thistle, clover, dandelion, prickly lettuce, etc. Opuntia cactus is nutritious too.

I need alittle education on weeds but I will defianetly offer more. Hopefully this weekend I will be building a outdoor enclosure for my tortoise. He defianetly seems alittle weak on the feet more food it is

 

[Nicholas Bova]

Could I also offer mazuri everyday ?

 

[saginawhxc]

In small enough amounts... yes.

Mazuri shouldn't really be a staple item though and isn't a replacement for proper amounts of grass, hay, and weeds.

I personally would only feed little amounts of Mazuri a couple of times a week.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

For an underweight tortoise, I don't see any harm in feeding a hearty amount of Mazuri everyday - in addition to grass and weeds - until things improve.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

Well is Timothy hay and orchard grass putting weight on him ?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Well is Timothy hay and orchard grass putting weight on him ?

Only your scale can tell you that.

 

[Nicholas Bova]

True but is it nutritious enough is what I mean ?