Hello everyone! Thanks in advance for your advice.
I have a 6yr old sulcata. She weighs 35 lbs. She measures 24"x 24", although this shocks me. Her carapace is so domed, her width is much smaller than her length. I am saying 'she', but I don't know. I would like to, but not sure how that matters. I only have her. I'm worried about a mature male wandering and catching me off guard, as I have assumed she is a female. I never see her tail. She always keeps it tucked up. I sort of expected that to stop if she was a male. She began life in the house, but now spends the vast majority of her time outside. We live in northern Florida. She had a fenced off area of our yard, but last year decided she wanted the whole yard, and started regularly climbing over her little fence. We have dogs and that is why I kept her separated. She is now plenty big enough that I do not worry about her getting stepped on, or anything else. They get out of her way now
The yard is fenced and she has never gotten out. We also had a rabbit free in the yard. Yes, it's funny. Gets better- she has never dug. The rabbit decided she wanted a burrow and got started. Within days, Charlotte ( the tortoise) got in the mix and made the burrow big enough for her. It was really funny. They would both be over there working on the entrance. Winter was coming and we were very concerned. They would stay in there and I was worried about getting them out. Charlotte mostly. Rabbits are quite cold tolerant. I was worried about the tortoise injuring the rabbit in there also. The rabbit was tiny. 3 lbs. Lilly has since passed from an illness and luckily they never had an issue sharing that burrow. We had no idea how long their burrow had gotten, but estimated at least 10 ft long bending from the fence back into the yard. I was very nervous as well, about the sandy soil caving in. As it turned out, We had a ton of rain and it started doing just that. So, we waited for both of them to be out and caved it in. It was around 15 feet long, but stayed pretty shallow. They spent the winter with a cozy house available to them. Summer came and while the rabbit got to work on several new homes, Charlotte stayed out of it. Now, she's at it again. She went from the fence, under it and out of the confines of the yard this time. We just had a storm and part of it caved in. Again, it's pretty shallow, a few feet. Should we fill it in? We still have hot days left, which she uses her burrow for, although she also stays in the shade, goes into her house, which is insulated and on the porch, she also comes in the house sometimes when it's hot. She was in the house during the storm, btw. The rain could have been life threatening had she been in there. She was very unsettled in the house and I feel she really wanted her 'safe zone' burrow. She actually went out the doggy door and we had to barricade her in. Yes, it's a really big doggy door(Great Dane), but she still must have tilted to get out of it. Winter is coming. Even with her heated house, I bring her in whenever it gets below fifty degrees. What temperature becomes unsafe for a Sulcata? Am I doing the right thing? She has free range of the house when she comes in. Do I need a special place or environment for her? I have no idea how I would control the humidity. She's so big. She is in the house right now. I am not quite sure what motivates her to want to come in, but she randomly just does. She wandered around for about an hour, but has settled in and appears to be planning to stay in tonight. Why? No clue. She knows where the door is. When she wants out, she goes there. Is this ok? Is she looking for something? It's very mild weather. 80s.
Should I feed her when she is inside? (In winter, I mean) She has access to water bowls. How often do they eat in the winter?
Also, what if she is a he? She can dig under this fence, and if the goal was to get out, it could be accomplished in a day. Would a male do that? I also want to attach a Tile or some kind of locator on her just in case.
I read somewhere here that as long as the fence cannot be seen through, they will not try to escape. Our fence is configured so that it cannot be seen through. Am I good?
I know that's a lot of questions. Thank you for your help. I will spend time reading other threads too. Most of these questions may be answered on here already.
I have a 6yr old sulcata. She weighs 35 lbs. She measures 24"x 24", although this shocks me. Her carapace is so domed, her width is much smaller than her length. I am saying 'she', but I don't know. I would like to, but not sure how that matters. I only have her. I'm worried about a mature male wandering and catching me off guard, as I have assumed she is a female. I never see her tail. She always keeps it tucked up. I sort of expected that to stop if she was a male. She began life in the house, but now spends the vast majority of her time outside. We live in northern Florida. She had a fenced off area of our yard, but last year decided she wanted the whole yard, and started regularly climbing over her little fence. We have dogs and that is why I kept her separated. She is now plenty big enough that I do not worry about her getting stepped on, or anything else. They get out of her way now
The yard is fenced and she has never gotten out. We also had a rabbit free in the yard. Yes, it's funny. Gets better- she has never dug. The rabbit decided she wanted a burrow and got started. Within days, Charlotte ( the tortoise) got in the mix and made the burrow big enough for her. It was really funny. They would both be over there working on the entrance. Winter was coming and we were very concerned. They would stay in there and I was worried about getting them out. Charlotte mostly. Rabbits are quite cold tolerant. I was worried about the tortoise injuring the rabbit in there also. The rabbit was tiny. 3 lbs. Lilly has since passed from an illness and luckily they never had an issue sharing that burrow. We had no idea how long their burrow had gotten, but estimated at least 10 ft long bending from the fence back into the yard. I was very nervous as well, about the sandy soil caving in. As it turned out, We had a ton of rain and it started doing just that. So, we waited for both of them to be out and caved it in. It was around 15 feet long, but stayed pretty shallow. They spent the winter with a cozy house available to them. Summer came and while the rabbit got to work on several new homes, Charlotte stayed out of it. Now, she's at it again. She went from the fence, under it and out of the confines of the yard this time. We just had a storm and part of it caved in. Again, it's pretty shallow, a few feet. Should we fill it in? We still have hot days left, which she uses her burrow for, although she also stays in the shade, goes into her house, which is insulated and on the porch, she also comes in the house sometimes when it's hot. She was in the house during the storm, btw. The rain could have been life threatening had she been in there. She was very unsettled in the house and I feel she really wanted her 'safe zone' burrow. She actually went out the doggy door and we had to barricade her in. Yes, it's a really big doggy door(Great Dane), but she still must have tilted to get out of it. Winter is coming. Even with her heated house, I bring her in whenever it gets below fifty degrees. What temperature becomes unsafe for a Sulcata? Am I doing the right thing? She has free range of the house when she comes in. Do I need a special place or environment for her? I have no idea how I would control the humidity. She's so big. She is in the house right now. I am not quite sure what motivates her to want to come in, but she randomly just does. She wandered around for about an hour, but has settled in and appears to be planning to stay in tonight. Why? No clue. She knows where the door is. When she wants out, she goes there. Is this ok? Is she looking for something? It's very mild weather. 80s.
Should I feed her when she is inside? (In winter, I mean) She has access to water bowls. How often do they eat in the winter?
Also, what if she is a he? She can dig under this fence, and if the goal was to get out, it could be accomplished in a day. Would a male do that? I also want to attach a Tile or some kind of locator on her just in case.
I read somewhere here that as long as the fence cannot be seen through, they will not try to escape. Our fence is configured so that it cannot be seen through. Am I good?
I know that's a lot of questions. Thank you for your help. I will spend time reading other threads too. Most of these questions may be answered on here already.
