New Sulcata Mom

[Liz Burton]

Hello all and thank you for a great resource! I am an Animal Behaviorist working mostly with rescued parrots and occasional reptiles, and Founder/Wildlife Care Manager for Badger Run Wildlife Rehab in Klamath Falls, OR. Badger Run has had a rescued Russian for years and he's part of our educational team - teaching the public good stewardship of the environment and how to make responsible pet choices, considering all factors (behavior, longevity, complexity of care, cost, etc). We recently agreed to take on a 5 year old male Sulcata that the owner could no longer handle. He is about 28 pounds and in apparently good shape. Loves to graze the 2 acres here (under supervision as he is a typical "houdini") and is a great eater. Because we have cold snowy winters here, he has an indoor enclosure, 8' X 4' X 3' with a foot of coir and a ramp with non-skid so he can come out for "indoor walks" when it's cold. Heat and UV present. For warmer months, we're building a 16' x 8' x 3' area which will have a house, built as shown by one of your members, with kennel mat & RHP, fully insulated & temp controlled. My question is, what to use as substrate for the outdoor area? 128 cubic feet of coir is a bit pricey! Sand? Clean fill dirt? Mix? Thank you again for great info!

 

[Tom]

I use the native dirt for substrate in outdoor enclosures. No need to add anything.

Your enclosures are all WAY too small. Tortoises need a lot of room to roam, and letting them loose on the floor or on acreage is a recipe for disaster. They need their own large, dedicated enclosures. The enclosure sizes you mentioned are suitable as a minimum for a Russian tortoise. Not suitable for a 28 pound sulcata.

 

[Liz Burton]

I use the native dirt for substrate in outdoor enclosures. No need to add anything.

Your enclosures are all WAY too small. Tortoises need a lot of room to roam, and letting them loose on the floor or on acreage is a recipe for disaster. They need their own large, dedicated enclosures. The enclosure sizes you mentioned are suitable as a minimum for a Russian tortoise. Not suitable for a 28 pound sulcata.

Sorry Tom, I didn't want to write a huge post, but I realize I wasn't clear. These enclosures are only where he will spend the night. During the day, he has 3 separate, completely fenced areas he can rotate through, depending on the day. Badger Run is on my property and is open to the public (not currently with COVID restrictions) but normally has someone on the Public Tour side, supervising the animals that are out, including the tort. When not open, he is in my front or back yard, both fully fenced and someone is home, checking on him frequently. None of these areas have buried fence on the perimeter, however, which is why he can't stay out there alone all night. When we have snow, he will spend the night in the indoor enclosure, then during the day he has his own 800 sf "mother-in-law suite" with "grazing stations" set in multiple places. The dogs, cats and myself live in the main house, so, in effect, his indoor enclosure is huge as well and free of the "normal" hazards such as cords, dangerous ingestible items, etc. I hope that makes more sense for appropriate housing and exercise areas?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings.... as far as substrate in your outdoor enclosures, just leave the natural weeds, soil, etc. Definitely don’t add any sand, or “fill dirt” - no need for anything else. Get some Tortoise seeds / grasses / weeds growing.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Sorry Tom, I didn't want to write a huge post, but I realize I wasn't clear. These enclosures are only where he will spend the night. During the day, he has 3 separate, completely fenced areas he can rotate through, depending on the day. Badger Run is on my property and is open to the public (not currently with COVID restrictions) but normally has someone on the Public Tour side, supervising the animals that are out, including the tort. When not open, he is in my front or back yard, both fully fenced and someone is home, checking on him frequently. None of these areas have buried fence on the perimeter, however, which is why he can't stay out there alone all night. When we have snow, he will spend the night in the indoor enclosure, then during the day he has his own 800 sf "mother-in-law suite" with "grazing stations" set in multiple places. The dogs, cats and myself live in the main house, so, in effect, his indoor enclosure is huge as well and free of the "normal" hazards such as cords, dangerous ingestible items, etc. I hope that makes more sense for appropriate housing and exercise areas?View attachment 297892View attachment 297892View attachment 297893View attachment 297894

Hi and welcome...I am in Corvallis and have 2 Sulcata

 

[Tom]

Sorry Tom, I didn't want to write a huge post, but I realize I wasn't clear. These enclosures are only where he will spend the night. During the day, he has 3 separate, completely fenced areas he can rotate through, depending on the day. Badger Run is on my property and is open to the public (not currently with COVID restrictions) but normally has someone on the Public Tour side, supervising the animals that are out, including the tort. When not open, he is in my front or back yard, both fully fenced and someone is home, checking on him frequently. None of these areas have buried fence on the perimeter, however, which is why he can't stay out there alone all night. When we have snow, he will spend the night in the indoor enclosure, then during the day he has his own 800 sf "mother-in-law suite" with "grazing stations" set in multiple places. The dogs, cats and myself live in the main house, so, in effect, his indoor enclosure is huge as well and free of the "normal" hazards such as cords, dangerous ingestible items, etc. I hope that makes more sense for appropriate housing and exercise areas?

Sounds much better now. I just have one question: What goes on the bow perch?

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Liz Burton]

Sounds much better now. I just have one question: What goes on the bow perch?

Thanks. It depends on the day. That is right outside our Critical Care Center, where I spend much of my day preparing food, giving treatments, taking radiographs, etc., so if I'm training a new bird or working on behavior in a current ambassador, I will put them there so I can interact with them periodically throughout my day. Our current Ambassadors include : 2 Great Horned Owls, 2 Red Tailed Hawks, 1 Rough Legged Hawk, 1 Prairie Falcon, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 American Kestrel, and 1 Turkey Vulture. You can "meet" them at www.BadgerRun.org.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Thanks. It depends on the day. That is right outside our Critical Care Center, where I spend much of my day preparing food, giving treatments, taking radiographs, etc., so if I'm training a new bird or working on behavior in a current ambassador, I will put them there so I can interact with them periodically throughout my day. Our current Ambassadors include : 2 Great Horned Owls, 2 Red Tailed Hawks, 1 Rough Legged Hawk, 1 Prairie Falcon, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 1 American Kestrel, and 1 Turkey Vulture. You can "meet" them at www.BadgerRun.org.

So are you open for visitors? Seriously, I love a day trip always. Just went on your site. You'll be hearing from me.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yay, I found your post Liz!

@Tom I'm the one who delivered the sulcata to Liz. A lady from northern CA called me and asked to donate Torque to my animal program. I didn't have the room for him, but knew Liz did

Liz has a great thing going on out at Badger Run. Her facility is clean, organized and all the critters in her care receive nothing but the best. She gives them her everything and goes above and beyond what most people would do for animals.

She is using the design from my tortoise house (which I copied from Tom's heated night box) and I have no doubts this sully is going to have a great life!!

Regarding your question, although I have always used the native dirt for my outdoor enclosures, I have added basic top soil when more dirt was needed. I've heard stories about people finding weird random things in their top soil bags..but so far, I've been lucky.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

So are you open for visitors? Seriously, I love a day trip always. Just went on your site. You'll be hearing from me.

Fun Maggie!! If you do come out here and are open for more company when you visit Liz, I'd love to finally meet you too!

 

[Maggie3fan]

Fun Maggie!! If you do come out here and are open for more company when you visit Liz, I'd love to finally meet you too!

That would add to a nice road trip. You aren't that far away Heather...

 

[janevicki]

Welcome to the Forum! Love your open land!