Out door enclosure

[Kristen A]

I have an African spurred sulcata who will be five in June. She has a killer custom enclosure inside. My plan is to have her out side by June but may bring her in during the winter till she is older.
I am getting started with my out door enclosure now and have some questions. My contractor is building me a dog house type structure that I plan to put a heat pad in. The roof will have a hinge on it so I can clean it. Cirby will have access to a large fenced area that's grass.
Can you give me a good idea how big her house should be?
I figured I would have the heat pad cover half of it. Does that sound OK? I don't what size mat I should get. You guys mentioned Kane and Stanfield models. What does the controller do? Is it like a thermostat?
Do I need the walls insulated?
Cirby is 7x10 inches now.
Do you think she is safe out side at that size?
I am so glad I tripped over this site.
Thanks so much
Kristen

 

[Kristen A]

Hi,
I am new to this site and still figuring things out.
I have a soon to be 5 year old African Sulcata named Cirby. She (well I call her a she) has been in this really cool custom made indoor enclosure but I am ready to set up her out door enclosure and have some questions if anyone can help.
I am planning on building a dog house with a hinged roof and a heating pad in it. Any recommendations on how big to make it and what size heating pad to get?
I have questions about the best pad. Is the controller the same as the thermostat? I have looked at the Kane and Stanfield brands they both look good but I am not confident on what exactly I need.
Can anyone give me some good guide lines for her dog house?
Thanks,
Kristen :

 

[theelectraco]

Where do you live?

 

[lynnedit]

(don't worry, your posts won't show up right away until you have 5 posts).

Yes, tell us the general area you live in (so we have an idea of temps, weather).

Generally it is a good idea to insulate an outside hide, include roof, walls and floor. Yes, the mats should cover about half the floor so they can get off of it w/o having to go outside. They should either have a built in thermostat or a separate thermostat to avoid overheating. If your weather is cold, many would also advise heat from above like a CHE, also on a thermostat.

You can also try doing a search for 'outdoor Sulcatat house' or something similar for more ideas. You can also create a thread under the Sulcata section of the forum for more information on the hide size.

 

[Kristen A]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I live in Sacramento. Up to 105 degrees in the summer and down to the 30s in the winter. Doesd a 3.5 x 3.5 foot square house sound good? I am thinking about getting a pig mat that is 2x3 foot. I saw one from Stanfield. I also saw one by Kane. Which one is better? I am going to put a brick sized air vent on either side that will have a sliding door for the winter. We are going to raise it off the ground about 6-8 inches with a ramp for Cirby. I was also going to put some plastic flaps at the entry way to insulate better. How does that sound. I wasn't sure weather or not to insulate it,but it sounds like you recommend it.
Thank you so much for replying. I will take all the hints I can get.
Kristen
When I get some updated pictures of cirby I will post them.

 

[lynnedit]

Tom, who keeps Sulcatas, advises the Kane heat mats from Tortoise Supply, as they have a built in thermostat so they can't overheat.
If you don't want to rebuild this outside hide anytime soon, probably go at least 4'x4'. More room to get off of the mat, too.
And you will save on electricity on those winter nights if you insulate it as well (Tom does).

Have you seen the outdoor enclosure thread? Scroll down to post #11 for a nice outdoor Sulcata hide.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-65797.html

Your door flap plans and air vents sound great.

 

[Dizisdalife]

The best tortoise house construction thread I have found is one Tom did a few years back. I used it as a model for the house for my sulcata. Mine was a bit smaller than the one pictured in his thread. It and has worked great. It was easy to build (and I am not a contractor) and it took my tortoise about 30 minutes to learn to go in and out of it.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-20527.html#axzz25zibVJuR

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. I live in Sacramento. Up to 105 degrees in the summer and down to the 30s in the winter. Doesd a 3.5 x 3.5 foot square house sound good? I am thinking about getting a pig mat that is 2x3 foot. I saw one from Stanfield. I also saw one by Kane. Which one is better? I am going to put a brick sized air vent on either side that will have a sliding door for the winter. We are going to raise it off the ground about 6-8 inches with a ramp for Cirby. I was also going to put some plastic flaps at the entry way to insulate better. How does that sound. I wasn't sure weather or not to insulate it,but it sounds like you recommend it.
Thank you so much for replying. I will take all the hints I can get.
Kristen
When I get some updated pictures of cirby I will post them.

I'd go with at least 3' X 4', so your tortoise will have a little room inside, on cooler days, to move around, and he'll never outgrow it. Otherwise, your plans sound good. A 2' X 3' pig mat will be ideal.

Insulation is a very good idea, as well.

As for the enclosure's size, make it as generous as you can...an adult sulcata needs as much room as possible, and your entire yard will not be too much space.

 

[Yvonne G]

Always place your tortoise's "dog house" in deep shade. A dog house in the sun is like an oven in the summertime.

Also, you want the floor space to be big enough that the tortoise has room to get off the pig blanket if it mal-functions and gets too hot.

 

[Tom]

Yes. You should insulate the heck out of it. Top, bottom and all sides. In addition to a Kane heat mat with a built in thermostat, I would use a radiant heat panel overhead too. Turn the Kane mat all the way up and then run the mat and the RHP all on a separate thermostat. I set my thermostat to 80-85 in the winter and 70 for Spring, Summer and Fall when the days will be sunny and warm enough for them to warm up by basking. I like the RHP because they spread the heat out over a greater area instead of cooking and drying one area on the top of their plastron like a CHE.

Because plywood comes in 4x8' sheets and I like to be efficient, I make a lid that is the full 4x4' and the box fits just inside the lip of the lid. This makes the internal dimensions of the box around 44x44x24". I find this to be a good size for a single adult. I use 18x28" Kane heat mats, so the tortoise has room to get off the mat, but still be inside the warm box. Door flaps are good, but I also make the ramp into a fold up door flap for cold nights. This gives me the piece of mind of knowing that my tortoise is safely locked up in the warm area and nothing can get to him. I just pop the ramp/door open every morning.

Here are a couple of pics:

These pics are old and I have since gone back and insulated the sides and bottom much better. My newer designs are much more refined, but this one is still very functional and keeps Scooter warm at night. The shoe box on the back holds my cords, the thermostat, an electricity meter to track usage, and you can see the thermostats little black probe sticking out the bottom of it.

You don't need to raise it that high off the ground. A couple of 2x4s laid flat will work as skids and keep the ox above any rain water.

 

[Kristen A]

Wow. Thanks for all the great info. I like the hinged door and shoe box idea. How did you insulate the walls. Was is standard building insulation between two ply wood boards? I would hate for Cirby to eat it. I'll change my plans to 4 x4 foot.
Should I worry about splinters from the ply wood? Cirby loves to cram herself into the corners.

Thanks,
Kristen

 

[argus333]

looks good, id like to make one twice that size with a light as well, so if really cold he cold stay in there.