Outdoor Enclosure/Night Box for 4 ft. Sulcata Tortoise

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
Hi All!

I have a four foot sulcata tortoise that lives in my backyard in Southern California. The weather is warm for the most part, but sometimes I worry for him on colder days/nights (sometimes it gets less than 10 degress celsius). Am I being paranoid? Most posts I've seen say that you shouldn't really need a night box for tortoises in SoCal. The weather's been cold enough recently that he only really comes out of his hutch to walk around every other day or so.

If I do need a night box, how wouldI go about getting/building one?

Thanks!
 

Chubbs the tegu

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 9, 2019
Messages
9,571
Location (City and/or State)
Ma
Four foot??? U better check ur tape measure lol but heres a thread to check out
 

pacific chelonians

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2021
Messages
495
Location (City and/or State)
SanDiego California
I am in Southern California as well and have many large sulcatas they do need a heated house I have some good recommendations on where you can buy one and I can give you some instructions on how to build one if you’re interested
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hi All!

I have a four foot sulcata tortoise that lives in my backyard in Southern California. The weather is warm for the most part, but sometimes I worry for him on colder days/nights (sometimes it gets less than 10 degress celsius). Am I being paranoid? Most posts I've seen say that you shouldn't really need a night box for tortoises in SoCal. The weather's been cold enough recently that he only really comes out of his hutch to walk around every other day or so.

If I do need a night box, how wouldI go about getting/building one?

Thanks!
They shouldn't drop below 80 degrees at night. That's 26-27C. It gets WAYYYY colder than that in winter here. You are lucky he isn't sick already. I don't know where you've read that they don't need heat here, but I've seen scores of them die from that sort of thinking. Nobody posts that here. Have you been on FB? Those groups are nothing but wrong info and bad news for tortoises.

I've never seen a 48 inch sulcata. Can we see pics? Do you know his history?
 

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
They shouldn't drop below 80 degrees at night. That's 26-27C. It gets WAYYYY colder than that in winter here. You are lucky he isn't sick already. I don't know where you've read that they don't need heat here, but I've seen scores of them die from that sort of thinking. Nobody posts that here. Have you been on FB? Those groups are nothing but wrong info and bad news for tortoises.

I've never seen a 48 inch sulcata. Can we see pics? Do you know his history?

This will be a pretty long message but bear with me.

In terms of his story, we saw someone had posted online that they didn't want their tortoise anymore, so we took him in. They had told us that they just gave him a doghouse to sleep in and that we wouldn't need anything besides that and giving him food/water.

I looked it up and saw a couple articles like this (https://www.tortoisesupply.com/Sulc...outdoors,degrees Fahrenheit, with no problems. and http://www.tortoiseacres.com/Sulcata-Care-Info.html) which said that sulcata tortoises can handle up to 8 degrees celsius. I'm not on facebook, but these articles along with these were enough for me at the time. I admit I probably should have posted about this earlier, but I'm sorry and we are where we are now.

I also admit that I need to work on my sight measurement since he's actually a modest 23 inches not 48.
 

pacific chelonians

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2021
Messages
495
Location (City and/or State)
SanDiego California
How deep down does his borough go or does he even have a borough at all if he has a very deep borough that might be fine but without a borough there is absolutely nothing to keep him warm at all that temperature measurement is factoring in the fact that he is in a borough
 

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
How deep down does his borough go or does he even have a borough at all if he has a very deep borough that might be fine but without a borough there is absolutely nothing to keep him warm at all that temperature measurement is factoring in the fact that he is in a borough

His burrow only goes like 3 or 4 inches since thats how much ground there is before it reaches cement.
 

pacific chelonians

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2021
Messages
495
Location (City and/or State)
SanDiego California
Then he definitely needs a house or you have to bring him in every night in my experience my big tortoises to go in their house on their own but keeping him outside especially during the winter is going to end up killing him
 

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
Then he definitely needs a house or you have to bring him in every night in my experience my big tortoises to go in their house on their own but keeping him outside especially during the winter is going to end up killing him
Ok, how would I go about doing that?

Theoretically I could bring him in the house, but he’s usually asleep before it gets dark and he’s quite difficult to pick up.

Right now he’s got a house but it’s just made of plastic and nothing else. Is it as simple as sticking some heat pads in there? I don’t see any way I could get heat lamps in there.

If I’ve got to build something from scratch I’m not very good with tools and don’t really have any to begin with (apart form a hammer screwdriver and wrench).
 

pacific chelonians

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2021
Messages
495
Location (City and/or State)
SanDiego California
I am in the San Diego area I could build you a house if you need it but I would recommend ordering a ceramic heat bulb and grabbing a lamp fixture from zoo med or Home Depot and clamping it in there that should be sufficient for this winter
 

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
I am in the San Diego area I could build you a house if you need it but I would recommend ordering a ceramic heat bulb and grabbing a lamp fixture from zoo med or Home Depot and clamping it in there that should be sufficient for this winter
Thank you for the offer!

I’m up in LA county so I’d like to use this one if at all possible. I have some spare heat lamps and bulbs but I’m not quite sure how I’d attach them.

His house is a big one of these if it helps (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tuff-Stu...Iu4hKXkEFwvJq7O6WZlxDY0Av_UbZsnUaAlIcEALw_wcB)
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
His burrow only goes like 3 or 4 inches since thats how much ground there is before it reaches cement.
That's not a burrow. A burrow goes down into the earth at around a 40 degree angle and for many feet. My last on measured 22 feet long and I'de estimate it went about 12 feet deep given the angle and length.

If he reaches the cement, it will be too cold and suck the heat out of him, and it can also do harm through abrasion.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Ok, how would I go about doing that?

Theoretically I could bring him in the house, but he’s usually asleep before it gets dark and he’s quite difficult to pick up.

Right now he’s got a house but it’s just made of plastic and nothing else. Is it as simple as sticking some heat pads in there? I don’t see any way I could get heat lamps in there.

If I’ve got to build something from scratch I’m not very good with tools and don’t really have any to begin with (apart form a hammer screwdriver and wrench).
Did you see the thread that Chubbs linked for you:

And here is a bigger box with a different, but also safe and effective, heating strategy:
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
... but I would recommend ordering a ceramic heat bulb...
CHEs and heat lamps should not be used over larger tortoises. This will slow-burn the top of the carapace, and they are not effective anyway at heating the core of a larger tortoise, especially if the plastron is resting on cold ground and the box isn't well insulated enough ad heated properly to keep air temps up.

See the links posted for the OP for effective and safe ways to do it.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California

That is not suitable. You can't heat that and it needs to be insulated all around. I've tried all sorts of ways to house them over many years. Most don't work, won't hold adequate temps, and cost a fortune in electricity while not helping the tortoise anyway. The boxes linked in the previous post is what works. It took me decades of trial and error to get to this point. You don't have to learn the hard way. Read my signature line...
 

Joe Stevens

Member
Joined
May 3, 2016
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
Neptune
Did you see the thread that Chubbs linked for you:

And here is a bigger box with a different, but also safe and effective, heating strategy:

I'm not very good at carpentry, so I don't think I'd be able to do something of that magnitude. I found this link (https://startortoises.net/housingouts-houses.html) about modifying a wodden dog house. Would that a be a good idea?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
I'm not very good at carpentry, so I don't think I'd be able to do something of that magnitude. I found this link (https://startortoises.net/housingouts-houses.html) about modifying a wodden dog house. Would that a be a good idea?
No. I've tried. They don't work well. Dog houses are designed for dogs. Your tortoise needs a tortoise house. By the time you modify and upgrade a dog house to the point where it will hold temps and work, you will have spent more time, money and effort than if you'd just built a properly designed one from scratch.

Maybe you could hire someone to build it for you?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Perhaps...

Do you have an estimate on how much all the materials would cost?
For lumber, screws, paint and primer, extension cord, heating equipment, and all the other details, probably around $400-500. If you already have some of the items, less.
 
Top