***pls help me im new sulcaters encloserr???**

[meandmytorts]

hello all,

i really hope you all can help me please, im new to this site and dont know if i put this in the right section,so if not ''im sssoo sorry''

i have large sulcater which is meant to be 4yrs old??? but im not sure he is 13" long,so what do you think? ''is he 4yrs old? or older?

anyway i want put him into the shed as his to big for the house now i havent had him that long,so i was wondering how to do it? what would you do or what have you done for your sulcaters? how did you do the heating? what wattage bulbs did you use? etc any info im very greatful for please let me know anything that you did for your sullys shed
as more info will be great

**i also have 2 little sulcaters aswell which i put pics of in the sexing section can you please advise me on these aswell ****

thankyou so much for taking your time to read this im really greatful for any help at all
take care

 

[NEtorts]

i can give you some advice but it would help to know where you live, temps, size of shed, ceiling height, and what is the ground made out of/ dirt/ concrete/ wood... also what is the shed made out of and is it insulated...
ive been keeping my sulcata in a shed in a northern climate for 3 years now and can probably help

 

[meandmytorts]

hello thankyou so much sorry i should of wrote this im from essex, i have a 6ft x 6ft shed (could be bigger) for my sulcater,at the moment its grass/mud but hubby said his going to do a base so im guessing it would be concrete? its not insulated at the mo as its all dismantled ready to be put together so ideal i would like ideas starting from scrach really,with everything if poss its a wooden shed, im just looking for ideas and ways i can do it with out costing me loads of the elec really the best easiest & safest way and save me money
i hope this helps thankyou so much

i can give you some advice but it would help to know where you live, temps, size of shed, ceiling height, and what is the ground made out of/ dirt/ concrete/ wood... also what is the shed made out of and is it insulated...
ive been keeping my sulcata in a shed in a northern climate for 3 years now and can probably help

 

[krissy2288]

Well what do you want to do exaclty?, build a little yard or just make the shed its enclosure?

In my opinion id say you should just put up a little fence around the shed and put your tortoise back in the shed everynight, but you should probably put 1 or 2 heating lights in there for night, but since its gonna be summer soon you probably wont need a light on it the day time, but i dont know exactly where you live so i dont know the temperature.
Also you should make sure all the crevices in the shed are sealed so spiders and other insects dont get in (we all know how much they like the warmth) because that could turn out bad.
Another thing to think about is what type of animals live around your house.. for example: raccoons, neighborhood dogs, cats, because they all could hurt you tortoise so make sure your enclosure is full proof.

And i hope i helped a little

 

[Laura]

I have mine outdoors. Stanfield heat mats with the Thermostat. osborne Industries had the best price.
For the floor i have stall matts. they are rubber, made for horses, easy to clean.

 

[Tom]

Here are a few ideas:
My newest and best one: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-Mother-of-All-Tortoise-Boxes#axzz1JwFRpzH2
In theory: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-Underground-Tortoise-Box-Design#axzz1JwFRpzH2
In practice: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Underground-Tegu-Shelter#axzz1JwFRpzH2
My old ones: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Heated-Den-Boxes#axzz1JwFRpzH2

 

[luke]

Here are a few ideas:
My newest and best one: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-Mother-of-All-Tortoise-Boxes#axzz1JwFRpzH2
In theory: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-Underground-Tortoise-Box-Design#axzz1JwFRpzH2
In practice: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Underground-Tegu-Shelter#axzz1JwFRpzH2
My old ones: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Heated-Den-Boxes#axzz1JwFRpzH2

Tom you beast!

 

[NEtorts]

I live in an area that frequents 10-20 below zero in the winter,and i didnt want to spend a ton of money on energy either so I built a "super" insulated shed, first i dug out the ground 2 feet+ and put 2" styrofoam on the ground, layed cinder blocks on that for a foundation and insulated them on the outside with foam. the put some tunnel tubes and hide in the ground as i replaced ther dirt...
next I built the walls with 2x4 and board sheathing. I insulated the wall cavities with fiberglass batts and then used foam on the inside before using more boards as an inside covering on the walls
the ceiling was done with fiberglass batts in the rafters and 2 layers of foam and then more boards for covering..
spray foam all the cracks and crevices to make it as tight as posible.... there is one large sliding window but it is good quality insulated glass and I hand made the door with foam sandwiched between wood and weather stripped it tight to the frame..

the trick is to make it a low ceiling, heat rises, im 5 ft 8" and cant quite stand up straight and to limit the windows.. glass is cold no mater how good the window is... I heated it for 2 years with 2CHE's at night and a MVbulb during the day on a timmer...worked well but would fluctuate some during really cold days and warm days....
now I have a small direct vent gass heater with a thermostsat, very efficient, puts moisture into the building as it burns and will keep it more consitent....I have a fan that blows down onto the ground to get the heast of the ceiling and I have a mist king mister that runs 6-8 mist nozzels around the shed.....
i built a cement pool in one corner with a drain in it so they can have fresah water all the time....
I actually had a male and female greek breed and lay 3 eggs and hatch in the ground last summer!! so i figured i must have done something right
oh and this building is attached, by a short tunnel, to a green house, and the green house is attached, by tunnel to 2 outdoor pens all fenced in. in the warm weather when everything is opened up (tunnels) my torts roam free and most nights when I scope the area for torts they are already inside the shed staying warm for the night, if it stays warm over night i leave them outside if they choose.... I have an electric fence cable on the top of the out door pens fence... it is on a timer and comes on after dark and goes of just about sunrise to keep any night time critters from climbing over my enclosure fence...seems to work great

 

[lynnedit]

I live in an area that frequents 10-20 below zero in the winter,and i didnt want to spend a ton of money on energy either so I built a "super" insulated shed, first i dug out the ground 2 feet+ and put 2" styrofoam on the ground, layed cinder blocks on that for a foundation and insulated them on the outside with foam. the put some tunnel tubes and hide in the ground as i replaced ther dirt...
next I built the walls with 2x4 and board sheathing. I insulated the wall cavities with fiberglass batts and then used foam on the inside before using more boards as an inside covering on the walls
the ceiling was done with fiberglass batts in the rafters and 2 layers of foam and then more boards for covering..
spray foam all the cracks and crevices to make it as tight as posible.... there is one large sliding window but it is good quality insulated glass and I hand made the door with foam sandwiched between wood and weather stripped it tight to the frame..

the trick is to make it a low ceiling, heat rises, im 5 ft 8" and cant quite stand up straight and to limit the windows.. glass is cold no mater how good the window is... I heated it for 2 years with 2CHE's at night and a MVbulb during the day on a timmer...worked well but would fluctuate some during really cold days and warm days....
now I have a small direct vent gass heater with a thermostsat, very efficient, puts moisture into the building as it burns and will keep it more consitent....I have a fan that blows down onto the ground to get the heast of the ceiling and I have a mist king mister that runs 6-8 mist nozzels around the shed.....
i built a cement pool in one corner with a drain in it so they can have fresah water all the time....
I actually had a male and female greek breed and lay 3 eggs and hatch in the ground last summer!! so i figured i must have done something right
oh and this building is attached, by a short tunnel, to a green house, and the green house is attached, by tunnel to 2 outdoor pens all fenced in. in the warm weather when everything is opened up (tunnels) my torts roam free and most nights when I scope the area for torts they are already inside the shed staying warm for the night, if it stays warm over night i leave them outside if they choose.... I have an electric fence cable on the top of the out door pens fence... it is on a timer and comes on after dark and goes of just about sunrise to keep any night time critters from climbing over my enclosure fence...seems to work great

Wow. do you have a link to pics of your enclosure?

 

[Tom]

WTH?!? Why haven't we seen pics of this tortoise paradise???

I live in an area that frequents 10-20 below zero in the winter,and i didnt want to spend a ton of money on energy either so I built a "super" insulated shed, first i dug out the ground 2 feet+ and put 2" styrofoam on the ground, layed cinder blocks on that for a foundation and insulated them on the outside with foam. the put some tunnel tubes and hide in the ground as i replaced ther dirt...
next I built the walls with 2x4 and board sheathing. I insulated the wall cavities with fiberglass batts and then used foam on the inside before using more boards as an inside covering on the walls
the ceiling was done with fiberglass batts in the rafters and 2 layers of foam and then more boards for covering..
spray foam all the cracks and crevices to make it as tight as posible.... there is one large sliding window but it is good quality insulated glass and I hand made the door with foam sandwiched between wood and weather stripped it tight to the frame..

the trick is to make it a low ceiling, heat rises, im 5 ft 8" and cant quite stand up straight and to limit the windows.. glass is cold no mater how good the window is... I heated it for 2 years with 2CHE's at night and a MVbulb during the day on a timmer...worked well but would fluctuate some during really cold days and warm days....
now I have a small direct vent gass heater with a thermostsat, very efficient, puts moisture into the building as it burns and will keep it more consitent....I have a fan that blows down onto the ground to get the heast of the ceiling and I have a mist king mister that runs 6-8 mist nozzels around the shed.....
i built a cement pool in one corner with a drain in it so they can have fresah water all the time....
I actually had a male and female greek breed and lay 3 eggs and hatch in the ground last summer!! so i figured i must have done something right
oh and this building is attached, by a short tunnel, to a green house, and the green house is attached, by tunnel to 2 outdoor pens all fenced in. in the warm weather when everything is opened up (tunnels) my torts roam free and most nights when I scope the area for torts they are already inside the shed staying warm for the night, if it stays warm over night i leave them outside if they choose.... I have an electric fence cable on the top of the out door pens fence... it is on a timer and comes on after dark and goes of just about sunrise to keep any night time critters from climbing over my enclosure fence...seems to work great