Question

[kekeliz]

I'm new here and I have had my sulcata tortoise for just a few weeks. His name is Joey and he is pretty big. I have him living in a large closet. I have the lights hanging from the curtain rod so he has once side of the closet that is lit and heated and the other side has no light so he can cool down. For some reason, he only stays in the heated area at night when the light is off. I have a regular light and a light that doesn't light up but produces heat. Is he staying on the other side of the closet because he doesn't like the light?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Oh geeze. A tortoise cannot live in a freakin closet. Please read this before he dies.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings.

Wow, i think you will need to hurry up & make a lot of changes as soon as you can to get the conditions right for your Sulcata.

Living in a “closet” isnt the best set-up or sustainable. You need to establish a proper enclosure, preferably with a lid, that will hold in both the heat & the humidity. Proper lighting & a good substrate that maintains moisture.

Much of the info you need is here

➡️➡️ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threa...se-a-sulcata-leopard-or-star-tortoise.181497/

Upload some pix of your Sully....

Best of luck & welcome to the Forum

 

[kekeliz]

Oh geeze. A tortoise cannot live in a freakin closet. Please read this before he dies.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

He is way too big for a tank. He weighs 26 pounds right now. The temp in his enclosure is between 88 and 92 degrees at all times. I have a tarp down on the floor with his bedding of hay and shavings. There is no door on the closet so he comes and goes as he pleases and he walks around the house. His previous owner had a similar setup for him.

 

[Maggie3fan]

He is way too big for a tank. He weighs 26 pounds right now. The temp in his enclosure is between 88 and 92 degrees at all times. I have a tarp down on the floor with his bedding of hay and shavings. There is no door on the closet so he comes and goes as he pleases and he walks around the house. His previous owner had a similar setup for him.

OK, I understand. But because his previous keeper mistreated him, and now you are too doesn't make it right
So what I am reading is that you have a bigger Sulcata and you refuse to see that what you are doing to an animal who in the wild would walk and graze 20 miles or so a day is seriously bad. Really mistreatment. You would not get a horse because you can't set him up right. But you took a tortoise who needs exercise to digest his food and locked him in a closet.
You will get great advice from our expert keepers and Maro2Bear and I have already given you a care sheet. Please read it so you will understand what I am trying to say.
Ask questions after you read the sheet, and other experts will give you more polite advice. For the sake of your tortoise please stay and communicate...
This is where my 25 lb Sulcata and a 21 yr old tortoise live. I didn't get their pen in the photo, sorry

 

[Tim Carlisle]

He is way too big for a tank. He weighs 26 pounds right now. The temp in his enclosure is between 88 and 92 degrees at all times. I have a tarp down on the floor with his bedding of hay and shavings. There is no door on the closet so he comes and goes as he pleases and he walks around the house. His previous owner had a similar setup for him.

Sulcatas are generally not ideal indoor pets. They get huge, first and foremost. They can be extremely destructive as well; pushing furniture around, tearing through drywall, etc. I even saw pics of one that uprooted someone's toilet. I understand you are in R.I. and it's very cold out now, but is it possible to build an outdoor heated enclosure for him with free access to your yard?

 

[kekeliz]

I'm not sure I explaned Joey's living area properly. I have a spare room that is my reptile room, I have 3 tanks, one has 3 burmese pythons, one has 3 ball pythons and one has 4 smaller tortoises (red footed and Asian box). the room is heated and we have a humidifier and the room's humidity level stays at around 55 percent and the heat in the room is set between 85 and 92 degrees. Joey lives in the walk-in closet and the doors were removed so it's wide open. He can come in and out of his "room" when he wants and walks around the house when he wants. I have a baby gate that goes up at night so he stays in the reptile room while we are all in bed. There is no way I can let him walk around my yard right now. Today its is 31 degrees here and there is snow on the ground, which would kill him. I already have the outdoor enclosure set up, but until the snow on the ground melts and the weather heats up, he is living in the house.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I'm not sure I explaned Joey's living area properly. I have a spare room that is my reptile room, I have 3 tanks, one has 3 burmese pythons, one has 3 ball pythons and one has 4 smaller tortoises (red footed and Asian box). the room is heated and we have a humidifier and the room's humidity level stays at around 55 percent and the heat in the room is set between 85 and 92 degrees. Joey lives in the walk-in closet and the doors were removed so it's wide open. He can come in and out of his "room" when he wants and walks around the house when he wants. I have a baby gate that goes up at night so he stays in the reptile room while we are all in bed. There is no way I can let him walk around my yard right now. Today its is 31 degrees here and there is snow on the ground, which would kill him. I already have the outdoor enclosure set up, but until the snow on the ground melts and the weather heats up, he is living in the house.

My Sulcata go outside rain, snow, sleet, ice, and cyclones. They live in a heated insulated tort shed, I open the doggie doors for them and they go out graze walk around and go back in. It does not kill them.
I can tell no matter how much you are told that it is bad for a Sulcata to live under the conditions you describe, you will not change anything about how that poor Sulcata is kept. No matter how you describe it, it's freakin bad, he cannot get enuf exercise for digestion. So I will not look at this thread again.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I'm not sure I explaned Joey's living area properly. I have a spare room that is my reptile room, I have 3 tanks, one has 3 burmese pythons, one has 3 ball pythons and one has 4 smaller tortoises (red footed and Asian box). the room is heated and we have a humidifier and the room's humidity level stays at around 55 percent and the heat in the room is set between 85 and 92 degrees. Joey lives in the walk-in closet and the doors were removed so it's wide open. He can come in and out of his "room" when he wants and walks around the house when he wants. I have a baby gate that goes up at night so he stays in the reptile room while we are all in bed. There is no way I can let him walk around my yard right now. Today its is 31 degrees here and there is snow on the ground, which would kill him. I already have the outdoor enclosure set up, but until the snow on the ground melts and the weather heats up, he is living in the house.

Can you post a pic of its living area (closet + room)? Do you keep lights on all night?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Soooo, getting back to your questions. .

➡️➡️ For some reason, he only stays in the heated area at night when the light is off. I have a regular light and a light that doesn't light up but produces heat. Is he staying on the other side of the closet because he doesn't like the light?

Sulcatas come from rather hot, humid areas, but not desert like conditions. Your tort likes it at least 80F or warmer during the night and even warmer, hotter areas during the day. He is staying in the warmest spot in the closet area, especially if this is where you have your I presume CHE (heat) hanging.

You might want to look into getting a Kane heat matt & thermostat so your tort has something warming it up other than the CHE.

➡️➡️ Sample matt - https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/heated-mats-dogs-pets
➡️➡️➡️ Sample Thermostat - http://www.lllreptile.com/products/13882-zilla-500-watt-temperature-controller


Make sure you soak your tortoise in warm water (the tub) as often as you can. Increase humidity as much as you can.

Lastly, look into building a special night box/enclosure. One that is large enough for your Sulcata to crawl into, have a warm Kane matt & moist substrate. It needs a nice dark, warm spot to crawl into. Tom has a few postings about building nightboxes for Sulcatas.

Ps - it’s hard to properly house Sulcatas in the Northeast during Winter.

Good luck.

 

[racinglover242]

I'm not sure I explaned Joey's living area properly. I have a spare room that is my reptile room, I have 3 tanks, one has 3 burmese pythons, one has 3 ball pythons and one has 4 smaller tortoises (red footed and Asian box). the room is heated and we have a humidifier and the room's humidity level stays at around 55 percent and the heat in the room is set between 85 and 92 degrees. Joey lives in the walk-in closet and the doors were removed so it's wide open. He can come in and out of his "room" when he wants and walks around the house when he wants. I have a baby gate that goes up at night so he stays in the reptile room while we are all in bed. There is no way I can let him walk around my yard right now. Today its is 31 degrees here and there is snow on the ground, which would kill him. I already have the outdoor enclosure set up, but until the snow on the ground melts and the weather heats up, he is living in the house.

Its the same here in Illinois

 

[Yossarian]

I'm not sure I explaned Joey's living area properly. I have a spare room that is my reptile room, I have 3 tanks, one has 3 burmese pythons, one has 3 ball pythons and one has 4 smaller tortoises (red footed and Asian box). the room is heated and we have a humidifier and the room's humidity level stays at around 55 percent and the heat in the room is set between 85 and 92 degrees. Joey lives in the walk-in closet and the doors were removed so it's wide open. He can come in and out of his "room" when he wants and walks around the house when he wants. I have a baby gate that goes up at night so he stays in the reptile room while we are all in bed. There is no way I can let him walk around my yard right now. Today its is 31 degrees here and there is snow on the ground, which would kill him. I already have the outdoor enclosure set up, but until the snow on the ground melts and the weather heats up, he is living in the house.

Yikes, you have received a bit of a harsh reception here. I hope that doesnt discourage you continuing to engage. The reality though is that the way you are caring for this tortoise is not appropriate and it is likely to result in detriment to the tortoise. Sulcatas require a lot of humidity, more than 55%, and especially in their hides or nightbox. Allowing a tort to wander your house is a recipe for disaster. If your tort eats something that it shouldnt(and it will, torts sample everything) and you get lucky and catch it before it dies, the surgery will cost more than 3k. Free Ranging in a house is never going to be warm enough or meet the humidity requirements. As to your original question about lighting, we would need to see exactly what light you are using, a few photos of the tort would be nice as well, we all like to see torts.

Separately, you seem to have also admitted to keeping at least one redfoot in the same glass tank with 3 other torts/turtles? That is a red flag as well, Redfoots should be kept solitary and no fish tank is big enough for an adult tortoise, let alone 4.

I think it would do you well to spend some time reading up on how to properly care for the animals in your care.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise | Tortoise Forum

Why not to keep 2 tortoises together - a lesson learned the hard way | Tortoise Forum

Can I Allow My Tortoise To Roam the Floor of the House? | Tortoise Forum

Please, read and ask questions.

 

[Tom]

I'm new here and I have had my sulcata tortoise for just a few weeks. His name is Joey and he is pretty big. I have him living in a large closet. I have the lights hanging from the curtain rod so he has once side of the closet that is lit and heated and the other side has no light so he can cool down. For some reason, he only stays in the heated area at night when the light is off. I have a regular light and a light that doesn't light up but produces heat. Is he staying on the other side of the closet because he doesn't like the light?

Welcome to the forum.

We aren't good at telling people what they want to hear. We excel at telling them what they need to hear. I hope we can help you and your animals.

 

[racinglover242]

Welcome to the forum.

We aren't good at telling people what they want to hear. We excel at telling them what they need to hear. I hope we can help you and your animals.

Nicely said