Hi,
I'm Renee from San Diego. I have a Sulcata named Cecil (or Cecile, I guess, depending on how things turn out), who is approximately three months old. My husband has had a few different tortoises, but this is my first one.
He had four Russian tortoises and a juvenile Sulcata (named Bowser - nerds love Sulcatas!) with a shell that was approximately ten inches in length. They all lived full time in our backyard, except for cold stretches in the winter. This arrangement was fine for about two years. We moved about a mile away into a new house. About six months after we moved, the Sulcata and the largest Russian were killed by a predator in the middle of the night. The whole family was devastated, especially my young daughter, who discovered the scene the next morning. Both tortoises were very personable, and Bowser was almost like a dog in the way he would follow family members around the yard.
We have only recently moved the Russians back out to the yard, and they are locked into their "doghouse" every night. We are hoping that will prevent them from being preyed upon again.
Bowser was irreplaceable, but I wanted another Sulcata because of his personality. The hubby is supportive, but is letting me lead the way on this one. Of course, I am extremely nervous about having my precious Cecil out in the yard, but I know it is important to him. We are almost done with his outdoor enclosure. It is 4x2, which should tide him over until next summer, when we can build him something bigger. We are putting a wire cover on it, and I'm not sure when I'll be ready to have him out unattended. I've planted it with Sulcata seed mix and it should be ready for him this weekend.
As for indoors, I originally had Cecil in a 20 gallon tank, which has quickly become inadequate. This week, my husband built me a 3'x4' tortoise table. I mixed organic soil and coco coir as a substrate, and covered it lightly with cypress mulch. I'm using a tube UVB, which seems to be working fine, and I have a heat lamp, though not sure how necessary it is with our temps this week. I'm getting 80s on "cool side" and 90-100 on his basking slate. I also planted the table with Sulcata seed, so we'll see how that grows. I'm posting pics, but they kind of stink because my camera phone isn't great, and Cecil has burrowed in for a nap and made himself unavailable for more. The only question I have is that I don't have anything to break up "line of sight," but I'm also worried that he might flip himself on obstacles. Any thoughts?
I'm Renee from San Diego. I have a Sulcata named Cecil (or Cecile, I guess, depending on how things turn out), who is approximately three months old. My husband has had a few different tortoises, but this is my first one.
He had four Russian tortoises and a juvenile Sulcata (named Bowser - nerds love Sulcatas!) with a shell that was approximately ten inches in length. They all lived full time in our backyard, except for cold stretches in the winter. This arrangement was fine for about two years. We moved about a mile away into a new house. About six months after we moved, the Sulcata and the largest Russian were killed by a predator in the middle of the night. The whole family was devastated, especially my young daughter, who discovered the scene the next morning. Both tortoises were very personable, and Bowser was almost like a dog in the way he would follow family members around the yard.
We have only recently moved the Russians back out to the yard, and they are locked into their "doghouse" every night. We are hoping that will prevent them from being preyed upon again.
Bowser was irreplaceable, but I wanted another Sulcata because of his personality. The hubby is supportive, but is letting me lead the way on this one. Of course, I am extremely nervous about having my precious Cecil out in the yard, but I know it is important to him. We are almost done with his outdoor enclosure. It is 4x2, which should tide him over until next summer, when we can build him something bigger. We are putting a wire cover on it, and I'm not sure when I'll be ready to have him out unattended. I've planted it with Sulcata seed mix and it should be ready for him this weekend.
As for indoors, I originally had Cecil in a 20 gallon tank, which has quickly become inadequate. This week, my husband built me a 3'x4' tortoise table. I mixed organic soil and coco coir as a substrate, and covered it lightly with cypress mulch. I'm using a tube UVB, which seems to be working fine, and I have a heat lamp, though not sure how necessary it is with our temps this week. I'm getting 80s on "cool side" and 90-100 on his basking slate. I also planted the table with Sulcata seed, so we'll see how that grows. I'm posting pics, but they kind of stink because my camera phone isn't great, and Cecil has burrowed in for a nap and made himself unavailable for more. The only question I have is that I don't have anything to break up "line of sight," but I'm also worried that he might flip himself on obstacles. Any thoughts?