So what do I do??? I need opinions please!!!!

bigbeaks

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
168
So my sulcata's have doubled. I now have 4 that are between 11" and 15" long. 3 are females, and one we are unsure of, but is looking more female than male. I currently have a 4' by 4' hide box based off of Tom's boxes with an oil filled heater. It's a total "traffic jam" in there! I need to start working on something larger for them. I can't decide if I want to just make a larger "Tom" box, say 4' by 8', or if I want to make something more like a storage building I can walk inside of for easier cleaning. I realize something I can walk inside of will cost more to heat. I can make the walls shorter than the normal 8' high to help with that, but I know it will still cost more. I would like everyone's opinion on this please. As well as if anyone has a building that they are using, could you please share pictures of it on this thread and tell me how you heat it. Do you just use the pig blankets and a basking bulb or do you use a heater and heat the entire building?
 

Attachments

  • sulcata box.jpg
    sulcata box.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 22

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I think a shed would be your best bet and probably cheaper in the long run. 4 Sullies full grown would probably not work in a 4x8 night box. I have a 8x20 third stall of the garage. I have a oil heater and they all have a CHE and uvb. I added a ceiling that is just about 6.5 feet and also a ceiling fan that runs all winter to push the heat down, and in summer to help cool. It's very well insulated, floor, ceiling and walls. If you build it big enough, you could make a seperate area should you come across a male or even female bullying.
 

Jodie

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
Messages
4,359
Location (City and/or State)
Spokane Valley WA
I agree shed sounds like the best option for growing. I would prefer to hear the whole building to avoid the risk of burning the shell. Kane mats are great for underneath additional heat.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I have five different tortoise sheds for different species. I used to have a dog house type house for Dudley (110lb sulcata), but it was a pain to lean over and rake the poop out of, so he now has a shed too.

You can buy shed kits then insulate them to fit your tortoise's needs, or you can start from scratch and build your own. That's what I did. Here's a link to the last shed I built, the one for my sulcata:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/dudleys-rebuild.111350/
 

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 tried sheds in the past and I just didn't like them. So much wasted electricity. Everyone has their opinion on the matter, but here are some facts to mull over. My 4x8 boxes cost an average of .18 cents a day to heat in winter with occasional below freezing nights. An insulated 10x10' shed will cost anywhere from $5-10 a night to heat depending on insulation, sealing and outside temperature. For some people the cost of heating doesn't matter, but for me it does. I have four that are 25-55 pounds living in a 4x8 box and so far so good. I have another box at the ready if it becomes necessary.
 

Len B

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
4,986
Location (City and/or State)
Southern Md - Northern Neck Va
Have you thought about not housing them all in the same house when it gets chilly where you are ? I have 5 and this summer is the first time they have been living together. But I plan on separating them this coming winter. Haven't figured out who is going to be with who yet or if they will each have their own house. I'm leaning towards each with it's own house, mainly because of the door size needs to be much wider if you have multible tortoises trying to pass each other in the doorway.. Sulcatas are terrible at backing up as you may have noticed. Normally it gets much colder and for a longer period of time here in the Northern Neck, than where you are located. I have gone to using triple vinyl flaps at the doors with as much space between each set as possible. Here are the houses I used last winter. The first is Walkers, it is 8x8 ft, Heated with a 3x4 Stanfield mat, and if needed a small electric oil filled radiator heater is in the back corner and a light socket mounted at the center of the ceiling.Picture 004 copy.jpg The white panel he is peeking out of comes off with the removal of one screw and the opening is as big as the ramp which is also the door that is hindged to be closed by raising the door up. The next pic is of Sylvias house, It is 3x4 feet heated by a 1x3 Stanfield mat. I added two 12x12 inch ceramic tiles that are heated by flex watt on the side wall opposite the mat towards the front.Picture 011 copy.jpg The next is where Alex spent last winter. It is 4x4 feet, heated by three 16x16 inch heated ceramic tiles with a light socket mounted at the ceiling if extra warmth is needed.Picture 049.jpg The next is an experimental build that worked fine. The inside measures 3x5 feet. Enoch and Toad stayed in it last winter. It has a double wide door and is heated with a 18x24 inch Stanfield mat and several of the heated ceramic tiles some on the floor and a couple about 3/4 way up off the floor setting horizonal on shelving brackets.3sulcata.jpg The next is a plastic rain barrel that is heated with self regulating heat tape spiraled around the outside with a couple heated ceramic tiles on the outside bottom between the insulation and the barrel, this is used in the early spring and fall to extend the outside time for some of my other tortoises.Picture 046.jpg And last but not least I take crocks crocks copy.jpg add heat tape or flex watt, insulate and the smaller tortoises use them as night time hides on chilly nights.Picture 020 copy.jpg Hope these help to give you some ideas on what you want to build . I don't have the list of the exact wattages that each house uses to heat them but Walkers is the most at just under 400 max and Sylvias is the least at a little over 80 max.
 

bigbeaks

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Messages
168
Thank you Len for all of these neat options you have tried. There are several of your pictures that aren't showing up. The first one I really wanted to see it. Do you feel it cost a lot to heat the 8'x8' enclosure? We get cold nights here, but it normally only last a few days.

Like you said they can't seem to move around or get in and out very well now because my door isn't that large. If I build a building, do you think two smaller doors would be better than one larger door for them to go in and out of?
 

New Posts

Top