Sulcata help

[SinLA]

There are places that sell seed mixes for tortoises. I got mine here and they grew really well. Mine was the russian mix, here is one for grazers:

Grazing Tortoise Seed Mix 1/2 lb Free Shipping! USA only grazing tortoise seed mix [] - $14.95 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

The Grazing Tortoise Seed Mix is what I use in my pens. It contains: Crimson Clover Red Clover Creeping Red Fescue Turnip Greens Fescue Kentucy Blue Grass Orchard Grass Wheat Grass Oat Grass Rye Grass Barley Grass Chia Chicory Timothy Grass These seeds were picked for their nutritional value...

www.carolinapetsupply.com

 

[Henry_andres]

Hi as another idea some use enclosed vivarium type set up to trap the humidity and you can also also use a bookcase upturned on it's back and then line with sticky back plastic to protect the wood from rotting. The soft shell is lack of calcium so ensure you provide a cuttle fish (simar to what parrots have) in the enclosure and a light dusting on fresh food. Ask for ideas we are happy to suggest / help.

I do like that idea! The idea that I’m thinking I used a dining room table measured it out it’s 6ft long 3 ft deep i wanted to make a box out of pvc material because I know most DIY cages use that material it’s gonna have legs so it’s not gonna sit on the ground but it’s all gonna be attached basically one big table. I’m gonna add light sockets inside for his basking spot and mount the uvb light to the ceiling I am gonna add vents and I’ll have a sliding glass door so I can look in see him and get him out when I need too. Do you think this could work?

 

[Tom]

I do like that idea! The idea that I’m thinking I used a dining room table measured it out it’s 6ft long 3 ft deep i wanted to make a box out of pvc material because I know most DIY cages use that material it’s gonna have legs so it’s not gonna sit on the ground but it’s all gonna be attached basically one big table. I’m gonna add light sockets inside for his basking spot and mount the uvb light to the ceiling I am gonna add vents and I’ll have a sliding glass door so I can look in see him and get him out when I need too. Do you think this could work?

Yes. It sounds excellent.

 

[Henry_andres]

Yes. It sounds excellent.

Awesome I have a few more questions. When I’m building the new cage I do plan on having some live plants grown in the enclosure. Do I need to add clay balls and a mesh layer for the plants? Do you think he will eventually dig down to the mesh and the clay? Also if I do this I need at add a drain correct?

 

[Tom]

Awesome I have a few more questions. When I’m building the new cage I do plan on having some live plants grown in the enclosure. Do I need to add clay balls and a mesh layer for the plants? Do you think he will eventually dig down to the mesh and the clay? Also if I do this I need at add a drain correct?

I've never done it that way. Tortoises will trample or eat anything they can reach, so I keep all my plants in pots. I either set the pots on the substrate, set the pots on top of the hides, or hang them from the ceiling.

 

[Henry_andres]

I've never done it that way. Tortoises will trample or eat anything they can reach, so I keep all my plants in pots. I either set the pots on the substrate, set the pots on top of the hides, or hang them from the ceiling.

Gotcha do you think it would work if I planted them in their? Or do you think he will just eat them straight away. I have always wanted a bio active set up but if not do you put anything under substrate?

 

[Tom]

Gotcha do you think it would work if I planted them in their? Or do you think he will just eat them straight away. I have always wanted a bio active set up but if not do you put anything under substrate?

Tortoises destroy their enclosures. Anything under the substrate will eventually be dug up and made a mess of. Any plant not somehow protected will be eaten or trampled. I don't know how you'd do a bio-active tortoise enclosure with plants and all, unless you water proofed and entire room and used large plants that were too big to be reached or destroyed by a little tortoises walking around the base of it.

 

[Henry_andres]

Tortoises destroy their enclosures. Anything under the substrate will eventually be dug up and made a mess of. Any plant not somehow protected will be eaten or trampled. I don't know how you'd do a bio-active tortoise enclosure with plants and all, unless you water proofed and entire room and used large plants that were too big to be reached or destroyed by a little tortoises walking around the base of it.

Okay sounds good! So you don’t have anything else under substrate? Also since the new cage is gonna be so much bigger what is the best way to keep it at 80 degrees I think if I put a ceramic bulb in like I have now it will get pretty hot under it instead of it just heating the whole habitat evenly?

 

[Tom]

Okay sounds good! So you don’t have anything else under substrate? Also since the new cage is gonna be so much bigger what is the best way to keep it at 80 degrees I think if I put a ceramic bulb in like I have now it will get pretty hot under it instead of it just heating the whole habitat evenly?

If a single CHE doesn't do it, add another one.

If this is an open topped enclosure, nothing will work to keep it warm enough. You need a closed chamber.

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

I do like that idea! The idea that I’m thinking I used a dining room table measured it out it’s 6ft long 3 ft deep i wanted to make a box out of pvc material because I know most DIY cages use that material it’s gonna have legs so it’s not gonna sit on the ground but it’s all gonna be attached basically one big table. I’m gonna add light sockets inside for his basking spot and mount the uvb light to the ceiling I am gonna add vents and I’ll have a sliding glass door so I can look in see him and get him out when I need too. Do you think this could work?

I have something a little larger than this, bought from Animal Plastics. 8’x3’x2’, on casters, sealed, with a sliding glass door. It is set up inside and is intended to give our sully some room to pace while he’s inside overnight during the cooler months. We’ve had to wet down the substrate and turn the CHEs back on, because the high temps this month have been truly extreme and we were nervous about him getting heat stroke. My point is, if it’s sealed well you’ll be able to retain the heat and humidity nicely. We have our CHEs on thermostats set to 95 on half of the enclosure and 75 on the other half, which is the sweet spot that lets him enjoy the whole thing. We really never expected to use it during summer, but this year has been crazy.

I’m sure you’ve thought of this already, but you’ll want to be sure the bottom track for the sliding glass door is up a few inches from the floor of the enclosure so the substrate doesn’t come pouring out when you open the door and take him out. Even though mine is a couple inches from the bottom, there’s always some substrate that is carried out and onto our floor… easy enough to vacuum up, but it’d be a much bigger mess without that raised barrier.

 

[Henry_andres]

I have something a little larger than this, bought from Animal Plastics. 8’x3’x2’, on casters, sealed, with a sliding glass door. It is set up inside and is intended to give our sully some room to pace while he’s inside overnight during the cooler months. We’ve had to wet down the substrate and turn the CHEs back on, because the high temps this month have been truly extreme and we were nervous about him getting heat stroke. My point is, if it’s sealed well you’ll be able to retain the heat and humidity nicely. We have our CHEs on thermostats set to 95 on half of the enclosure and 75 on the other half, which is the sweet spot that lets him enjoy the whole thing. We really never expected to use it during summer, but this year has been crazy.

I’m sure you’ve thought of this already, but you’ll want to be sure the bottom track for the sliding glass door is up a few inches from the floor of the enclosure so the substrate doesn’t come pouring out when you open the door and take him out. Even though mine is a couple inches from the bottom, there’s always some substrate that is carried out and onto our floor… easy enough to vacuum up, but it’d be a much bigger mess without that raised barrier.

Awesome thank you so much! I’ll defiantly make the sure the barrier is large enough! How many CHE’s do you have? I’m building the cage tomorrow morning with my dad could you possible send me a couple picture of how you have your set up?

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

Awesome thank you so much! I’ll defiantly make the sure the barrier is large enough! How many CHE’s do you have? I’m building the cage tomorrow morning with my dad could you possible send me a couple picture of how you have your set up?

My pleasure! I have three 150W CHEs. I'm at work right now, but I'll attach photos of the indoor enclosure either later this evening or early tomorrow morning. I should also mention that we put black static cling vinyl window film totally covering one of the sliding glass doors, and about halfway up the other door - we did that because we didn't want him going crazy trying to get through the glass. However, when the light is on inside, he sees his reflection in the glass and that's not a great situation, either - we definitely don't want him trying to fight himself. So we limit the use of the LED lighting to only when we want to signal to him that it's time to come to the door so we can take him outside. If he hadn't caught on to that immediately, I don't know what I would've done... it's still easy enough to pick him up, but trying to retrieve him from the back would be nearly impossible for me. My husband suggested a pizza peel, but I could not envision that working out the way he thinks it would, LOL.

 

[Henry_andres]

My pleasure! I have three 150W CHEs. I'm at work right now, but I'll attach photos of the indoor enclosure either later this evening or early tomorrow morning. I should also mention that we put black static cling vinyl window film totally covering one of the sliding glass doors, and about halfway up the other door - we did that because we didn't want him going crazy trying to get through the glass. However, when the light is on inside, he sees his reflection in the glass and that's not a great situation, either - we definitely don't want him trying to fight himself. So we limit the use of the LED lighting to only when we want to signal to him that it's time to come to the door so we can take him outside. If he hadn't caught on to that immediately, I don't know what I would've done... it's still easy enough to pick him up, but trying to retrieve him from the back would be nearly impossible for me. My husband suggested a pizza peel, but I could not envision that working out the way he thinks it would, LOL.

Lol pizza peel would be hilarious! But thank you! you said yours is 3 feet tall right? Do you think thats tall enough or too tall? Also if mine was 6ftLx3ftD do you think 2 CHE would keep it at a steady 80 degrees? I just worried I’m not gonna add enough light sockets to the top I was originally gonna add 3 one on each side and one in the middle next to the UVB tube. Do you think that’s enough?

 

[LeoTheWaywardTortoise]

Lol pizza peel would be hilarious! But thank you! you said yours is 3 feet tall right? Do you think thats tall enough or too tall? Also if mine was 6ftLx3ftD do you think 2 CHE would keep it at a steady 80 degrees? I just worried I’m not gonna add enough light sockets to the top I was originally gonna add 3 one on each side and one in the middle next to the UVB tube. Do you think that’s enough?

Pizza peel, LOL. It would be interesting, but extremely messy and I’m betting Leo would not appreciate this method of extracting him from the enclosure. 😄

Mine is 2’ tall, 3’ deep, and 8’ long. I don’t know if two CHEs would be enough for yours; it would depend on various factors, e.g. how well it’s sealed, what the temp is outside of the enclosure, the wattage of the CHEs, etc. I have three 150W CHEs and it’s plenty for my setup - and having them on thermostats definitely was the right call, as without the thermostats the temps were between 95-105 degrees. I do think three will be enough for your setup, but - and I cannot stress this enough - I am no expert. I strongly recommend getting a couple thermostats to ensure the temps are maintained where you want them.

Here’s a look at our enclosure, right after we finally received it and put it together. Yes, Leo has pyramiding, but he was already pyramided when he showed up on our doorstep almost two years ago… he’s been growing out more smoothly since he’s been with us. Kind of surprising since we’re in the Phoenix area and he spends from mid-May through mid-October outside, for the vast majority of the time. Normally, he’d only come inside to soak every other day, but the extreme heat caused us great concern since he hasn’t taken to either of the burrows I’ve started for him so we’ve been bringing him inside before work and taking him back outside in the late afternoon/early evening - basically, the opposite of our routine during the cooler months. He’s much too large for this enclosure, but it’s only used as an indoor sleeping chamber that he can still pace in, if he wants to.

 

[Henry_andres]

Pizza peel, LOL. It would be interesting, but extremely messy and I’m betting Leo would not appreciate this method of extracting him from the enclosure. 😄

Mine is 2’ tall, 3’ deep, and 8’ long. I don’t know if two CHEs would be enough for yours; it would depend on various factors, e.g. how well it’s sealed, what the temp is outside of the enclosure, the wattage of the CHEs, etc. I have three 150W CHEs and it’s plenty for my setup - and having them on thermostats definitely was the right call, as without the thermostats the temps were between 95-105 degrees. I do think three will be enough for your setup, but - and I cannot stress this enough - I am no expert. I strongly recommend getting a couple thermostats to ensure the temps are maintained where you want them.

Here’s a look at our enclosure, right after we finally received it and put it together. Yes, Leo has pyramiding, but he was already pyramided when he showed up on our doorstep almost two years ago… he’s been growing out more smoothly since he’s been with us. Kind of surprising since we’re in the Phoenix area and he spends from mid-May through mid-October outside, for the vast majority of the time. Normally, he’d only come inside to soak every other day, but the extreme heat caused us great concern since he hasn’t taken to either of the burrows I’ve started for him so we’ve been bringing him inside before work and taking him back outside in the late afternoon/early evening - basically, the opposite of our routine during the cooler months. He’s much too large for this enclosure, but it’s only used as an indoor sleeping chamber that he can still pace in, if he wants to.

View attachment 359509View attachment 359510View attachment 359511View attachment 359512Awesome thank you for sharing! I started on my new tank today and took your recommendations! I will send a picture when it is done!