Sully Outdoor Enclosure Planning

[Sir Sully]

Hey gang, been a bit since I was on.
Our Sully is doing great and growing steadily. His indoor enclosure is a bit small and needs to be upgraded which I need to work on soon.

I am in Southern Arizona. Just to get that out of the way. I am currently building a house and want to plan for a future Maturin space.
I will be renting a trencher to run my electric lines (to my house and garage/shop) and figured while I have it, maybe I should trench the 4 feet down I want for the block enclosure.
I am planning to build a garage/shop and have the enclosure share a wall with the North side of the building so as to block off some of the heat and provide a little more shade even in the summer while also allowing for some insulation during the winter.


Let's start with a couple basics.

How much outdoor space does your Sully have? This is really my biggest question here. I am debating 30 feet x 20 feet (space is NOT an issue, I am on almost 4.5 acres)
Any particular features your Sully REALLY likes or spends a lot of time near? (As their own individual with discerning tastes. I know, hideaways, water soaks, drainage, etc.)

More Advanced:

I was debating putting in perforated pipe along the block wall about 2 feet underground with a grate to allow for excess water to flow from the enclosure (we get monsoon rains!)
Thoughts on this? Has anyone tried it? I can easily mitigate sand clogging within pipes.

For those of you in Southern Arizona, any potential predators I need to worry about that can get over a 4-foot-high block wall? (I've only been here a year, moved from CO)

I was hoping to also run electric from the shop to the hideaway with a heat pad (I believe @Tom recommended a top and bottom heat source?) to keep Maturin warm in the winter. Would you run those lines directly through block to the heat pads, or would I be ok dropping the lines in from above with PVC conduit to shield it? I am worried if I run them underground Maturin could possibly dig them up, not the lines directly, but he could damage the conduit system.

I think that's it for now. As far as planning for my electric lines and enclosure size. Based on some of these suggestions I'll work up a sketch for my enclosure ideas and share in a later post.

Thanks for the input all.

-Sully and his Sully

 

[Tom]

No need to trench down four feet. They can dig down 20 feet or more. Digging out really isn't a problem. For the summer months, probably June through October for you, letting him live in his own self-dug burrow is best. They dig down at about a 30-40 degree angle and usually curve the burrow around to the right for some reason. They use this one tunnel to go in and out. They don't dig down and then back up at another angle. Pick an advantageous spot in the middle of the enclosure, away from walls and buildings, and start one for him. They will usually take it over. If you don't do this, he will pick his own spot, and that could be bad.

30 inches tall will hold the largest of large sulcatas. This makes it much easier to step over the wall instead of having to install gates.

Come November, you will need that night box you mentioned:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

I prefer to have an outdoor outlet up out of reach and run the ex cord down the wall in a pipe, bury it a foot or so deep going to the box, then up the side of the box in another pipe. I like the cord to enter at the top of the night box and then I contain everything in a plastic box. I protect the heat mat cord as it runs up to the main box with the thermostat and incoming power cord. You can see it here:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

Enclosure size: It needs to be huge. At least 50x50. Bigger than that would be better and every inch will be used by the tortoise. I have mine in a 100x50 currently, and they pace the whole thing daily. If you can go 500x500 feet, that would be great!

 

[Sir Sully]

Thanks @Tom ! Very detailed and beyond helpful as always.

Is the caliche going to be an issue for Maturin getting his burrow deep enough? It starts about 12-15 inches down.

Will 30 inch wall be enough to keep most predators out? I know we have javelina and coyote. That was partially reasoning for 4 feet.

I thought space wouldn't be an issue, but the property is only 550 feet x 350 feet 🤣
Will the natural landscape pose any issues? There is a small (6 feet wide at its biggest point) wash in the middle of the property.

I'm not worried about the palo verde or mesquite, but the cholla and saguaro?

 

[Tom]

Thanks @Tom ! Very detailed and beyond helpful as always.

Is the caliche going to be an issue for Maturin getting his burrow deep enough? It starts about 12-15 inches down.

Will 30 inch wall be enough to keep most predators out? I know we have javelina and coyote. That was partially reasoning for 4 feet.

I thought space wouldn't be an issue, but the property is only 550 feet x 350 feet 🤣
Will the natural landscape pose any issues? There is a small (6 feet wide at its biggest point) wash in the middle of the property.

I'm not worried about the palo verde or mesquite, but the cholla and saguaro?

There is a large female sulcata tortoise named RV whose people are members here. She dug right down through the caliche layer with no problem. All the sulcatas I've seen all over AZ seem to have no problem digging right through it.

10 feet tall won't keep a coyote out. I don't know about javelina. I've got no experience dealing with them and don't know their climbing, jumping, or digging abilities. While your tortoise is in the burrow, it will be safe from most predators. In the colder months, your tortoise will be locked in its secure heated box over night, so predators won't be a problem then either.

A sulcata will eat or trample nearly anything it can reach. I would protect the local cacti by building a wall around them to keep the tortoise away, or exclude those areas from the tortoise enclosure one way or another. If I recall, saguaro is toxic. We have cholla here and that stuff is NASTY. My Harris hawks have gotten into it and it is not fun in any way.

You will have to take some time to ID every plant the tortoise has access to, and make sure it isn't toxic. I don't know about any of the ones you mentioned. Contrary to popular belief, tortoises are NOT smart enough to know what to eat and not eat. Many of them die from eating foreign plants that are toxic.

 

[Sir Sully]

Can anybody else weigh in on these questions?
Tom covered ALOT of it, but:

Any suggestions for features your tortoise really enjoys?

@wellington
@Yvonne G
@DeanS (You have a nice guide, would love some personal input!)

Tag some Sulcata parents for me?

 

[Tom]

Can anybody else weigh in on these questions?
Tom covered ALOT of it, but:

Any suggestions for features your tortoise really enjoys?

@wellington
@Yvonne G
@DeanS (You have a nice guide, would love some personal input!)

Tag some Sulcata parents for me?

Look up recent posts from @NorCal tortoise guy . He made a fantastic point for his sulcatas.

 

[Tom]

Look up recent posts from @NorCal tortoise guy . He made a fantastic point for his sulcatas.

Point? That was supposed to say pond... Not sure what happened there...

 

[Sir Sully]

Point? That was supposed to say pond... Not sure what happened there...

Ahh! Haha I was looking for a pointers thread lol