In a totally wild turn of events, a tortoise scurried out from our bonfire when we lit it this afternoon!!!
I've tentatively ID'd it as a sulcata tortoise. Think it may have been dumped, as it is getting to be an inconvenient size. I've been looking around, and see these critters grow quite large, and obviously require a large outdoor enclosure with a heated house. However, I am moving from Oregon to New Mexico for grad school next month, and can't invest time or money in a building project that I'm just going to have to repeat next month, lol. So, for now, I need some advice as to how I can take care of this critter. When set up an exercise pen on the lawn (4x8), but a storm just moved in, and temps are dropping. So we switched to an extra large dog crate in the tack room, with a water dish and orchard grass hay.
What else do we need to do? I gather a box with soaked spaghnum moss or coconut fiber for it to burrow in is needed, but how urgent is that? We live a ways out of town, I could probably make it to Petsmart before they close tonight, but tomorrow would be easier. What about soaking it? I'm reading that soaking is good for young tortoises, but I have no idea how old this guy is. Will he be ok for awhile in the dog crate at night and the ex pen during the day? If the temps get into the 50's in the tack room at night, does he need a heat lamp? I don't think it's likely to get colder, this time of year. Anything else I need to be aware of? Thanks!
I've tentatively ID'd it as a sulcata tortoise. Think it may have been dumped, as it is getting to be an inconvenient size. I've been looking around, and see these critters grow quite large, and obviously require a large outdoor enclosure with a heated house. However, I am moving from Oregon to New Mexico for grad school next month, and can't invest time or money in a building project that I'm just going to have to repeat next month, lol. So, for now, I need some advice as to how I can take care of this critter. When set up an exercise pen on the lawn (4x8), but a storm just moved in, and temps are dropping. So we switched to an extra large dog crate in the tack room, with a water dish and orchard grass hay.
What else do we need to do? I gather a box with soaked spaghnum moss or coconut fiber for it to burrow in is needed, but how urgent is that? We live a ways out of town, I could probably make it to Petsmart before they close tonight, but tomorrow would be easier. What about soaking it? I'm reading that soaking is good for young tortoises, but I have no idea how old this guy is. Will he be ok for awhile in the dog crate at night and the ex pen during the day? If the temps get into the 50's in the tack room at night, does he need a heat lamp? I don't think it's likely to get colder, this time of year. Anything else I need to be aware of? Thanks!