Winter appetite

[kbarj]

I Have a 40 pound sulcata. We live just south of Kansas City.
in summer she is outside 24/7 in a 10x10 pen I move around as the grass gets eaten down. An upside down dog house bottom provides a house and shelter. In winter she goes in her indoor house. It is a3x6 galvanized box that is then lined with insulation and plywood with a concrete board bottom. There is a radiator type heater that is thermostatically controlled that I keep at 75 or 80° as well as a uvb light that is timed to be on half the day. She has wintered 3 or 4 years in this. I feed her Mazuri pellets sprinkled with a bit of calcium powder.
OK here’s the quiz. She only seems to eat about only every 3 days. Is this Normal?
Thanks in advance,


Pam and Land Rover

 

[Yvonne G]

She's probably not warm enough. Sulcatas are eating machines, and when kept in ideal conditions they eat daily.

 

[kbarj]

Oh thank you! It got to 60° today and when I opened the lid this evening she had eaten good and was at the water bowl. I will double check tomorrow s as it is supposed to get back down to winter temps.

 

[kbarj]

I mean 60° outside. It seems like she can tell when it’s nice out.

 

[Unkapunka]

Hey there. I'm about 80 miles S.W. of you
Good Looking tort. I just have a baby 1yr and a half.

 

[kbarj]

Practically neighbors! I’m in Pleasant Hill, MO. Challenging weather for torts.

 

[Unkapunka]

Yes it is. I just really like the personality of sullys. Last summer i put up grass for mine.I let it dry real well he still doesn't care much for it but hes still a baby

 

[Len B]

Concrete board acts like a heat thief and is almost impossible to heat up when it is used as a floor. It looks like you are tight on the inside height of the box but it would help to just put a piece of luan or wood paneling on the floor on top of it. if you have room it would be better to add a 1/2 inch of the same insulation you used for the walls and top under the wood flooring. Doing this would help to keep her belly a little warmer.

 

[kbarj]

Concrete board acts like a heat thief and is almost impossible to heat up when it is used as a floor. It looks like you are tight on the inside height of the box but it would help to just put a piece of luan or wood paneling on the floor on top of it. if you have room it would be better to add a 1/2 inch of the same insulation you used for the walls and top under the wood flooring. Doing this would help to keep her belly a little warmer.

Oh great. And here I thought it was so great that she can’t dig it up. There is insulation under the hard back. That s why I used it I used to keep the water dish in the corner and it made that corner wet and soft so she said watch this-I can dig out of this place. Not so much, it’sa closed galvanized box.
i wonder if it would help to put a lot of bedding in there.

 

[Maggie3fan]

With all due respect...I don't think there is enough exercise room in there as well as a heat heat problem. I have 2 Sulcata one is abt 50 lbs and the other is abt 25 lbs and they eat not quite 2 full bales of hay thru out the winter. It is supplemented by whatever weeds are available that I pick and the local Safeway grocery donates 3 or 4 orange boxes with their produce trimmings...(squashes, lettuces, peppers, some veggies). In the spring and summer all they eat is weeds, flowers, blooms and the like. They live in a 12'x20' heated and insulated shed. hth...

 

[Maro2Bear]

Oh great. And here I thought it was so great that she can’t dig it up. There is insulation under the hard back. That s why I used it I used to keep the water dish in the corner and it made that corner wet and soft so she said watch this-I can dig out of this place. Not so much, it’sa closed galvanized box.
i wonder if it would help to put a lot of bedding in there.

Go get urself a few bags of Cypress Mulch (Lowes @ $3.00 for 2 cubic ft). I take a gallon bucket, fill it 1/3 of cypress mulch and fill it up with nice hot water. Let it soak. The cypress will absorb the water, and any remaining Water you just drain off. Let it soak soak soak up the water. Then use this totally saturated cypress mulch to put a good layer in your enclosure (not over the kane heat mat if you have one). Ive been doing this procedure for years now & seems to work well. Increases humidity, nice mulchy substrate. All is good. Rinse & repeat every month.

 

[Len B]

Oh great. And here I thought it was so great that she can’t dig it up. There is insulation under the hard back. That s why I used it I used to keep the water dish in the corner and it made that corner wet and soft so she said watch this-I can dig out of this place. Not so much, it’sa closed galvanized box.
i wonder if it would help to put a lot of bedding in there.

I don't use any type of bedding or substrate in my outside heated houses so I can't be any help on your question about adding more.

 

[Markw84]

Your sulcata is too cold and does not have enough room to exercise and move about.

Keeping a heated night box that never drops below 80° is what you want, but even then, they still need a way to heat their core body temp up to a proper metabolic level daily. That is the high 80°s. If they cannot get their core body temp to at least 85° or so. they cannot metabolize food as well and simply will not eat as much, nor be as active as "normal".

 

[Yvonne G]

To add to what Mark has said - think about it: YOUR inner core temperature is 98.6F degrees. So thinking about trying to get a tortoise's inner core temperature up to at least 80F degrees really isn't all that hot, is it?

 

[Blakem]

Another suggestion to add to the above, he should have a varied diet. He shouldn’t be fed mazuri pellets and calcium daily. I feed calcium 2 times a week. I am not aware of the weather where you live, but if you have weeds available, then learn which can be fed. Grass is great as well as a varied diet!