Winter enclosure for my sulcata

[Mike Laverde]

Hi everyone! I need some advice.

I live in the desert southwest. Our 4 year-old tortoiseI needs a year-round shelter. Yesterday we got a large size plastic dog house. What should I do about insulation, shade etc?

 

[KarenSoCal]

First, take back the dog house and get your money back.

Even in El Paso, I think it can get pretty chilly on winter nights, and raw when it rains on a cool windy day.

Sullies need a place to call home and come inside when the weather turns nasty, and a place to use all year to sleep, be out of the weather, and be safe from predators. It also needs to be warm, as in never below 80°F.

Trying to adapt a doghouse just doesn't work. They usually have a high dome on them, so all the heat is up above the tortoise. They are difficult to insulate, and it's hard to put a solid locking door on them. After years in your sun, the plastic will get brittle and break.

What is needed is called a heated night box. Tom, from this forum, has built many different ones, and has settled on a design that works. Here's a couple links that will explain how to build one.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

What You'll Need to Build A Night Box

I just typed up a list of the needed supplies to build a night box and thought I'd copy paste it here: For sulcatas, I make the doors 26x16". This will fit all but the largest of large males for their entire life. If you end up with one of the giants, you will eventually have to make another...

tortoiseforum.org

Here is the 4x8 rendering of Tom's Night Box. With Exploded view.

This is a rendering I did based off of @Tom 's heated night box enclosure. Its probably not a 100% accurate. Door is offset to one side for my personal needs but can easily be moved. Let me know if you see any issues with it. Feed back appreciated. High res renderings can be downloaded here...

tortoiseforum.org