Cold blooded animals

[magoo]

As we own a sulcata (African spur thigh tortoise), I am mainly interested in making his home resemble his natural habitat as colsely as possible.

I think that this is the best thing that can be done for any pet in captivity (that is normally found in the wild).
Unfortunately, it is not at all easy to mimic an African desert!

Sure, an approximation can be obtained using UV lamps and heaters, but it will only ever be an approximation. For a sulcata, I think the most important thing they need is space  to move around in.

A sulcata has the ability to slow down its growth if confined to too small an enclosure. These animals get HUGE in the wild, so they need plenty of space. Vivariums are only suitable homes while they are less than about 4 inches in length, probably 4 or 5 months old. By that age, they will have outgrown even the largest tank.


Building tortoise tables is great if your pet is indoors, but outdoors they need heated shelter for cooler days, and a good amount of land to graze!

You can see my efforts at building a home for out pet, here

[tiffy11]

It always saddens me when peopl buy baby tortoises at a pet store without researching into just how large they grow and how much maintenence will be required for them. Sorta like how people buy puppy dogs and discard them when they get big.
Gotta realize that these animals live for as long as humans - they shouldn;t be bought on impulse. Sad.

Glad to see someone whos taking care of their tort.