Setting up a sulcata enclosure in an indoor space can be challenging, but for some keepers, it is a better option than maintaining their pet outdoors. In fact, it’s the only option for keepers living in regions that don’t have long, warm summers.
Nevertheless, with sufficient resources, effort, and dedication, keepers can successfully care for these charming chelonians indoors. Here in this article, I’ll lay out the most important aspects of setting up an indoor sulcata tortoise enclosure below.
Understanding Sulcata Tortoises
Before you can understand the housing needs of sulcata tortoises, you must first familiarize yourself with the basics of the species – especially as it relates to their basic biology and natural habitat.
Sulcata Tortoises: Basic Biology
Sulcatas are large tortoises, who can reach 30 inches in length and weigh more than 250 pounds. They’re primarily herbivores, who spend the early and late portions of the day foraging for grasses, weeds, and similar types of vegetation. During the middle of the day, they’ll generally remain inside large burrows they construct, which sometimes stretch for 30 feet or more.
Sulcatas live very long lives and often reach 75 years of age; occasional individuals may reach the 100-year mark. A prolific species, sulcata females may produce as many as 100 eggs in a given calendar year.
Natural Habitat Overview
Sulcatas inhabit the Sahel region of Africa, which is essentially a strip of hot and arid scrubland located just south of the Sahara Desert. However, within this range, sulcatas tend to congregate in the areas surrounding permanent or temporary rivers, creeks, and streams. Occasionally, sulcatas venture into residential areas and agricultural lands.
Sulcatas are hunted by a variety of predators while young, including everything from snakes to birds of prey to monitor lizards. Adults, on the other hand, are safe from all but the largest predators and humans, thanks to their strong shells and the protective, plate-like scales on their front limbs, which they use to protect their faces.
Essential Elements of a Sulcata Habitat
With a basic understanding of sulcata tortoise biology, you can now begin learning how to create an indoor enclosure for your pet. We’ll cover the most important aspects – including space needs, enclosure materials, substrate selection, environmental conditions, and maintenance – below.
Space Requirements
While young sulcatas are small and have very modest space requirements (4 to 6 square feet will suffice for their first year), they’ll quickly outgrow such accommodations.
By the time your sulcata is 12 inches long, he’ll need an enclosure measuring 6 to 7 feet on each side (thereby providing approximately 36 to 49 square feet of space). Most owners opt for an outdoor enclosure because when upon reaching maturity, your sulcata will need a minimum of 150 square feet of space, with 300 to 500 square feet being preferable.
It’s easy to see why this is often difficult for keepers to provide in an indoor setting. However, for those with a large garage or unfinished basement, indoor sulcata maintenance can work.
cages or tortoise tables, as well as repurposed stock tanks or children’s swimming pools. However, adults will need custom-built enclosures.
There are a variety of different materials that can be used to construct your pet’s habitat, including cement blocks, bricks, wood, or plastic panels.
If you opt for bricks or blocks, you’ll need to connect and anchor them in a manner that prevents your tortoise from knocking them over – adult sulcatas are incredibly strong and will easily topple blocks or bricks simply stacked on top of each other.
If you’d rather use plastic panels or sheets of plywood, you’ll likely need to construct a frame first. Dimensional lumber (2x4s) will generally prove most helpful in this context. If you use wood, you’ll need to coat it in a tortoise-safe sealant of some variety, to prevent it from absorbing liquids and rotting.
Substrate or Bedding
Most sulcata keepers who maintain their pets indoors use soil or a combination of soil and sand for the substrate. However, there are other options, including wood products, such as cypress mulch or orchid bark, as well as hay or straw. You could also opt for commercially produced tortoise substrates.
Alternatively, some keepers utilize edible substrates, such as alfalfa pellets. However, this can be a very expensive approach, and you’ll have to be careful to remove and replace the substrate whenever it becomes damp.
Environmental Conditions
Sulcatas must have access to suitable temperatures and be provided with full-spectrum lighting.
To provide appropriate temperatures, you’ll need to use radiant heat panels or heat lamps to create a basking spot. Radiant heat panels are the more expensive option, but they allow for more precise temperature control when connected to a thermostat. Heat lamps are more affordable, but they can’t be adjusted well with a thermostat. This means you’ll often have to purchase heat lamp bulbs of several different wattages, which you can experiment with to achieve the proper temperature range.
It’s also important to set up a thermal gradient or range of temperatures inside the enclosure. You can achieve this by clustering all of the heating devices at one end of the enclosure. This will allow you to provide a basking spot of 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit directly under the heating devices while keeping the other end of the enclosure in the mid-70s Fahrenheit.
To provide your tortoise with proper lighting indoors, you’ll need to install full-spectrum lighting. This means that the lights must not only produce bright, visible light, but they must also provide rays in the UVB portion of the spectrum.
There are two primary methods by which you can do so:
- Full-spectrum fluorescent tubes or LED bulbs: Full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs and LED bulbs produce the visible light and invisible UVB rays your tortoise requires, but they do so without producing any significant heat. This means you’ll still need to incorporate heating devices into the habitat.
- Mercury vapor bulbs: In addition to visible light and UVB rays, mercury vapor bulbs also produce heat. This means that they can be used to satisfy your pet’s light and heating needs. However, some models are more expensive than fluorescent tubes or LED bulbs.
Enrichment, Plants, and Décor
You don’t want to provide your tortoise with an empty habitat – you need to include obstacles, visual barriers, and other objects to ensure your pet lives a full, mentally enriched life. Additionally, you’ll need to provide hiding opportunities for your pet. This is especially important when maintaining sulcatas indoors, as they won’t be able to dig the long tunnels that they would be able to produce outside.
You can use a variety of things for obstacles and visual barriers, including large rocks, cinder blocks, and commercially manufactured cage decorations. Just make sure that they’re all securely anchored, so that they don’t fall over and injure your pet. You can also use live plants, provided that they are non-toxic, as your tortoises will likely nibble on them from time to time.
The best way to provide hiding spaces for indoor-reared sulcatas is by cutting a “door” into the side of very large plastic storage boxes. It’s also a good idea to add soil or mulch to the inside of these boxes. This way, you can dampen the substrate, which will help ensure adequate hydration and potentially help prevent shell pyramiding.
Maintenance and Cleaning
Once your pet begins using the enclosure, you’ll need to start cleaning it regularly. This includes:
- Cleaning the enclosure every day. This includes removing any uneaten food, feces, or shed skin, and generally ensuring that the enclosure is clean.
- Providing water to your pet each day. Be sure that you empty the water dish, wash it with soap and hot water, and then refill it with fresh water.
- Providing food to your pet five to seven times per week (depending on your tortoise’s age). Do not simply toss vegetables into your pet’s enclosure, as they’ll likely become contaminated with bacteria. Your pet may also accidentally consume the substrate while eating. Instead, use a shallow dish, as you would to provide water.
- Monitoring the temperatures in the habitat several times per week. Be sure that you use a digital thermometer to measure the temperatures rather than simply guessing. Proper temperatures are vital for your pet’s health.
- Cleaning the hiding spots and enclosure decorations twice per month. Use soap, hot water, and a pet-safe disinfectant to ensure that these items are clean. Also, make sure that you allow these items to dry completely before returning them to your pet’s enclosure.
- Replacing the substrate each month. Some keepers replace substrates less frequently than this, but doing so risks the proliferation of bacteria and fungi, which can sicken your pet.
- “Breaking down” the entire enclosure and cleaning the individual components each month. This is an often overlooked but important part of enclosure maintenance. You’ll not only want to clean the exposed surfaces but also the cracks and crevices in which germs often grow.
- Replacing full-spectrum lights every six months to one year. Full-spectrum lights are not designed to produce UVB rays indefinitely, and they start to produce less and less over time. Different bulbs are designed to last for different lengths of time, so consult the manufacturer’s instructions on the matter.
Additionally, you’ll also need to routinely check the enclosure for potential safety hazards, such as broken latches, exposed hardware, or damaged electrical cords. Address any such issues you discover promptly, as these can all lead to serious injuries or death.
Citations
- Arbor View Animal Hospital – Sulcatas/African Spurred Tortoises
- Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital – Basic Care: Sulcata Tortoise
- Maryland Zoo – Sulcata Tortoise
- Royal Veterinary College – Sulcata Tortoise Care
