Care Guide

🏠 Husbandry Essentials

🏕️ Enclosures

Outdoor Enclosures

• Provide a heated, wind-protected shelter to help your tortoise maintain healthy body temperature during cool weather and overnight.
• Ensure strong predator protection. If something can happen, it eventually will.
• Incorporate shade, points of interest, hiding spots, and escape areas such as tree trunks, large rocks, bushes, or trees.
• Add variation to ground level — small raised hills or shallow valleys encourage exercise.
• Plant a variety of edible vegetation to encourage natural grazing behavior.

Indoor Enclosures

• Provide adequate space — enclosure should be large enough for natural movement, exploration, and exercise.
• Include a secure hiding spot to give your tortoise a sense of safety and reduce stress.
• Maintain adequate humidity levels, especially for younger or ill tortoises, and monitor regularly.

🛁 Soaking

• Regularly soak your tortoise in warm water for about 20–30 minutes.
• Ensure that the water is not too hot or too cold.
• Maintain warm water throughout the soak — it cools quickly.
• Place the tortoise in an empty tub first, then gradually add water.
• Fill water only up to the top edge of the plastron to prevent drowning risk.
• Never leave your tortoise unattended in the water.

📓 Keeping a Care Diary

Keeping a detailed daily diary helps you:

• Identify Problems Early: Spot health changes before they become serious.
• Understand Mistakes: Trace back diet, enclosure, or care adjustments that may have caused an issue.
• Support Your Vet: A detailed log is invaluable for veterinarians to make accurate diagnoses.
• Ensure Consistency: Meet your tortoise's needs without forgetting key steps.

What to Record

• Feeding: Type of food, amount, and feeding times.
• Growth: Shell measurements, size, and weight.
• Behavior: Any unusual actions, changes in activity, or appetite.
• Care Actions: Soaking times, cleaning, enclosure maintenance.
• Environment: Temperature and humidity readings for both day and night.
• Medical: Any treatments, vet visits, and health observations.

💰 Cost of Ownership

• Buying a Sulcata tortoise is often the cheapest part.
• Because Sulcatas can live for many decades, grow very large, and need enough space, they require lifelong financial commitment.
• In colder climates, costs can be especially high due to the need for suitable shelter, heating, and lighting.
• Like all animals, Sulcatas can become sick. Since they are not typical "pets", veterinary care can be significantly more costly than for more common pets.