Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there. I'm usually in the chameleons forum, but I'm a recent purchaser of a little baby Sulcatta. I've got him in a short plastic bin, about 2 feet by 3 feet, in my house with a heat light on one end and a UVB light across it and he's on alfalfa pellets. What I'm wondering is when he should be placed outside. I'm in Las Vegas, Nevada and in the winter it doesn't get very cold here (usually never even freezes) and the summers get up in the high 115 range.... But it's cooling down now and I'm wondering if I should be letting him be outside for the winter, as I understand they don't hibernate, or should I just keep him inside for the first winter and let him go out next spring? I've also got 2 CBB Desert Tortioses (about a month old) and I think I'm gonna keep them inside all winter and keep them awake, because they're very small and I'd lose them if I let them hibernate outside in my yard. Any imput would be great. Also, I've been feeding my Sulcatta a mix of about 5 veggies, but what can I do to make it easier to maintain him, like so that I don't have to swap out food everyday. Keeping 15 chameleons is enough work I'm trying to keep the tort easy. Thanks.
-Tyler Stewart

I would keep him inside this winter and let him out next year. Right now you need to feed him fiberous grasses, such as Big Blue stem, timothy. Check out they Ox Bow hay company and Ectotherm. House him on the hay too, that way he can graze as he pleases, give him some romaine as a treat. His poop needs to be very fiberous and relatively dry.

I'd also recommend keeping him in this winter. Tortoises are
hardly "easy" pets. Tarantulas, geckos and snakes are easy and
even dogs are less work. You'll see.
I never let my baby sulcata get below 78 F. especially at night.
His daytime basking temp was 105 as a youngster. (125 as a big
fellow) but that's controlled winter basking. In the summer
here (NC) any temp outside over 98 degrees and he would come inside
for the 12-4 hours.

I had a variety of salad crispers from Tupperware for my tort
when he was small, and you could make a mixture and keep it for
a few days. I wouldn't leave food in his cage all day though, other
than hay. Watch the alfalfa pellets, they'll mold quickly and
he'll eat them (too high in protein). Worst thing about pellets
is they don't provide traction for walking and give/shift constantly
thus not allowing for good leg muscle build-up. Best substrate
for small sulcatas in my opinion is Kenaf Plant lizard litter
(no other type of lizard litter though). I've seen it for sale
as "life mate" for small animals. I even have it in my tortoises
outdoor building as a substrate mixed with aspen. I used it
exclusively when he was small.
I'd also suggest looking into the mercury based UV lights, as opposed
to the tubes. Tortoises need a lot of UV to develop their shells
properly.