How to Create a Habitat for a Desert Tortoise

There are a wide variety of desert tortoises that are suitable as pets. They make great pets because they are easy to care for, are relatively self-sufficient and don't carry disease like their cousins, the water turtles. Tortoises require a hot, dry climate, which can be imitated at your home when the tortoise is still small. Once they grow too big they can be donated to a zoo.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• A terrarium of appropriate size for your tortoise
• Coconut shavings (you can purchase in brick-form at most pet stores)
• Timothy Hay
• A rounded cork refuge (shelter)
• Small rocks and things to climb over
• A heat source
• A light that provides both UVA and UVB rays
• Cuttlefish bone

1. If you live in a hot, dry climate (such as Arizona), a desert tortoise can live outside as long as it has ample space, dirt to dig, some shade and available food. When the tortoise is still a baby and also in the winter months (or when it gets below 70 degrees F) the tortoise should be moved to an indoor habitat. They cannot survive in a cool, damp climate.

2. When making an indoor habitat for your tortoise, keep in mind his natural environment. They prefer a dry, rocky soil that they can climb over and are capable of digging as burrows. They need ample space to explore, for exercise and to search for food. They must have shelter from too much or too little sun and heat.

3. Start with a large sized terrarium for a baby tortoise that has high sides to prevent drafts and to stay warm. The environment much be kept dry and clean. An adult tortoise needs run of an entire yard, room or porch for sufficient space. If indoors, you can lay down tarp on the floor of the space and then build it as though the room were a large terrarium. Make sure the space is hot and dry enough and that the tortoise cannot escape.

4. Lay down coconut shavings as the dirt. It is fine enough that the tortoise can digest and pass the coconut if he ingests it. If it is coconut shaving to which you added water, make sure the coconut is fully dry before you use it to prevent mold from forming. It can make the tortoise ill and it also creates a cold, damp environment.

5. Add timothy hay and mix it with the coconut shavings. Put enough Hay that the tortoise will be able to climb on it and also burrow within it.

6. Add the cork refuge so that the tortoise can burrow under it. They will use this as shelter from the sun, the cold and to sleep at night (the tortoise will sleep in the evenings and be wake during the day). They like to hide.

7. Add several small rocks for the tortoise to climb over since they like to browse and explore their environment.

8. The terrarium should be kept at a temperature of 70 to 90 degrees F--use a thermometer if possible. This can be accomplished with a heat lamp or an under tank heating pad.

9. The tortoise also needs a source of sunlight, just like humans do for Vitamin D. You can use a light that projects both UVA and AVB rays (turn this off at night). If it rises above 70 degrees F outside, you should allow your tortoise some time outside in actual sunlight.

10. Enjoy your tortoise and take good care of it! Make sure you are fully educated on how to care for your tortoise as this How To is primarily focusing on how to build the habitat. Provide it with ample food (healthy tortoises eat a lot), water on occasion (they are prone to dehydration as babies until they learn to store water as adults), a Calcium supplement on occassion in the food and lots of light. Know your tortoise and check that it's healthy, as they are prone to respiratory diseases.

Tips & Warnings

• There are some desert tortoise species who are endangered and are protected by Federal and State Laws, so never take a tortoise from the wild. If you are interested, find a location where desert tortoises are legal for adoption.

• It is also illegal to release or return a desert tortoise into the wild. They have a low survival rate and also may carry disease that will spread quickly among other tortoises they contact. These diseases can be disastrous to the wild population and are a significant cause of their current endangerment.