You may see many people on Instagram or even on tortoise forums showing pictures and videos of their tortoise’s room inside their home. Is having an indoor sulcata safe? Is it sanitary for those living in the home? Is it healthy for a sulcata to live inside? There are many questions to consider. In the end the answer to whether a sulcata can live indoors is probably “not a good idea.”
People who tend who’s adult sulcata lives indoors often do so during winter, cooler weather, excessively hot weather or excessively rainy weather. Others choose to try to house an adult sulcata inside when they do not have a yard big enough.
However, the only time a sulcata should live inside is when it’s a baby and you’re housing it in a safe indoor enclosure.
Sulcatas Cause Damage
Because sulcata tortoises are opportunistic feeders, they’ll likely try to chew on different objects inside your home. This can lead to broken wires or other items that you likely do not want damaged. Sulcatas are also known diggers, often digging tunnels outside 50 feet deep, if not deeper. Digging won’t stop just because there isn’t dirt, meaning an indoor sulcata could dig up your carpet, hardwood of LVP flooring. A sulcata tortoise may even try to dig through closed doors or walls!
Not only can an adult sulcata cause damage to items in your home or your home itself, but the tortoise can also actually ingest things it shouldn’t, which means a possible trip to the vet.
Inadequate Indoor Lighting and Heat
Just because the temperature or humidity outside is warm enough, your house likely isn’t averaging 90-degrees Fahrenheit. And even if you have a skylight, that’s very filtered, if any, UV that is actually getting to the tortoise.
In reality, you can set up an area with a UV that you hang or a space that is heated with a heat bulb. But you will have to secure it safely so it won’t fall and cause potential fire inside your house. You also would need to set the wires where the tortoise could not accidentally pull down any fixtures.
Unsanitary for Free-Roaming Sulcata Tortoise Indoors
Ok…. and most importantly…. It’s not very sanitary to have a free-roaming indoor sulcata tortoise in your house. The tortoise will poop and leave urates on your floor. If you have carpet, that’s rather gross and hard to sanitize properly.
Some believe that you can potty train a sulcata. You can learn your tortoise’s routines, and possibly catch the tortoise in time to potty in the bath. But that doesn’t mean that if your tortoise has to go in-between time, he’ll stand at the bathroom door and wait for you before he poops or pees.
To have a free-roaming sulcata tortoise inside, you’ll need to constantly sanitize and disinfect your floors.
Set a Space Inside for a Sulcata
If you need to bring your sulcata inside for the winter or during weather extremes like heat or storms, set a safe space for your tortoise.
- Section off a space on vinyl or LVP flooring that will be easy to clean.
- Brace the walls that section off your tortoise’s indoor space. Sulcatas are strong and can bulldoze weak barriers.
- Remove wires and other items that your tortoise may want to bite.
- Hang heat and light fixtures where the wires are out of your tortoise’s path.
