A complete self cleaning, self maintaining bioactive kit for Sulcata Tortoises. This Bioactive kit is meant for younger tortoises, as sub adults and adults should be kept outdoors for beneficial heat, UVB and humidity. Sulcata tortoises are by far one of the most distributed and sold tortoises in the pet trade. These tortoises get very large and go through a complete change in husbandry  from baby to sub adult. During their young life, Sulcata tortoises will spend the majority of their life underground, burrowed where the humidity is highest. This is imperative for proper shell growth and overall homeostasis of these delicate tortoises. Providing high humidity, with solid ventilation is a must when keeping these tortoises indoors when young. When the tortoises are large and healthy enough to travel the arid desert, they will be commonly seen eating cacti and grasses found in their region. 

The Dude's proprietary Bio Shot will promote the self cleaning, self maintaining bioactive ecosystem for your tortoise.   With their unique desert requirements, Terra Sahara is used. Not only will all of their tunnels and burrows be retained, this will allow you to create humidity dens in certain parts of their terrarium.  Mixing cork within the substrate and on the top level will allow your tortoise to create necessary dens and burrows. This unique mixture will also allow you to plant arid dwelling live plants that are edible to your tortoise. Plants that are available in the terrarium should have the expectation that they will be destroyed. This not only provides enrichment to your torts, but allows them to naturally forage and graze as they would in the wild. The Opuntia is a favorite snack to these tortoises. 

The Dude's Ca+ bones are great to break up and mix in the soil. Not only will your Sulcata tortoises find them during their digging excursions and slowly eat them, but this is a great alternative way to offer necessary Calcium. Calcium is vital for proper shell development and overall musculoskeletal longevity. The Timothy hay carries essential protein and has the essential amount of fiber and other nutrients for these grassland tortoises. Many Sulcata tortoises will eat the hay while creating their "nest". It is a great addition to their terrarium, providing them options.  Grassland grasses can also be offered and planted directly into their terrarium. 

With land tortoises in general their environment becoming 100% self cleaning takes  slightly longer than it typically would due to the overall size of their environment and their destructive nature. Depending on the type of enclosure, many species of CUC will quickly escape or desiccate (as the enclosures dry out must faster) so extra care will need to be taken if you attempt to achieve full bio activity. They will take the substrate on the bottom and turn it on the top, they will flip over your cork and attempt to eat and destroy the plants - What you have to remember is that this is what they do as a species and it is important to nurture that. With their diet being mainly organic plant matter with the occasional protein their feces breaks down very quickly. This kit is expected to give your tortoise the ability to dig deep, dense tunnels while giving them the ability to thermoregulate, hydrate and feel secure.

It is very important to provide a large, clean source of water and proper heating and UVB as these turtles require it. 

Please note: These kits are designed via range and do not include plant lighting. You may have extra material left over if your enclosure is smaller than what is listed in parenthesis. Plant lighting can vary depending on how you are housing your tortoise. If you are not sure or need further assistance, reach out to our amazing Dude crew at customercare@thebiodude.com!

Sulcata Tortoise care and captive maintenance - BIG BULLDOZERS!

This kit does not contain the enclosure, clean up crews, or any UVB, plant light or heating elements your pet will need!

Looking for a good clean up crew for your tortoise? Check out our Bearded Dragon Clean Up Crew Pack!

——Baby/Neonatal Sulcata Tortoise (for up to 75 gallons)——

 x1 36 quart bag of Terra Firma - The Dude's handcrafted substrate. Holds all tunnels and burrows. Great for temperate biomes. 

x1 36 quart bag of Terra Sahara - The Dude's handcrafted desert substrate. (mix both bags thoroughly with biodegradeables and BioShot together).

x3 AAA Chilean or New Zealand Sphagnum Moss - This will always be the Dude's choice and is indicative of availability. 

X1 Oak/Beech Oak Leaf Litter 6 quarts 

x1 Southern Palm Leaves 6 quarts - Great for mixing into your deep substrate to help with aeration and air pockets.

x 2 36 quart BioShot - The perfect shot for your terrarium. 

x2 Large Cork Bark Flats

x2 Calcium Bones - Great for chewing, beak trimming and provide necessary calcium to your CUC and Tortoise. A must for this species.

x2 6" pot Opuntia Danicolor Spineless Cactus. 100% edible.

——Yearling Sulcata Tortoise (up to 4' x 2' x 2')——

x2 36 quart bags of Terra Firma - The Dude's handcrafted substrate. Holds all tunnels and is great for old world chameleons. Great for temperate biomes. 

x2 36 quart bag of Terra Sahara - The Dude's handcrafted desert substrate. (mix both bags thoroughly with biodegradeables and BioShot together).

x3 AAA Chilean or New Zealand Sphagnum Moss - This will always be the Dude's choice and is indicative of availability. 

X2 Oak/Beech Oak Leaf Litter 6 quarts 

x1 Southern Palm Leaves 6 quarts - Great for mixing into your deep substrate to help with aeration and air pockets. 

x 4 36 quart BioShot - The perfect shot for your terrarium. 

x3 Large Cork Bark Flats

x3 Calcium Bones - Great for chewing, beak trimming and provide necessary calcium to your CUC and Tortoise. A must for this species.

x1 BULK CASE (32-35lbs) Texas Slate Rock. Great to create a harder scape to provide enrichment and other types of burrows/moving opportunities.

x2 6" pot Opuntia Danicolor Spineless Cactus. 100% edible. These plants may get uprooted and eaten quickly.

——Juvenile Sulcata (carapace is no larger than 5.5", up to 5' x 2'x 2'. If your tortoise is larger than this it should already be in an outdoor enclosure.)——

x2 36 quart bags of Terra Firma + 3 6 quart bags of Terra Firma- The Dude's handcrafted substrate. Holds all tunnels and is great for old world chameleons. Great for temperate biomes. 

x3 36 quart bag of Terra Sahara - The Dude's handcrafted desert substrate. (mix both bags thoroughly with biodegradeables and BioShot together).

x3 AAA Chilean or New Zealand Sphagnum Moss - This will always be the Dude's choice and is indicative of availability. 

x3 Oak/Beech Oak Leaf Litter 6 quarts 

x2 Southern Palm Leaves 6 quarts - Great for mixing into your deep substrate to help with aeration and air pockets. 

x5 36 quart BioShot + x1 18 quart Bioshot- The perfect shot for your terrarium. 

x4 Large Cork Bark Flats

x3 Calcium Bones - Great for chewing, beak trimming and provide necessary calcium to your CUC and Tortoise. A must for this species.

x1 BULK CASE (32-35lbs) Texas Slate Rock. Great to create a harder scape to provide enrichment and other types of burrows/moving opportunities.

x3 6" pot Opuntia Danicolor Spineless Cactus. 100% edible. These plants may get uprooted and eaten quickly.

If you have a larger enclosure, please reach out to us at customercare@thebiodude.com We do not recommend keeping them indoors once they reach 5.5" or close to it. At that point they can break aquarium glass with smashing, dig constantly and will uproot all plants and be very destructive. The end game needs to be an an outdoor enclosure as soon as possible.