# Need Ideas for Indoor Enclosure



## mira_kaylee (Nov 18, 2012)

Alright, so my boyfriend and I have an agreement that once we moved into our new apartment he would build me a new bigger tortoise pen. I have 2 lovely little Russians, Ayden and Azura (who surprisingly get along pretty well). Well, last Friday we moved in! While the tortoise pen is not an immediate concern (especially not until we get all unpacked) it is something that is going to be happening soon. Sorry to say, I'm not a builder when it comes to real life construction. As such I thought that I would put up a post asking for any ideas, blueprints, former projects, suggestions or experiences that anyone has to offer that may help. Anything that I should watch out for, avoid, definitely do, aim for or work on, products that don't work even though they say that they do, good buys or material suggestions? If it relates to tortoise enclosure building then I'm interested at the moment (I've been browsing the forums, tortoise sites and google looking at enclosure pictures as well btw, I already know that I should do that to get some ideas lol so that isn't really a valid suggestion this time) ^0^ preemptive thank you's!


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## dannel (Nov 18, 2012)

Nice russians!

I'm planning on building this enclosure:






Its good because it will hold heat and humidity well.


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## mira_kaylee (Nov 18, 2012)

oh wow that's great thank you!  I will definitely take that into consideration.


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## dannel (Nov 18, 2012)

Oh, forgot to say you can use acrylic or lexan instead of glass. Much easier to drill and wont stress with heat.


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## lynnedit (Nov 18, 2012)

If you don't mind something makeshift, I saw this and thought it was creative. 






You could add a regular house bulb for basking and fluorescent tube UV strip light on the unlighted side (that looks kind of dark to me).
You would need to make sure the 'bridge' was secure (cut the lid down and put it back on?), and I would use chain to hang the lights.


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## mira_kaylee (Nov 18, 2012)

lynnedit said:


> If you don't mind something makeshift, I saw this and thought it was creative.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



OH I seen a few like this and thought that it might be neat as well as space saving, however I didn't think that it would be possible for me to make the 'bridge' so to speak water tight, or even sealed enough so that the dirt and sand wouldn't get out onto the floor as well as big enough an opening to allow my torts to get through from one side to the other....I really like the idea behind it though, and would be interested in hearing ideas for how to seal the bridge tightly?




dannel said:


> Oh, forgot to say you can use acrylic or lexan instead of glass. Much easier to drill and wont stress with heat.



That's a great idea, not to mention that it seems like those materials would be less brittle than glass and therefore less likely to break. We plan on getting a cat at some point so those things are good to take into account ^-^


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## lynnedit (Nov 18, 2012)

Actually it does not have to be completely water or substrate tight, if you position the bridge above your substrate line. My guess is the person who made this one, held the bridge up against the totes and marked the pattern to cut with something like a permanent marker. You could create a pilot hole with a drill, then use heavy duty shears to cut out the opening for the bridge. GE 2 Silicone would hold it in place, or even duct tape!

Certainly a wood enclosure is more attractive, if you know a bit about carpentry.

Or just go to Goodwill and get a 5 or 6' bookcase, flip it on its back, line with heavy plastic/pond liner and set it up! You might have to add a lip along the edge to prevent them climbing out.


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## mira_kaylee (Nov 19, 2012)

Oh I didn't think of that, that's a great idea, thank you  and my boyfriend said that he would be willing to construct a wooden enclosure, but it doens't have to be wood, i'm just looking for what will be the best for them and what will last for a long time.


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## Millerlite (Nov 19, 2012)

54 gallon totes are like 20 dollars and the bridge part maybe 10-25 dollars looking at 50-60 dollars to build. It's not to bad, you probably can build one out of wood for about the same price, you would need to put tarp, pond liner, or something for the wood tho. The Rubbermaid enclosures are good tho I use to keep hatchlings in them, they are just narrow


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## dannel (Nov 19, 2012)

mira_kaylee said:


> lynnedit said:
> 
> 
> > If you don't mind something makeshift, I saw this and thought it was creative.
> ...





NIce! I have a cat now so I designed this so he couldnt get in. Thats why I dont like open air enclosures.


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## kanalomele (Nov 19, 2012)

dannel, 
That looks like a gorgeous design! I would love to see more when it is completed. I need to do something like this for my hatchlings next year. I like keeping them in a closed chamber situation.


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## Rover15 (Feb 20, 2013)

this is my 2 EBT setup





here is my yellow foots setup





here is the thread for this setup

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-65100.html


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## RedfootsRule (Feb 20, 2013)

As far as sturdiness, reliability, and so forth, wooden enclosures are the best. Just build a box, with the walls as high as you want, and line it with a pond liner. EPDM pond liner is VERY tough stuff.
Building a box like such is very easy, by the way, so as long as your bf has some basic construction skills and a few tools, (drill, circular saw, square, level, etc...) it should be very easy.


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## mira_kaylee (Feb 21, 2013)

Thank you, this is what we have decided to do RedfoodsRule, we bought all of the materials, now I'm just waiting for him to make it, though he got all of the stuff to make it about a month ago :/


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## stinax182 (Feb 21, 2013)

those enclosures mentioned previously will work if you have 2 small tortoises. if you have adult torts then you need something bigger. i don't know how much space you have, but i just built a plywood box...a foot and a half deep, 5 feet long and 5 feet wide. its held together with L brackets. i cover the back half with tin foil or Saran wrap to keep heat and moisture in. i put thompsons water seal on. adult Russians don't need much moisture or high temperatures so a closed chamber isn't necessary. and having 2 Russians in one enclosure could be dangerous, so the more room you have to spare, the better!


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## lynnedit (Feb 21, 2013)

That's true. Make it as large as you can manage. You won't regret it.
Take into consideration being able to move it someday, if needed.
(Having two parts that snap together, for example. Or 2x4 legs with castor wheels). I had to make sure the width on mine could fit through a door.
An 'L' shape, or a rectangle, or square is fine, as you can add visual blocks like potted plants, rocks, logs, so the torts can get away from each other if needed.
Stinax182, I agree with you also about height. Russians are climbers, and you want enough room for 4-6" of substrate.

I have also seen examples where they adapt the shape to a row of trays filled with soil and different substrates. Cement mixing trays are one example. They can can remove them independently to clean, or swap them out to let seeds grow.


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## mira_kaylee (Feb 21, 2013)

Well, my pen is going to be 7x2 and a foot and a half tall, and I'm looking to rehome my female Russian actually, as she was originally bought to be a someday-breeding-partner for Ayden and I've decided that I'd rather not get into breeding....it's just a matter of time until she is bought and then it will be a 7x2 (feet) enclosure for Ayden by himself.


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## lynnedit (Feb 21, 2013)

Have you posted your female on the For Sale section of this forum? Female Russians are in demand.
That is a REALLY nice size.


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## mira_kaylee (Feb 22, 2013)

Yes, I have posted my female in the For Sale section of the forums, I got no replies or interest though  And thank you. I did however get a lot of interest in another reptile group that I was part of, and I am waiting to see if a deal comes through or not.


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## Rover15 (Feb 23, 2013)

mira_kaylee said:


> Yes, I have posted my female in the For Sale section of the forums, I got no replies or interest though  And thank you. I did however get a lot of interest in another reptile group that I was part of, and I am waiting to see if a deal comes through or not.



what was the other site if you don't mind me asking? do they sell reptiles in Canada??


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## mira_kaylee (Feb 25, 2013)

The other reptile group that I posted in was a group on facebook called 'Reptile Talk'. They have members from everywhere.


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## Rover15 (Feb 25, 2013)

mira_kaylee said:


> The other reptile group that I posted in was a group on facebook called 'Reptile Talk'. They have members from everywhere.



Thank you I'll check it out


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