# Can an enclosure be TOO big??



## ChiKat (Jan 11, 2010)

I know this may seem like a silly question, and there's probably no such thing as an enclosure that is "too big" in the tortoise world...
but I just moved Nelson into his 4x2 enclosure and it seems SO BIG!! He's only 7-months old and less than 3 inches SCL 
He has been extremely active and restless during the day, and since I started student teaching today I wanted him to have more room to explore since I won't be able to take him out during the day.

My only other concern is that when he is full grown the enclosure is going to seem small to him since he will be used to a lot of space...so if he's in an enclosure this size now, will I have to build him a bigger one in the future?
I was considering blocking off part of the enclosure but that seems like such a waste!


----------



## fifthdawn (Jan 11, 2010)

I heard it can for hatchlings kept indoors? I believe they won't remember where the heat source is or basking light and have dont bother searching. I'm not sure if its true, just read that somewhere.


----------



## spikethebest (Jan 11, 2010)

i never it can never be to big. it also provides for great exercise. most torts love to roam the border looking for exits, so the larger the perimeter, the more roaming!

eventually you should put your tort outside when he/she gets bigger. nothing can beat the natural sunshine and fresh grass.


----------



## -ryan- (Jan 11, 2010)

4x2 is not too big. It's probably just right for a tortoise that size. What subject do you teach? I am in my last semester of course work in a music education program, so I get to do my student teaching placements in the fall after I have graduated. I am pretty excited that this part of my education is just about over! Then I have to get a master's degree (darn NYS). I have been a teacher of drums and percussion for about 7 years now, but I figured that I want to try to make the switch to teaching music in schools. The hours will be the complete opposite (right now I teach usually from 4 or 5-8pm on most weekdays, and a few hours on Saturday), and summers off would be perfect for the tortoises. Not to mention stable pay and health insurance.

Good luck with your student teaching! I assure you, 4x2 is a fine size. At 3" it is a great size, and though he will grow and the enclosure will seem small for a bit, I guarantee you will have the opportunity in the future to build a larger one.

Forgot to say also, as far as an enclosure being too big:
Right now my enclosures are on what I would consider to be the smaller side, though not by much. My 1.2 group of russian tortoises are in a stock tank that measures about 4.5'x2.5', my 10" red foot is in a 6'x2.5' enclosure, my 0.1 CB female (hatched from an egg) is 6" and in a 4'x2' enclosure, and my 1.5 month CB hatchling (also raised from the egg) is in a 2'x1.5' enclosure which he will probably reside in for the next year. If I had the ability, I would have entire rooms devoted to these tortoises (except the hatchling, because I would certainly lose him!). It would be so interesting to see how they would act and interact in a large environment. They do go outside a bit in the summer, but it would be great to have more space on a full-time basis.


----------



## Tom (Jan 11, 2010)

ChiKat said:


> I know this may seem like a silly question, and there's probably no such thing as an enclosure that is "too big" in the tortoise world...
> 
> When Scooter and Bert were hatchlings, I started them in a 100 gallon converted fish tank(60"x18"). Once they got to about 3" I converted the small living room of my little old house into their enclosure. I made a barrier all the way across the floor and brought in six 50lb. bags of rabbit pellets. No joke. Floor space was about 10'x12' The fish tank be came a fish tank again and I hung their basking light and ceramic heating element from the side of the tank stand. The space under the aquarium stand was their seldom used hideaway. They never had a problem finding their basking spot and used it regularly.
> 
> ...


----------



## GBtortoises (Jan 12, 2010)

I cannot imagine an indoor enclosure for any size tortoise being too large for any tortoise. Most people, myself included really cannot, or do not give tortoises enough room indoors. At least not what they would be accustomed to in the wild. Outdoors, I can see a point where an enclosure could be too large for a hatchling size or small tortoise. To the point where the animal cannot be observed and and checked on a regular basis.

For most adult size tortoises I don't think there is any enclosure that is too big. Unless you're talking acres!


----------



## t_mclellan (Jan 12, 2010)

My thoughts are simple on this.
I don't think I have ever seen an "Indoor" enclosure that was too large! (but I still wouldn't put a hatchling in an 8' x 4' pen) as long as you keep some perspective.
Out doors is another story. 
T feel that the size of a pen out doors depends on the purpose. 
But I think that should be a different thread also.


----------



## Scooter (Jan 12, 2010)

Roachman26

Do you have any kind of fencing going into the ground under the walls of your enclosure to keep them from digging out?


----------



## GBtortoises (Jan 12, 2010)

fifthdawn said:


> I heard it can for hatchlings kept indoors? I believe they won't remember where the heat source is or basking light and have dont bother searching. I'm not sure if its true, just read that somewhere.



Tortoises of any size and age don't forget where their heat/basking area is. Regardless of how large their enclosure is, they will find it everytime they want to.


----------



## ChiKat (Jan 12, 2010)

Thanks everyone!! Nelson is very adventurous so I thought he would explore his pen right away. But he slept all day 
I just woke him up and gave him his favorite foods so hopefully he'll start to enjoy all the space soon. I need to get more fake plants and hides and finish furnishing it so I can post pics!



-ryan- said:


> What subject do you teach? I am in my last semester of course work in a music education program, so I get to do my student teaching placements in the fall after I have graduated. I am pretty excited that this part of my education is just about over! Then I have to get a master's degree (darn NYS). I have been a teacher of drums and percussion for about 7 years now, but I figured that I want to try to make the switch to teaching music in schools. The hours will be the complete opposite (right now I teach usually from 4 or 5-8pm on most weekdays, and a few hours on Saturday), and summers off would be perfect for the tortoises. Not to mention stable pay and health insurance.



My major is elementary education and I'm student teaching in a kindergarten classroom  I survived Day 2 today!


----------



## DoctorCosmonaut (Jan 12, 2010)

They have to search these things out in the wild, so you are only making it more natural


----------



## Tom (Jan 12, 2010)

Scooter said:


> Roachman26
> 
> Do you have any kind of fencing going into the ground under the walls of your enclosure to keep them from digging out?



No. My youngin's have never attempted to dig. My bigguns' occasionally start to dig a hole in a corner or along a wall every now and then, but I just fill it in when they go to bed and they almost never try that spot again. Their pen is truly huge and some days I let them wander the entire five acre ranch and eat weeds. I'm guessing they are too busy walking around to stop and dig. That's how Scooter got his name as a baby.

The exception started last year when Delores laid her first clutch. She's a bit small still, so I wasn't expecting any laying yet. She dug about 6 test holes and then one cold January day, her "test hole" kept getting deeper and deeper. It was getting cold about 50, and night was about to fall so I set up an outrigger with a hanging CHE on a big ladder and hung it over her. She only laid three eggs and they weren't fertile. She started digging test holes again in December, but then just stopped. Scooter has sure been breeding her a lot due in part to this warm spell we've been having. I'll post more on that another time, as I've got to get current measurements and good pics of them all so I can start asking some more questions.


----------



## ChiKat (Jan 12, 2010)

I have a question about lighting now that I have a bigger enclosure. I didn't want to create yet another thread so I thought I would ask here.

I use the T-Rex Active UVHeat 100 watt and I'm not sure if it will heat Nelson's new enclosure now that it's so much bigger than before. The thermometer says it's only in the 80s on the warm side, but I don't really think that's accurate- sometimes the temp is a little off when the substrate is wet.

Also, how far away from the substrate should the lamp be? I read somewhere a minimum of 12 inches. It is about there now but I don't want it to hurt his eyes...but at the same time I need to keep his enclosure warm!
Would you recommend purchasing the 160 watt? Right now I have a space heater on in the room to keep the ambient temperature up a little.


----------



## Tom (Jan 12, 2010)

ChiKat said:


> I have a question about lighting now that I have a bigger enclosure. I didn't want to create yet another thread so I thought I would ask here.
> 
> I use the T-Rex Active UVHeat 100 watt and I'm not sure if it will heat Nelson's new enclosure now that it's so much bigger than before. The thermometer says it's only in the 80s on the warm side, but I don't really think that's accurate- sometimes the temp is a little off when the substrate is wet.
> 
> ...


I believe the 100 watt ones are "spotlights". Check yours to be sure. I nearly started a fire with that same bulb 16 inches over an Iguana shelf. At 16" it was hot enough to burn a smoldering hole through some astro-turf mounted on a wooden plank.

Find a non-flamable object(like a rock or a brick) that is about the same height as your tort and put it directly under the hottest spot of your spot bulb. Then get a temperature probe and set it right on top of there for about an hour. Just make sure it isn't smoking after a few minutes. Most people recommend a basking spot of around 100 degrees, but I like them to be around 120. Not the whole cage, mind you, just the spot right under the heat lamp. Then you can adjust the bulb height accordingly.

Having said all of that, I use, and generally prefer, the 160 watt floods in most larger enclosures, as it warms a greater area and I can put them closer to the torts since the heat is more diffuse.


----------

