# Planning a sulcata enclosure



## jrh (Jan 4, 2018)

Hello,

I'm Josh and I've been looking at getting a sulcata for a couple years and just started to get a little more serious about researching them. Thought I would post some of my plans on here to see if I was making any newbie mistakes that could be fixed first...
Background... I'm married with two children and work out of my home but do have to travel once a month or so. We live in Southern Illinois zone 6. What drew me to the sulcata's are their size and there bond's with their owners. My other passion is raising Japanese show koi, we have a large pond and waterfall but the sulcata would be fenced from the pond. I try my best for the koi to thrive just like I would the sulcata... I check on the koi multiple times a day and have an action cam on them as well. I'm fairly DIY capable since we built the pond and filtration ourselves.
The yard: the house is cut into the side of a hill with a walk out basement. The entire yard is 1.75 acres and 1/3 of that is on the hillside. The remaining is grass in a lowland area. There is a creek on the back perimeter of the yard and it does flood the grass a few times each year. It's not a dry creek that floods rapidly, usually after a serious storm the grass will be covered for a couple hours then it receeds. The tortoise main enclosure would be up the hill twenty feet or so on the same terrace as the koi pond. The good news is that since it is in a lowland, the grass and weeds grow very rapidly in the bottom.
In the first picture it is looking down from the upper deck. You can see the yard and tree line in the back where my truck is parked. The other picture is from a couple years ago, the kids forts are no longer there.


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## jrh (Jan 4, 2018)

So for some of my questions... 

I was planning on doing a main enclosure of 20x35 with a 10x10 shed with a night box. In the winter I would put up a greenhouse covering on the end of the shed for it to wander out in when its cold but still get some sun. Heaters would be based redundant systems. There would be a gate/board that I could stop them from going down the hill in inclement weather. The lower paddock could be done a couple different ways. I could keep it entirely on the hillside or run a 5 ft wide trough down the hillside and then widen it out to some or all of the flat area. I had other plans to landscape the hillside but I can work around that if the low area is not pheasible. 
Question, will the sulcata move itself up the hill ok to go into the night box or would I have to put it in there everynight? 
I have many landscape plants on the property so I've been reading up on what is toxic and most of what I have the sulcata can eat flowers or trimmings.
For fencing I saw on another thread where someone recommended treated plywood cut to 16" and 2x4 posts treated. This is the most economical that I've found. 
Is there any concern that when the tortoise is on the hill and can look out to greener pastures will that cause them to bulldoze the fence? 
How much would a 100lb sulcata eat in a month? We feed our koi around 4lbs a day in the growth season for them, so I don't mind feeding a lot just trying to get an idea... I'm in farm country so getting hay is not hard... just wasn't sure If I would need round bales or not... lol 
Also, I know everyone says bigger is better but I want to make sure that the paddock can support the tortoise's feed rate with out over browsing. 
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I plan this... 

Thanks!!!


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jan 4, 2018)

Hi Josh


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## Hugo's Home (Jan 5, 2018)

Here is ours. It does have a hill that drops off about 6 ft from the top. Pic doesnt do justice..but it is definatly not as big as yours! Hugo doesnt seem to have a problem climbing up the hills and I suppose it helps strengthen his muscles. At first, he had a somewhat hard time climbing since he came from a flat yard ( would walk a few ft and stop and rest) but now he runs up them lol his summer underground burrow also drops off about 6 ft under ground whith a steep decline. He has no problems with that either. He does sit at the top and look out and over the fence but never rams the fence.. im not sure how far sulcatas can see.. are they near sighted??? Older pic from last june just after it was built.


Lower pic maybe at 3 ft above ground level looking out. ( Hugo grazing in the background.)


Hugo is about 40lbs now. He's had a three string bale of brumuda hay for about 4 months now. Maybe a quarter bale left..he just munches on it occasionally but eats it mostly when he gets mazuri. Maybe 3 cups each serving 2 or three times a week during the winter along with some greens also grazes the dry grass and the winter rye grass. Summer he just grazes the yard with an occasional "treat". Always has cactus pads laying around his enclosure and munches on those. I wouldn't get those huge bales, wont eat it fast enough..We don't even feed those to our cows as they are to cumbersome to move around the ranch and a task to protect from the wind and rain.

Looks like your going to do a great job!


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## vladimir (Jan 5, 2018)

I noticed Vladimir seems to like climbing hills too.


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## Markw84 (Jan 5, 2018)

jrh said:


> So for some of my questions...
> 
> I was planning on doing a main enclosure of 20x35 with a 10x10 shed with a night box. In the winter I would put up a greenhouse covering on the end of the shed for it to wander out in when its cold but still get some sun. Heaters would be based redundant systems. There would be a gate/board that I could stop them from going down the hill in inclement weather. The lower paddock could be done a couple different ways. I could keep it entirely on the hillside or run a 5 ft wide trough down the hillside and then widen it out to some or all of the flat area. I had other plans to landscape the hillside but I can work around that if the low area is not pheasible.
> Question, will the sulcata move itself up the hill ok to go into the night box or would I have to put it in there everynight?
> ...


welcome to the forum, JRH!

It looks like you have some great land to work with there. Let's see if I can answer some of your questions...

I would go bigger than 20x35 with the amount of room you have. I like to make things look nice and giving a sulcata more room will reduce the amount of overgrazing and impact on the area. The more well established grass area - the better. So I would make the lower portion available as part of the enclosure with a nice big "lawn" area for open grazing. A well established lawn area of about 1000 sq ft will provide plenty of grazing and your tortoise will keep it mowed for you without overgrazing. Also include the hillside and plant lots of good tortoise friendly plants that can create hides and browsing. Put in a little grape "vineyard" as grape leaves are one of the best foods and they grow like crazy during the warmer months. Some rosemary to create bushes the tortoise can hide under but they will leave the rosemary alone and not eat it so it makes nice cover and landscaping. For more food options - get some mallow bushes or laventera established. Protect it with a barrier until it is large enough to not bulldoze over and it will provide good food as high as the tortoise can reach and drop lots of nice flowers it can eat. Some blue pea vines are excellent, fast growing food if it will survive in your area. Take an area of the hillside maybe a couple of 10x10 ft sections, and throw out some testudo seed mix and let the 30+ different types of plants grow up. Rotate closing off a section with a movable fence so as one area grows up, you can block off the other to recover - and it will quickly in a week or two.

Your tortoise would live nicely there and you would actually not have to feed it at all during the growing seasons except for treats and personal interaction. It would be self sustaining.

Sulcatas do well with exercise and the hill would be a nice addition to the enclosure. No problem climbing up and down that hill. As long as the fence is a solid barrier that your totoise cannot see over when against it, it will normally not try to push through. It is when they are against something, yet can see through that you can have those issues. Seeing over at a distance is not a problem.

Make a night box that is easy to heat and keep at the right temperatures. A smaller @Tom style night box is best. I would go with a 4x8x2.5 high box. Fully insulated it is easy to heat on the coldest of nights. It would be big enough to also include a basking light in one end to give a photoperiod and basking opportunity during winter months. That would also create a nice rise in daytime temps for those winter months. He would go out to graze on most days, and stay put on the coldest days. If that opened into a protected greenhouse setup, it would allow grazing and feeding year round.


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## jrh (Jan 6, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> Here is ours. It does have a hill that drops off about 6 ft from the top. Pic doesnt do justice..but it is definatly not as big as yours! Hugo doesnt seem to have a problem climbing up the hills and I suppose it helps strengthen his muscles. At first, he had a somewhat hard time climbing since he came from a flat yard ( would walk a few ft and stop and rest) but now he runs up them lol his summer underground burrow also drops off about 6 ft under ground whith a steep decline. He has no problems with that either. He does sit at the top and look out and over the fence but never rams the fence.. im not sure how far sulcatas can see.. are they near sighted??? Older pic from last june just after it was built.
> Lower pic maybe at 3 ft above ground level looking out. ( Hugo grazing in the background.)
> 
> Hugo is about 40lbs now. He's had a three string bale of brumuda hay for about 4 months now. Maybe a quarter bale left..he just munches on it occasionally but eats it mostly when he gets mazuri. Maybe 3 cups each serving 2 or three times a week during the winter along with some greens also grazes the dry grass and the winter rye grass. Summer he just grazes the yard with an occasional "treat". Always has cactus pads laying around his enclosure and munches on those. I wouldn't get those huge bales, wont eat it fast enough..We don't even feed those to our cows as they are to cumbersome to move around the ranch and a task to protect from the wind and rain.
> ...



Looks like Hugo has a happy place to hang out and grow... Thanks for the insights, especially on the amount of food, that seems very doable.


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## jrh (Jan 6, 2018)

Markw84 said:


> welcome to the forum, JRH!
> 
> It looks like you have some great land to work with there. Let's see if I can answer some of your questions...
> 
> ...



Thanks for going into so much detail its greatly appreciated! The winter/bad weather fence area will be the smaller 20 x35 roughly, then there will be a gate board to let him into the larger area during good weather. I like the ideas of grapes, do i have to worry about him eating all the grapes? I can put in plenty of bushes and shrubs that are protected, thats awesome, the above picture is old so there is already 10-15 trees and evergreens planted on the hillside. 
I like the idea of the movable fence to section off areas of plant growth. Does it matter if the movable fence is see through? or the barrier around the landscape plants? In other words if they are inside the pen with the tortoise do I need to put in wood and stakes just like the outside fence or can I use welded wire? 

For the night box I was going to put in inside the shed or do you think I can get by with just a plastic covered structure/greenhouse and a night box. We do get cold here, my polyhouse covers the koi pond from Nov till mid April. Originally I was thinking 8x10 shed with night box inside of it. Shed heated to around 70 ambient and then the basking light, night box kept inside the shed temp80 -85


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## jrh (Jan 6, 2018)

Here's a better aerial view of my property. 
Black line is property Boundary
Blue is the winter/ bad weather fence, which would be opened to the hillside and lower area in good weather. 
Red box is proposed shed/greenhouse/night box area, its on a level terrace
Purple/Green/Yellow are proposed options for fence line enclosure routes.


Looking for opinions on which fence route would be best/better. Also if I do the yellow route can it be a see through wire fence since it is a large area or still not recommended... 
For reference purple is around 8-10 thousand square feet, Green is around 4-5 thousand and yellow is around an acre, if I did the yellow route then I could let my dogs run in there as well.


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## jrh (Jan 6, 2018)

I've highlighted in green one area of concern, the grade here is around 40-50 degrees, hard to walk up and down on, my wife is concerned he may flip over some how??? Thoughts, it would be easy to not allow in that area if needed.


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## Markw84 (Jan 7, 2018)

jrh said:


> Thanks for going into so much detail its greatly appreciated! The winter/bad weather fence area will be the smaller 20 x35 roughly, then there will be a gate board to let him into the larger area during good weather. I like the ideas of grapes, do i have to worry about him eating all the grapes? I can put in plenty of bushes and shrubs that are protected, thats awesome, the above picture is old so there is already 10-15 trees and evergreens planted on the hillside.


I like the small winter area with removable section for expanding for warmer months. Easier to maintain and protect to allow some outside time when weather does permit. A sulcata will venture out to graze in quite cold weather if the barn/night box is nice and toasty. Good to have that option.

I protect and stake up grape vines and train the vines the first two years to grow with a nice trunk and then branch out at 24", 30", 36" etc. Creates a nice overhang that tortoise will keep trimmed up as high as he can reach. For me, I find the Thompson seedless and Flame are some of the fastest growing vines with the best leaf production. Many wine varietals aren't as productive, leaf-wise - and we want leaf production!! Check with a local nursery and as for best recommendations in your area with vine vigor in mind.



jrh said:


> I like the idea of the movable fence to section off areas of plant growth. Does it matter if the movable fence is see through? or the barrier around the landscape plants? In other words if they are inside the pen with the tortoise do I need to put in wood and stakes just like the outside fence or can I use welded wire?



I use sections of wrought iron fence that are 10' long and 18" high for this. I use 24" steel concrete forming stakes and wire the sections to the stakes with baling wire. It is see through and I don't mind this for this use. They will at times try to graze through the fencing, but with a nice size enclosure, they do not become obsessive about it. I like the look of a see through barrier for protecting plants within the enclosure. I also will use a raised planter bed style in some areas. You can build 2 block high planters around a mulberry tree, for example. Mulberry leaves are also great tortoise food and they are fast growing. The tree doesn't need protection, but the raised bed will give places to grow some nice petunias, gazanias, geraniums, or pansies, or even some dandelion/mallow/plantain seed mixes. It looks nice and while out on rounds you can pick some off and feed to the tortoise. Your kids will love that as well. You could do the same with some watermelon, cantaloupe, or pumpkin vine. As the vines grow, the tortoise will trim it back. The parts above tortoise level could give you a few pumpkins!



jrh said:


> For the night box I was going to put in inside the shed or do you think I can get by with just a plastic covered structure/greenhouse and a night box. We do get cold here, my polyhouse covers the koi pond from Nov till mid April. Originally I was thinking 8x10 shed with night box inside of it. Shed heated to around 70 ambient and then the basking light, night box kept inside the shed temp80 -85



I do like your night box inside a shed. You have much colder winters than I deal with. To have a place you can keep relatively warmer and protected is good. It would be tough to heat a greenhouse type structure. The nightbox inside allows a great way to provide the more controlled 80° for the perfect retreat "burrow". Perhaps hang a nice basking light on timer, in the shed outside the night box, that would then give the tortoise a place to come out and bask in the winter.



jrh said:


> Here's a better aerial view of my property.
> Black line is property Boundary
> Blue is the winter/ bad weather fence, which would be opened to the hillside and lower area in good weather.
> Red box is proposed shed/greenhouse/night box area, its on a level terrace
> ...



Most people seem to agree on not liking see through fencing. I have had good luck with it in a large area and used on one side, not on two consecutive sides where a see through corner is created. Maybe because I broke up the sight lines with pilasters every 10' helped too. I wanted to be able to see the tortoises from my main yard area and the tortoise area was the back of the yard. So I used this design along 100' section that separated the tortoises from the main lawn.




I lived there for 16 years with the tortoises and never had any issues with them pacing the front section or trying to push through the fence. There was also a lot of areas they could rest under bushes and find cover, and that may also had a lot to do with it. An open, boring, bare enclosure is what I believe contributes to this behavior.




With my newer house, I have gone to a different type wall to enclose the sulcatas. Since their enclosure also borders the koi/turtle pond, I have used a block wall that I faced with a faux stackstone tile to make a nice look, but still good viewing from my main area into the tortoise yard. The wall where the tortoise sits is 20" high. I still used a setion of the see through fencing from my old house for a portion with a gate.




With the amount of area you have, I would tend to go with a plan that simply makes the perimeter escape-poof, and have the tortoise roaming my yard in the warmer months. Many used stacked cinder blocks as the walls to enclose an area. You will need to address the dogs as you don't want them to have access to the tortoise unsupervised. So if you leave the dogs out in the yard unsupervised, you need a way to keep the tortoise separate.

I do like the lower, flat section that you have nice grass established. That is such a nice grazing area for the tortoise. I would want to incorporate that in my plans. To sit above and see him grazing below would be great. So I guess I like the yellow selection. OR perhaps 1/2 the yellow with a fenced section for the dogs, and a separate section for the tortoise?? With the amount of room you have and the ideas we are discussing, you will have a pretty self-sustaining tortoise a good portion of the year. In my last house, I rarely fed the tortoises at all. They simply grazed naturally.



jrh said:


> I've highlighted in green one area of concern, the grade here is around 40-50 degrees, hard to walk up and down on, my wife is concerned he may flip over some how??? Thoughts, it would be easy to not allow in that area if needed.



Tortoises like to climb and exercise. I like the hills you have. I would only be concerned if you had something at the bottom of that slope that would trap the tortoise against it if he did happen to flip over. Especially on a slope, a tortoise can right itself quite easily. The problem is if they get wedged against something or in a hole, upsidedown. You could make a block wall - planter style - around that slope and protect it. Use it to grow some interesting plants!

I love the project as a fellow, fairly handy DIYer. To be able to get input in the design phase is really a great step you're taking. Hopefully I've given some food for thought to help you with ideas. Let's invite @Tom to join in on the fun and see what ideas he can give. He's used block walls extensively in creating several enclosures on a large piece of land. Also designed plenty of iterations of night boxes and heating solutions...


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## jrh (Jan 7, 2018)

Markw84 said:


> I like the small winter area with removable section for expanding for warmer months. Easier to maintain and protect to allow some outside time when weather does permit. A sulcata will venture out to graze in quite cold weather if the barn/night box is nice and toasty. Good to have that option.
> 
> I protect and stake up grape vines and train the vines the first two years to grow with a nice trunk and then branch out at 24", 30", 36" etc. Creates a nice overhang that tortoise will keep trimmed up as high as he can reach. For me, I find the Thompson seedless and Flame are some of the fastest growing vines with the best leaf production. Many wine varietals aren't as productive, leaf-wise - and we want leaf production!! Check with a local nursery and as for best recommendations in your area with vine vigor in mind.
> 
> ...



Awesome!!! your yard looks like a paradise. It sounds like for the sake of budget, I will go with the purple area for the fencing which will include at least of 1000 sq ft of flat established grass area on the flat part of the hill. 
Good news I am in the nursery industry so have lots of access to many types of plants to help with having natural browse and places to hide. Originally I was going to landscape the entire hill, now I think I will just put some strategic plants and raised planters.


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## jrh (Jan 7, 2018)

I took some more photos today since we had a break in the weather. This is the flat terrace area where the shed and winter/bad weather/ fence will be.


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## jrh (Jan 7, 2018)

Here is from the other direction... Other picture is from base of hill shows outline of overall area to be included in the enclosure. There is a stone staircase that goes up and down the middle of the hill.


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## jrh (Jan 7, 2018)

Lets talk fence types... I am currently considering ripping treated plywood to 16" and wood stakes every 8' or 1x6 corral boards "three high"either way leaning on painting it black with horse fence paint. It needs to be both functional and somewhat aestheticaly pleasing. I don't like the drystacked block for this purpose. 
The plywood version would cost around 1 dollar per linear foot. and the corral boards would be around 1.80 linear foot. based on the pricing I've found locally. I can get the milled cedar for about a dollar a linear foot as well, great deal on craigslist.
I did find some locally milled eastern red cedar planks I could use and stain... see pic below, but in all truthfulness I believe eventually most of the fence will be visually blocked by plants. 
Does anyone see any pros or cons to either of these options or have any other ideas?


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## Hugo's Home (Jan 8, 2018)

jrh said:


> Lets talk fence types... I am currently considering ripping treated plywood to 16" and wood stakes every 8' or 1x6 corral boards "three high"either way leaning on painting it black with horse fence paint. It needs to be both functional and somewhat aestheticaly pleasing. I don't like the drystacked block for this purpose.
> The plywood version would cost around 1 dollar per linear foot. and the corral boards would be around 1.80 linear foot. based on the pricing I've found locally. I can get the milled cedar for about a dollar a linear foot as well, great deal on craigslist.
> I did find some locally milled eastern red cedar planks I could use and stain... see pic below, but in all truthfulness I believe eventually most of the fence will be visually blocked by plants.
> Does anyone see any pros or cons to either of these options or have any other ideas?


Cedar boards instead of the treated ply would be my suggestion..should last longer and they are easy to remove and replace. same price and looks nice until plants are established. similar to what kennan does from kamp Kennan on YouTube. I wish I would have done boards instead of the tin but the tin was free and actually I'm noticing now in the winter the tin heats up nice and gives Hugo more heat when he's basking.


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## jrh (Feb 1, 2018)

Progress, I was able to find some cull lumber at a local store enough to build the shed and fencing. The fence will be a a treated 2x4 on the bottom with pine 2x6's on the top. Three high would should give me around 22-24" fence height. I like the look of the wood and when the weather warms we are going to paint it black with horse fence paint. We started the shed today, flooring is treated plywood, R13 batting, plastic barrier, 1 inch foam board, then 1/2 plywood. We also got an exterior door on closeout and it is framed in as well... excited to see progress... should have the shed done mostly by tomorrow, although the low is 10 degrees in the morning so I'm sure that will slow us down...


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## Stuart S. (Feb 1, 2018)

Welcome Josh, looking forward to watching you're process! You have some great land and you're doing it all right ahead of time! Keep it up man!


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## Melis (Feb 1, 2018)

Following this build!


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## jrh (Feb 8, 2018)

Well, the exterior of the shed is done except for paint, I took some pics but it doesn't show the shed, I'll update the thread with a pic later. We did R13 batting in the walls and then 6 mil plastic. The last layer is 1.5 styrofoam board with mylar to reflect the heat back. 

for the night box we did another two layers of the styrofoam board on the floor, and will have some on the walls as well. more updates tomorrow...


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## Stuart S. (Feb 8, 2018)

jrh said:


> Well, the exterior of the shed is done except for paint, I took some pics but it doesn't show the shed, I'll update the thread with a pic later. We did R13 batting in the walls and then 6 mil plastic. The last layer is 1.5 styrofoam board with mylar to reflect the heat back.
> 
> for the night box we did another two layers of the styrofoam board on the floor, and will have some on the walls as well. more updates tomorrow...
> View attachment 229777
> ...



Looks Great man! Looks like you're putting his night box inside the insulated shed correct?


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## Nrc470 (Feb 8, 2018)

Looking forward to seeing this build as it comes along


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## jrh (Feb 8, 2018)

Stuart S. said:


> Looks Great man! Looks like you're putting his night box inside the insulated shed correct?



yes the night box is in the shed as well... I'm in zone 6 so we get a lot of cold weather...


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## Stuart S. (Feb 8, 2018)

jrh said:


> yes the night box is in the shed as well... I'm in zone 6 so we get a lot of cold weather...



No definitely, I love that concept, I was actually thinking about doing that with my shed I stead of doing a night box but we’ll see! Great stuff man!


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## Hugo's Home (Feb 9, 2018)

One suggestion is to put a strip/ baseboard of ply about 12" tall along the bottem to protect the foam from being destroyed. Wasn't sure if you were just going to ply the whole inside though. Looks so amazing!! I'm jealous!


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## jrh (Feb 9, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> One suggestion is to put a strip/ baseboard of ply about 12" tall along the bottem to protect the foam from being destroyed. Wasn't sure if you were just going to ply the whole inside though. Looks so amazing!! I'm jealous!


Thanks, yes we are going to do a 16" strip of left over siding (T1-11) around the perimeter, also have a strip in the night box as well...


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## jrh (Feb 9, 2018)

Well I worked most of the day on the nightbox, really took alot of time to make sure all the cracks and seems are caulked. as well as lots of cutting and measuring... as promised here is some updated pictures... First picture is a side view of the shed... we did a metal roof and just lapped it over on the side instead of drip edge... I was able to get this glass door for a hundred bucks, it was on clearance as the jamb was slightly messed up. I know it doesn't let the uvb in but the added light is nice as well as on a cold day the morning sun will warm up most of the floor.


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## jrh (Feb 9, 2018)

in this picture you can see the frame of the nightbox and all the caulking, I also spray foamed around any of the voids by the foamboard.
second picture shows from another angle... On the front and outside wall I put another piece of 1" foam board on, you can also see the plywood floor in that picture as well .
last picture is hard to make out but shows all the caulk and spray foam around the edges. this thing should be sealed up tight with all the foam and caulk I've used... lol...
I don't have a picture but I also got the ramp to the night box built as well as hung some more plastic and put up a few more foam boards on the walls. Just have to plastic and foam board the ceiling and door side of the shed. On the night box I just need to finish the lid. I'm also going to raise the floor 3/4" so I can sweep out of the steel door, right now the threshold is higher than the floor and I thought that may making cleaning out the shed a little more difficult.


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## jrh (Feb 16, 2018)

It's been slow going, I aggravated my back on another project and wasn't able to get much done on the shed. We got the roof vapor barrier put on and then built another ceiling with 2x6's to add more insulation. This should give the entire roof about R32 or greater.... Also got the sides put up with T1-11 left over from the shed build. Only thing left on the inside is the door and adding 3/4 plywood on the entire floor then waterproofing...


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## jrh (Feb 16, 2018)

Beside the mess, on this picture you can see the plywood started on the walls and see some of the ramp into the night box. It's muddy outside so I'm constantly moving everything from one side to the other while working...


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## SULCY (Feb 20, 2018)

Looks great. Keep on with the updates going to have to build something similar soon.


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## ERoss (Feb 23, 2018)

That looks amazing so excited to see how the whole enclosure turns out!


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

updated progress on the shed and enclosure... lots of pics... This is the cover for the ramp that leads outside from the shed, it is removable and has the vinyl strips on the end... second pic is looking inside the cover and the back of the door leading into the shed with another curtain to keep as much heat in as possible


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

Inside the shed I put a 18" strip of plywood around the walls and door painted with a non toxic liquid rubber product... and of course door open/closed pics... the door is a piece of 3/4 plywood with a frame around it and the door slides between to 2x4s


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

here is the basking area, two flood lights and a uvb on adjustable slides to get the correct height. still need to tidy up the wiring...


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

Here is the lid for the nightbox inside the shed... it's just two pieces of 1.5 inch insulation clued and bolted together washers, less than two lbs weight. Then to hold it open during cleaning I just slide the piece of plywood over like a latch...


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

inside the night box, you can't really see the RBI heat panel because everything is black but it is mounted to a piece of plywood that is just lifted out for cleaning or maintenance... also got the oil heater next to the night box just to save floor space in the rest of the shed. It's walled off with plywood and directly above is the small fan... Also got the box holding the electrical above the heater. we just used scrap wood and built a frame to hold the Inkbirds and timers. Power to the shed is outside and we just drilled a hole in the wall and plugged everything in one double gang outlet.


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## Maggie Cummings (Apr 8, 2018)

jrh said:


> So for some of my questions...
> 
> I was planning on doing a main enclosure of 20x35 with a 10x10 shed with a night box. In the winter I would put up a greenhouse covering on the end of the shed for it to wander out in when its cold but still get some sun. Heaters would be based redundant systems. There would be a gate/board that I could stop them from going down the hill in inclement weather. The lower paddock could be done a couple different ways. I could keep it entirely on the hillside or run a 5 ft wide trough down the hillside and then widen it out to some or all of the flat area. I had other plans to landscape the hillside but I can work around that if the low area is not pheasible.
> Question, will the sulcata move itself up the hill ok to go into the night box or would I have to put it in there everynight?
> ...




My Bob was 125lbs. He went in and out the doggie dog when he wanted to. Rain or snow didn't bother him, when he got cold he went inside and got under his basking light. You'll be surprised at how he'll be with that hill. I personally wouldn't worry about him. I also had a swimmin hole for him, and he'd go in it every day. My box turtles love it. On nice days they'd all get in it, and would now if it it ever stops sleeting. Sulcatas can't seem to swim, so Bob would play submarine and lay on the bottom.The box turtles love to swim.....


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

I was able to get lots of treated lumber from our local yard as culls which we were able to use for fencing... we did a combination of any wood that would add up to 18, so a 2x12 and a 2x6, or a 2x10 and a 2x8, or 3 2x6s. We will painting it black with horse fence paint later this spring. In two days we did around 400 linear feet and have about 100 feet to go. We used 2x4s as stakes... Gates were made with extra posts and panels to lift out as needed.


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

Here is the upper paddock for winter and or bad weather. The gates are open currently but will be closed when the tort is here. You can also see the electric on the post outside the shed...


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## jrh (Apr 8, 2018)

some more pics of the fencing


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## yitzysturtles (Apr 8, 2018)

Wow that's a big enclosure


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## vladimir (Apr 9, 2018)

Awesome progress!


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## SULCY (Apr 9, 2018)

Looking great


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## Hugo's Home (Apr 9, 2018)

That's so amazing!! Your tortoise is going to be so buff! I love the box that holds all the electronics, and the sliding door is such a good idea! Are you going to put bedding down or just leave it with the rubber?


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## Jay Bagley (Apr 9, 2018)

It's looking great, I think it's wonderful how much space you are dedicating to to the well-being of your tortoise.


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## jrh (Apr 9, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> That's so amazing!! Your tortoise is going to be so buff! I love the box that holds all the electronics, and the sliding door is such a good idea! Are you going to put bedding down or just leave it with the rubber?


Well I wasn't planning on it, i'm going to be getting an adult male so I don't know if they need bedding for sure... with the Kane mat in the nightbox I didn't want any chance of fire with straw or hay... I'm open to opinions though...


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## vladimir (Apr 10, 2018)

Wow, I forgot you didn't even have the tortoise yet!

Do you have one lined up for adoption already?


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## jrh (Apr 10, 2018)

vladimir said:


> Wow, I forgot you didn't even have the tortoise yet!
> 
> Do you have one lined up for adoption already?



Not going the adoption route, I called a few breeders/dealers and it's relatively easy to find big males... actually the stars lined up and I got a large ivory male, hope to have him shipped next week...


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## vladimir (Apr 10, 2018)

Cool - I can't wait to see pics of him enjoying the enclosure


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## Hugo's Home (Apr 12, 2018)

jrh said:


> Well I wasn't planning on it, i'm going to be getting an adult male so I don't know if they need bedding for sure... with the Kane mat in the nightbox I didn't want any chance of fire with straw or hay... I'm open to opinions though...


I think it depends on what temps and humidity your holding during the year. Not in the night box persay, but in the larger open area. Fine grade orchid bark. Then you could mulch your plants with the used stuff. Ive just noticed when i use bedding in my box the humidity stays around 60 or so. Without it 0-10. I'm also in the desert and we don't see much humidity during the winter so it helps me out. I also don't have a heat mat but like I said I wouldn't put anything in your night box. A couple more weeks and Hugo will be using his summer burrow and I won't have to worry about his night box till the fall!


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## jrh (Apr 22, 2018)

Well we got the entire fence in as well as painting the shed... Also put it some planter beds with perennial hibiscus on both sides of the stairs... Planted a weeping mulberry as well as seeded the area with horse pasture mix/fertilizer/lime... Also put in three pieces of cattle panel inside the enclosure for five grapes each... now we just need some moisture... Tort should be here later this week....


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## jrh (Apr 25, 2018)

Hooray Hooray!!!  He's here, no name as of yet but picked him up from the airport today... it went really well, he walked around a little then headed into the shed to warm up in the nightbox... he must have had a shed at the breeders he came from, cause he knew just what to do... it was funny at the cargo hold, we opened the box to make sure of live arrival and all the staff came over and took pictures and thought he was going to the zoo...


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## Markw84 (Apr 25, 2018)

Congrats, @jrh That is really a nice looking sulcata. Very little pyramiding. how big? Is it a "he" for sure? What does he weigh? Keep posting pictures!


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## jrh (Apr 25, 2018)

Markw84 said:


> Congrats, @jrh That is really a nice looking sulcata. Very little pyramiding. how big? Is it a "he" for sure? What does he weigh? Keep posting pictures!


He is 27" long and weighs around 120lbs... the shipping weight with the crate was 136lbs and the box is 36" long... He was used as a breeder at his other home, so i'm sure of male... Thanks the family is very excited...


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## Jay Bagley (Apr 25, 2018)

He looks fantastic. How exciting!!


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## jrh (Apr 25, 2018)

Here's some pics I got from the breeder...


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## txturtledude (Apr 25, 2018)

Hello @jrh 
Don’t take enclosure building advice from @Markw84 he doesn’t know the first thing about construction or landscaping. Have you seen his enclosure pics...just sad really!


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## jrh (Apr 25, 2018)

txturtledude said:


> Hello @jrh
> Don’t take enclosure building advice from @Markw84 he doesn’t know the first thing about construction or landscaping. Have you seen his enclosure pics...just sad really!


Ya I saw pictures... very much attention to detail...


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## txturtledude (Apr 25, 2018)

jrh said:


> Ya I saw pictures... very much attention to detail...



If I had his backyard, I would never go on a vacation!


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## txturtledude (Apr 25, 2018)

@jrh 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I love your new bulldozer, I mean Sulcata. He looks awesome and ready for action!


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## jrh (Apr 25, 2018)

one more


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## vladimir (Apr 26, 2018)

Hooray! I'm glad he made it safely. It's impressive the amount of setup you did before even having the tortoise - definitely shows devotion.


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## Stuart S. (Apr 29, 2018)

Man he’s beautiful, congratulations!


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## Hugo's Home (May 22, 2018)

How's he doing!


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## jrh (May 22, 2018)

Hugo's Home said:


> How's he doing!



Ralf is doing well... its been an adjustment, he is still pretty skittish but is starting to settle in... his routine is to sit in the shed all day next to the ramp to come outside, then around 2:30 he comes out and eats and forages around the hillside until about 5:30 then puts himself back in his nightbox. I'm just glad I don't have to carry him up the hill, I did that one of the first days he was here and it about killed me... lol... so far he hasn't hardly ventured to the other side of his paddock. I thought he would graze more, now I'm gonna have to mow the hill... My son and I planted squash, watermelon, pumpkin, and zuchinni seeds in a raised bed and they are starting to flush out and grow rapidly...


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## vladimir (Aug 10, 2018)

@jrh any updates? How's the enclosure working out for you? [emoji846]


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## jrh (Aug 10, 2018)

Ralf is doing great, the enclorsure walls are working out great, he paces the perimeter quite a bit but we have not had any issues with him trying to climb or get out... I had to start cutting the grass on the hill as he does not eat enough to keep it trimmed, he loves all the veggies we planted for him... my wifes favorite past time is to feed him orange and red peppers and scratch his head... We've had a few cooler days in the mid 70's and raining then he heads into the shed and warms up as needed... overall he is one of the lowest maintenance animals I've ever cared for... also I contacted a friend that is a dairy farmer and I worked a barter for as much hay as I will need for the fall and winter...


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## Maro2Bear (Aug 11, 2018)

Looking great down there in St Louis! Don’t forget to offer a cuttlebone now and then (maybe you already are).

Ive enjoyed all of your updates.

Happy Torting.


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## Timt5352 (Aug 11, 2018)

Looks great! We can't wait to get started on ours. We decided to go the same route as you.....enclosure and foodsources first, then tortoise.


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## vladimir (Mar 4, 2019)

@jrh how's Ralf doing these days?


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