# Sand Pit / Kiddie Pool as Outdoor Enclosure



## sbwalker5 (Jul 7, 2014)

Hi there, just thought I'd share Douglas' temporary outdoor enclosure for this summer...

I've seen many people mention using those little sand pits, or kiddie paddling pools as an outdoor enclosure for smaller/younger tortoises. I had my eye on one like this from Toys R Us (I live in the UK) - http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Toys-R-Us/...ior-Pool-or-Sandpit(0105782)?searchPosition=8

As luck would have it, we have just moved into a new house, and the previous owner had just left behing something very similar! We gave it a good clean out, and I filled it with 10 litres of coconut coir. I added a few playsticks (made for hamsters/gerbils, but perfect for tortoises!), both to create sight barriers and to fence off a section of the sand pit that has a slightly lower wall. I gave him a large half-log and a plant pot on its side for somewhere to hide, along with a slate food plate, and a green plant pot saucer for fresh water... 

This is perfect to have him outside with some natural sunshine, just for an hour or so on warm sunny days. He will be completely supervised, so I haven't felt the need to cover it with some wire mesh (this would be necessary without supervision). I will bring him out for an hour when I get in from work in the afternoon, then take him back to his indoor home. The sand pit also has a lid, so I put that on when it's not being used, to protect it.

The enclosure is about 80cm x 80cm, with walls around 20cm. It's about right for now, with Douglas only being 1 year old, and about 8cm long. This will give me until next summer to design and create a more permanent outdoor enclosure.

I hope this is useful to anyone...


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## christinaland128 (Jul 7, 2014)

Very cool, thanks for sharing.


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## tinkerbell1189 (Jul 7, 2014)

Looks really good! And beautiful tortoise btw. I thought about doing this for mine, but I have a jack russel pup, (however "good" she was with my tortoise, I'd never ever trust her, being a terrier). And iv seen cats pass thru my garden. So was worried about him getting eaten!

Atm I have an improvised guinea pig run, with wood all around the edges about 1ft into the soil as he likes to dig!

I like the layout of yours tho, and he certainly looks happy in there! Lucky find


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## sbwalker5 (Jul 7, 2014)

@tinkerbell1189 yes that was another idea I was toying with - a guinea pig style run, so it was already caged and protected!
Thanks, Douglas is a 1 year old marginated, so he will outgrow this little enclosure very quickly!
There are lots of cats that hover around our garden, so anything I have for him must be really secure.. I'll be sat right next to this enclosure whilst he's out!


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## Shakudo (Jul 7, 2014)

Great idea, thanks for sharing


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## tinkerbell1189 (Jul 7, 2014)

You could always cover with chicken wire or netting. I'm super paranoid about my dog, even though she's never shown any worrying signs, I wouldn't trust her, iv even got his indoor enclosure all blocked off and out of reach.

I can't complain, she's already really good at getting rid of the mice at the horse yard, and gets any spiders or flies who would dare enter my house


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## Flipper (Jul 7, 2014)

Great enclosure!


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