# Outdoor enclosure upgrades



## Tim/Robin (May 21, 2009)

We started our outdoor pen upgrades quite a while ago (first of April). We were tempted to post pictures earlier, but were waiting until things were more finished. There are still a few odds and ends that need to be finished but you can get the idea I think. 

Basically, everyone got quite a large expansion in their pen. Also more pens have been added to accomodate the tortoises we've aquired since last year.

Day 1 (not consecutive days, but spanned about a 6 weeks). Last year we had 2 larger pens and 3 smaller pens. This year, we started by digging the grass out to place the cinder blocks for the pens. This was back-breaking, blister-making work! And yep, even the kids helped.







Day 2. We dug all the grass away from the cinders for aesthetic reasons (before it always looked in need of the weed-eater!) Ugh, the digging of the grass seemed to never end!





Day 3. We included a walkway between the pens this year. What a great feature! No more stepping inside the pens to get to all the tortoises.





Day 4. Stepping stones in the walkway now. Beginning to landscape the pens.





Day 5.Finished (for the most part). Realize this took more than 5 days. But some days, there was such little progress, it wasn't really visible in photos so they weren't included here. However, rain (and that darn thing called a job) prevented us from working everyday. So the work spanned close to 6 weeks.





We used 5 gallon buckets, cut in half, and dug into the dirt as a hide. We also fixed a rain-gutter overhang on the top of the cinders to prevent the climbers from getting out.





All the dark dirt areas were planted with tortoise-friendly seeds from Carolina Pet Supply and the plants are finally sprouting as you can see in the Egyptian pen. 





Here are the Pyxis pens with happy little torties everywhere!





Drainage pipe we found at Home Depot made a great tunnel for the Hermanns.





Pancakes have a deluxe, multi-story mansion/hide.


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## Lynn DeVries (May 21, 2009)

AWSOME!!

Great job guys the enclosures look fantastic!! 

Lynn


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## Meg90 (May 21, 2009)

more pictures?  you have a tortoise zoo! I LOVE THIS!


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## pyxistort (May 21, 2009)

The enclosure looks great... I wish I can build something like that... 
Any predator-proof fence?


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## Isa (May 22, 2009)

Wow, amazing enclosure . I am sure all of your tortoises are very happy to live in their new houses .


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## shelber10 (May 22, 2009)

extremely nice enclosures how much did this cost you


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## Tim/Robin (May 22, 2009)

shelber10 said:


> extremely nice enclosures how much did this cost you



Hmmmm.... we didn't keep close tabs on this. Plus some of the cinder blocks were present from last year (about a third). So best estimate:

cinder blocks = $300
dirt, sand, rocks = $300
quartz slabs for hides & stepping stones = $100
rain gutters for overhang/ bucket & tube hides = $25
rented trailer = $35
plants and flowers =?? probably $150 or more
outdoor water/food dishes = $30
Our labor = free
Tortoise happiness = priceless

But the costs were spread out over many months. So total in materials probably $950 - $1000.


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## Yvonne G (May 22, 2009)

You should be very proud! The pens look just great, and I'll bet the kids are happy to be able to go outside again.

The white sand is very pretty, but I'm a little concerned about it, as sand causes impaction if ingested. 

I love the buried garbage cans! With the grass going over the top it looks very natural.

Good Job!!

Yvonne


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## Marshman (May 22, 2009)

Wow that look really sweet, love what you guys did


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## jobeanator (May 22, 2009)

this is one sweet tortoise ranch you have here. great job! i love your stars there gorgeous


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## sift (May 22, 2009)

Amazing work!! Your torts are sure to love that!!


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## baseballturtle48 (May 23, 2009)

Beautiful pens! Maybe it will motivate me to get my pens weeded and planted with grazing mixes this weekend. Unfortunately we're going through a cool, rainy period. I can make hides out of all the 5 gallon plant pots laying around the yard. It never occurred to me to partially bury them.  My pens are made of untreated wood, but one idea yours give me is to put cement blocks along the outside and plant flowers in them. That would dress them up a lot.

Thanks for the wonderful pics and great ideas! Now, can I rent you guys to come help me?


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## Jacqui (May 23, 2009)

Very very nice! I love projects that get the family working and laughing together while building something they can see the accomplishment of finishing for time to come.

On the new redfoot/cherryhead/leopard zone of the yard we just did, we for the first time used the cinderblocks to form the individual walls. I am curious to see how the blocks will work for us. I like the fact you can change the layout and make more curved sides then when working with fencing. An added benefit is in a year or two, the redfoots and cherries will each get a larger area and with the blocks it will be so easy to take their old enclosures and add them into the leopard's space.

We too, do the buried hides. I love the way they blend in, give the enclosure an added dimension and a climbing place for the torts, and the fact that being buried a bit helps to regulate the temps of the hide.

Once more, great job. Love ones that show folks how beautiful tortoise pens really can be...and how great for the torts too!


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## purpod (May 23, 2009)

In-Freaking-Credible!!

Seriously, you guys did a _spectacular_ job ~ I love how you have the walking area so that you're not squishing any grasses/plants in order to reach all of your lil' tort's! (Wish I had enuf room to do so for mine, but my space is limited, so I just step on some secure stones when my tort's are on the opposite end of my outer walking area.)

And heck, by now, your entire family 'prolly has muscles like Mr. Universe! Back breaking work, to be sure!! But yes, certainly getting to enjoy the beauty of your tort's as they explore will make it all worth the efforts & the cold hard cash spent! (Yeouch! Even spread over time, that had to hurt the pocket book a bit, 'specially during the economic times of today!)

One question, did you use the kind of sand that is made from calcium so as to avoid any impaction? I have a small sandy area in our outdoor home, and I actually used black calci-sand, to allow for the most heat absorption during cooler days. And I never thought to make underground hiding places in our outdoor pen; I just used taller greenery to give them places to snuggle into... smart idea on your part.

Congrat's on a great job! You know, I've recently added more/different greenery, and the strawberries have gone bizerk all over the place, but your enclosure looks so great, I'm almost embarassed to post images on mine! lol.

 Seriously, you should all be quite proud of what you've accomplished! 
Thanx for posting the pic's!
Purpod


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## terryo (May 23, 2009)

I guess I would sit out there and watch them all day and never get anything done. Wonderful enclosures. Do they all go inside for the winter?


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## Candy (May 23, 2009)

Great job Tim and Robyn. Was that Tim that I saw in the very first picture because it surely didn't look like the one you guys posted about a month ago  . I love your enclosure although I can't let my husband see it. You see he gets pretty mad that we had to make Dale's enclosure so secure and now he's seeing all of these enclosures that are wide open without fencing, but I tell him that these tortoises are bigger than Dale and that's why. Yours is beautiful!


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## desertsss (May 23, 2009)

Absolutely beautiful! They all look so happy!


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## Stazz (May 23, 2009)

JEEPERS! Massive Judo's to you guys, thats different from what I've seen before, really cool  I bet you torts are super super happy! Will have to keep that in mind for the menagerie I want one day


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## Tim/Robin (May 24, 2009)

terryo said:


> I guess I would sit out there and watch them all day and never get anything done. Wonderful enclosures. Do they all go inside for the winter?



Terry, last year we built the covered patio for just the purpose of sitting and watching them all day. We bought a fancy smoker/bbq too and we spend nearly all of our days off (4-5/week) out back with tortoises. And yes, they all go in for the winter. We live up north. They even go in at night in the summer.



Candy said:


> I love your enclosure although I can't let my husband see it. You see he gets pretty mad that we had to make Dale's enclosure so secure and now he's seeing all of these enclosures that are wide open without fencing, but I tell him that these tortoises are bigger than Dale and that's why. Yours is beautiful!



Candy, in yours and Dales defense, we don't have our torties out without being watched. They come in if we have to leave and they don't spend the night out either. We're pretty cautious, since we've got a lot invested with them (time,$,emotions). A secure enclosure is always the best way to go.

We think of our tortoises as "guests" at Tortuga Inn & Suites  in their indoor enclosures. They're high-paying guests and those who stay at The Inn, also get to dine in the outdoors and explore the wild (sort of) with their own tour guide. But high-paying guests prefer their nice comfy beds indoors at night. And you know how demanding high-paying guests are - what they want is what they get!


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## purpod (May 27, 2009)

LOL & aren't we all slaves to out shelled visitors  
I am quite grateful that I have been blessed to be a part of their lives, ya know?

G'nite all,
purpod


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