# Enclosure Expansion



## Tom (Jan 3, 2012)

I finally finished a long overdue add on. The new area is around 21' wide by 60' long, for a total of 1260 new square feet. In the first pic, you can see where the green area stops. That's the end of the old area. The new area is all bare dirt until we get some rain, and then it will be waist high weeds. The enclosure continues on up and around the building and all the way over to the next building to the right, where the white van is parked. The enclosure next to the upper end up there is my juvenile enclosure with the underground box. From the bottom of this photo to the wall in the distance is 212'.

On the right side of the new section you can see the six new 4x8' baby enclosures. They are all covered and seeded with all sorts of stuff. One has "Desert Tortoise Mix". One has a variety of leafy greens and squash. One has two types of endive. And the other three have three different types of pasture mix. None of it wants to sprout right now. We've had weather in the high 70's for the last two weeks, but somehow the seeds still know its winter. I've got the blocks and lumber sitting there to add on two more 4x8's. I don't have all that many babies, but these pens are the only way I can grow anything without all the local critters getting to it. I will be able to move the babies from enclosure to enclosure for dietary variety and depending upon which pens are all grown up and which ones are chopped down. In the winter when temps are cooler, I sun them in mostly bare pens without a lot of shade. In the hot summers, I put them in dense overgrown pens that are full of shade and cover and then I spray the whole pen and all the vegetation down several times a day.






The first pic was taken from the top of the horse trailer there in the distance. This pic was taken while standing on top of the wall that you can see in the first pic.





This one shows a little wider overview of the whole thing. Over to the right you can see where it wraps around the building. Their night house is hidden behind the building. In the foreground is part of the juvenile enclosure. You can also see my two big black tubs that I use to soak the adults and catch rainwater in.


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## Tortuga_terrestre (Jan 3, 2012)

Looking good...Thats alot of roaming space.


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## lynnedit (Jan 3, 2012)

Wait, so it starts by the horse trailer, goes around the building and up to where your shadow is in the last pic?
That is incredible.


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## Tom (Jan 3, 2012)

lynnedit said:


> Wait, so it starts by the horse trailer, goes around the building and up to where your shadow is in the last pic?
> That is incredible.



Yes. Because it wraps all the way around that building, they always have their choice of shade or sun all year long. If you look toward the building in the first pic you can see a leafless tree and a bush near the building. In the spring and summer that tree and bush really leaf up and that spot is by far the coolest shadiest spot in the whole enclosure. On the 110+ days they can all be found sleeping under that bush waiting for me to come by with the sprinkler again.


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## Alanong77 (Jan 3, 2012)

Wow. That's amazing. Makes me wish I had that much yard to play with. Awesome job on the expansion.


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## ascott (Jan 4, 2012)

Sweeeeeet


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## lisalove (Jan 4, 2012)

Love it all-great job!


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## tyler0912 (Jan 4, 2012)

Wow. :O


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## ripper7777777 (Jan 4, 2012)

Wow, I'm Speechless.


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## Talka (Jan 4, 2012)

They're gonna be so happy!


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## wellington (Jan 4, 2012)

Nice, very nice. Can we see pictures when you have the torts out there roaming around? Pleeeeease


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## Jacob (Jan 4, 2012)

I Bet The Torts Love All That Space


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## dmarcus (Jan 4, 2012)

Thats a lot of space for them to enjoy, I bet they will be happy once all the weeds grow...


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## Tom (Jan 4, 2012)

wellington said:


> Nice, very nice. Can we see pictures when you have the torts out there roaming around? Pleeeeease



Chewy is in the first pic, bottom right hand corner. She's also in the next two pics, but its so far away, its hard to see her. In the last pic you can see Scooter basking over near the green cage near the building. I'll do a thread with more pics showing the torts.


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## CGKeith (Jan 4, 2012)

That is a lot of brick moving! My back hurts just thinking about it. 

Nice job sir!


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## Morty the Torty (Jan 4, 2012)

I'd like to see all the torties too


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## CtTortoiseMom (Jan 4, 2012)

That is great! I had to look at the first picture again to see Chewy .


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## Momof4 (Jan 4, 2012)

Wow!! Incredible!


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## dmmj (Jan 4, 2012)

Are those hatchling pens in the front?


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## Tom (Jan 4, 2012)

dmmj said:


> Are those hatchling pens in the front?



Yes. I've got six so far, but another two just waiting to be set up. The six are all planted, but nothing is sprouting yet.

Aren't you going to comment on the blocks again?


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## ShadowRancher (Jan 5, 2012)

Wow, soo much space to wander, you have some very happy torts (and thanks for explaining what all was in the pics otherwise I never would have understood them  I got to the final one and finally had a lightbulb that that was daisy's space with the artificial burrow)


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## JonahQKline (Jan 10, 2012)

Awesome!!!! I wish I had that kind of thing, sadly I live in PA where december wouldnt do nice for my Tort. And I'm happy when spring is here


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