# how deep should the walls go?



## FranklinAndTara (Jun 29, 2011)

im going to build a large outdoor pen for my sulcatas. I've read that the walls of the enclosure should be extended underground because of digging. how deep should they extend underground? i was thinking 2 feet... is that too much or? I'll appreciate any advice!


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## Fernando (Jun 29, 2011)

I usually go 7-10 inches underground for Russians because they are great escape artists and can dig a good sized burrow in a day. I would suggest the same just to be safe. 2 feet might be a little overkill unless your not planning on looking after them for a few days...if you are then you can fill in any burrows they make.


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## Yvonne G (Jun 29, 2011)

When I first moved here to this house I'm in now, I dug down and buried chicken wire to be sure my Russians couldn't dig out. After a year or so the wire rusted away. But in all that time, I never once saw a russian tortoise go to the fence and try to dig under. 

Same thing with all my other tortoises. Climb? yes...but try to dig under the fence? no.

What I have done now, much easier than digging down or wire, is to buy a bunch of those masonry caps. They look like rectangular cement stepping stones. I lay them all along inside the fence, on top of the ground. If a tortoise is going to dig under, he goes right up next to the fence and starts to dig. He doesn't say, "Hm-m-m. I see a cement border here, so I guess I'll have to take a few steps back and dig under the cement." No, he digs right up next to the fence.


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## FranklinAndTara (Jun 29, 2011)

haha! ok, i was wondering if 2 feet would be overkill! thanx guys!


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## Fernando (Jun 29, 2011)

emysemys said:


> Same thing with all my other tortoises. Climb? yes...but try to dig under the fence? no.



You should come over to my house, bring your Russians, and we can bombard my female and have an intervention haha


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## Yvonne G (Jun 29, 2011)

I'm not saying they don't dig. They are fabulous diggers. They just don't dig under the fence.


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## dmmj (Jun 29, 2011)

I have found while russians are great diggers they are quitters, IMHO they dig but get easily discouraged, I buried plastic pieces about 6 inches down or so, frankly I am more concerned about over the wall escapees then I am underground ones.


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## dmarcus (Jun 30, 2011)

We use a combination of rebar and wood stakes and drive them down a couple feet. They help to stop our sulcata from digging out and to support the cinder blocks. it has worked very good so far.


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## SnakeyeZ (Jun 30, 2011)

When my outdoor enclosure is built I will be using plastic mesh under the ground about 6-10 inches. I would rather play it safe then have a tortoise that dug under it's fence.


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