Box Turtle Enclosure

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dannel

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I need some help with a box turtle enclosure. I want to have an indoor enclosure for young box turtles, because in Canada the weather isn't good for turtles, but I also have a cat. I don't want to use a Rubbermaid because I'm worried that my cat will bother the turtle and possibly bite him. I also didn't want to go with an aquarium because the one I have is a bow front, and i cant find screen tops for them. I worry about my cat jumping in and maybe knocking the tank off its stand and hurting my box turtle. Any ideas?

Daniel
 

Jacqui

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Well if you would end up choosing to use an aquarium (like a 40 gal breeder), to make sure the cats don't knock the tank off, just bungee cord it onto the stand. Works well for me. Of course, my cats also do so much jumping onto tanks around here, those screen tops don't hold up long.

My suggestion is to build a I guess you could call is a cabinet type enclosure. It would be more solid, I would suggest a window on the side to be able to watch the turtles. Then build a heavy duty top with welded wire. There are some various ones shown in the enclosure section.

Another concern with cats, are those lights/heating bulbs. Cats are drawn to the warmth and if they get up against the bulb they can get burned and even start fires.
 

*Barracuda_50*

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dannel said:
Thanks. I think ill try doing some DIY!

If your bowfront tank is big enough so that they will have lots of room as they grow, you can build a top wood frame and use heavy guage wire mesh, build a light box for the lights so the cat cant get burnt nor knock them over or down. In order for the wood frame to conform to the bow in the front get wood you can cut to the bow dimensions, then do your sides and back with straight cuts, its pretty easy have done it many times with odd shaped tanks. I know bowfronts pretty well much always have straight backs and somewhat narrow ends. When ya build the frame make sure to also put in a front to back middle cross brace to give more support to the wire mesh and it will also help support weight from a cat and light box. :):tort:
 

dannel

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If your bowfront tank is big enough so that they will have lots of room as they grow, you can build a top wood frame and use heavy guage wire mesh, build a light box for the lights so the cat cant get burnt nor knock them over or down. In order for the wood frame to conform to the bow in the front get wood you can cut to the bow dimensions, then do your sides and back with straight cuts, its pretty easy have done it many times with odd shaped tanks. I know bowfronts pretty well much always have straight backs and somewhat narrow ends. When ya build the frame make sure to also put in a front to back middle cross brace to give more support to the wire mesh and it will also help support weight from a cat and light box. :):tort:
[/quote]

Would a 36 gallon bowfront be sufficient for an adult EBT? Or just until they get bigger?
 

dannel

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*Barracuda_50* said:
dannel said:
Thanks. I think ill try doing some DIY!

If your bowfront tank is big enough so that they will have lots of room as they grow, you can build a top wood frame and use heavy guage wire mesh, build a light box for the lights so the cat cant get burnt nor knock them over or down. In order for the wood frame to conform to the bow in the front get wood you can cut to the bow dimensions, then do your sides and back with straight cuts, its pretty easy have done it many times with odd shaped tanks. I know bowfronts pretty well much always have straight backs and somewhat narrow ends. When ya build the frame make sure to also put in a front to back middle cross brace to give more support to the wire mesh and it will also help support weight from a cat and light box. :):tort:

Is a 36 gallon a good size for EBT?
 

*Barracuda_50*

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dannel said:
*Barracuda_50* said:
dannel said:
Thanks. I think ill try doing some DIY!

If your bowfront tank is big enough so that they will have lots of room as they grow, you can build a top wood frame and use heavy guage wire mesh, build a light box for the lights so the cat cant get burnt nor knock them over or down. In order for the wood frame to conform to the bow in the front get wood you can cut to the bow dimensions, then do your sides and back with straight cuts, its pretty easy have done it many times with odd shaped tanks. I know bowfronts pretty well much always have straight backs and somewhat narrow ends. When ya build the frame make sure to also put in a front to back middle cross brace to give more support to the wire mesh and it will also help support weight from a cat and light box. :):tort:

Is a 36 gallon a good size for EBT?

Depends is this for a small baby??, 36 gal really isnt that big the bow fronts i had were 50gal and larger, if this is just temp housing till you can get something bigger and your only housing a small baby then you can use it for now, but i would still go for more enclosure size.
 

dannel

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*Barracuda_50* said:
dannel said:
*Barracuda_50* said:
dannel said:
Thanks. I think ill try doing some DIY!

If your bowfront tank is big enough so that they will have lots of room as they grow, you can build a top wood frame and use heavy guage wire mesh, build a light box for the lights so the cat cant get burnt nor knock them over or down. In order for the wood frame to conform to the bow in the front get wood you can cut to the bow dimensions, then do your sides and back with straight cuts, its pretty easy have done it many times with odd shaped tanks. I know bowfronts pretty well much always have straight backs and somewhat narrow ends. When ya build the frame make sure to also put in a front to back middle cross brace to give more support to the wire mesh and it will also help support weight from a cat and light box. :):tort:

Is a 36 gallon a good size for EBT?

Depends is this for a small baby??, 36 gal really isnt that big the bow fronts i had were 50gal and larger, if this is just temp housing till you can get something bigger and your only housing a small baby then you can use it for now, but i would still go for more enclosure size.

thanks!
 
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