During the day, Tucker's lid is off to ventilate the enclosure. My curious cat wants to explore Tucker's enclosure so I got this wire shelving as protection for when I at work. Do you think this will work?Cat proofing....
- Thread starter Patty P
- Start date
During the day, Tucker's lid is off to ventilate the enclosure. My curious cat wants to explore Tucker's enclosure so I got this wire shelving as protection for when I at work. Do you think this will work?
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2014
- Messages
- 29,970
- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Yes.
Although from everything I've read, the cat may still lay on it/sleep on it.
Although from everything I've read, the cat may still lay on it/sleep on it.
A tony tort like that needs a closed chamber. It will be very difficult to keep the humidity up and temperatures steady in an open table like that
Tucker (Hermanns) gets closed in for the evening. This is the breeder, Chris Leone's, words: "In the evening after the lights are turned off, I place the lid on the rubbermaid containers that house our baby tortoises. This helps to mimic the dark, humid refuges the neonates confide in when in nature. The humidity builds up overnight and in the morning it is released when the lids are taken off. I do not doubt for one second that this method has something to do with the natural, smooth shells our tortoises attain as they grow."
Tucker is in 77-80% humidity for 14 hours overnight. He is ventilated and has a basking lamp/UVB for the other 10.
In a few months, he will have round the clock humidity because of where I live. NY summers and falls get quite humid and Tucker will has exposure to that.
Attachments
I can't imagine sleeping on wire would be comfortable but then again cats are funny sometimes.
Attachments
I wouldn't change a thing. Chris really knows his stuff. I would try to secure the shelf so the cat cant accidentally move it off the enclosure.
In my experience, once the cats have seen and touched it, they mostly lose interest; tortoises are pretty boring to cats. The substrate is probably interesting to them, though.
When your tortoise gets bigger, she'll chase the cats off herself!
When your tortoise gets bigger, she'll chase the cats off herself!
Is your enclosure on wheels? That can't be knocked off the shelf, can it?
Good idea. I have a way to secure that shelf to the back of the furniture piece. So far the cat is terrified of the wire shelf. I am glad for that.
I bought it for those wheels, turns out the wheels are decorative and cannot spin.
The only issue I've had with my cat and tortoises is the temptation to use the substrate as a "cat box". Unlike my bag of rocks brained dog, I can't train my cat nothing except to be cute.
my dog ignores my sulcata, but when I had a western painted turtle come through, she was all about being a raccoon. 
i just couldn't keep her away.
my dog ignores my sulcata, but when I had a western painted turtle come through, she was all about being a raccoon. i just couldn't keep her away.
Last edited:
The cat is adorable and VERY cute.
Your cat has definitely learned how to be cute! My dog always ignored my sulcata too. He didn't recognize the smell. I tried to train my dog to help me find my sulcata when he was smaller. My dog just stood there, looking at me with a puzzled expression.
Something I most certainly should have addressed here is that under no circumstances should a dog ever have unsupervised time around a pet tortoise. Dogs ultimately find the tortoise or turtle to be a wonderful chew toy, and will inflict terrible damage/injury.
We have plenty of threads here of the sweetest dog ever, chewing on a pet tortoise. Fully trustworthy dogs tend to do this the most, I think because they are trusted so much. Dogs and tortoises do not mix, EVER.
Of course. I no longer have a dog. Charlie has outlived all other pets.
