First, a disclaimer: While sunshine and exercise are very beneficial, taking your animals outside is not without risk. Predators, overheating, theft, flipping over, dehydration and escape are all very real possibilities that should be taken seriously. Please keep a close eye on them in ANY new enclosure and for goodness sakes, please exercise common sense, caution and good judgement. If you don't have common sense AND caution AND good judgement, please give your tortoise to me and I'll make sure they stay safe.
The purpose of this post is to demonstrate some really easy ways to get those indoor turtles and tortoises out in the sun. This is as basic as it gets and there is no reason it couldn't be done up much more fancy than this. This is not intended as a permanent outdoor enclosure. Its meant to put a small tortoise or turtle in for an hour or so of sunshine. A top could easily be built if dogs or other predators are a concern, but I don't leave mine unattended.
I have seen pics of lots of beautiful, elaborate outdoor set-ups lately and those are fantastic. We have some truly gifted, capable and artistic members here on the forum. I'm at the other end of the spectrum. My enclosures tend to be simple and functional. Here goes:
First, get a kiddie pool from KMart for $10-15 or something similar. Then get a bunch of your preferred substrate. My pool here is a year old and a little beat up and my substrate was purchased at Lowes for $4.38 plus tax. I have done this in the past with plain old dirt from the yard or no substrate at all, too.
Next add a bunch of water. I used several gallons. Its very dry where I live so I want it wet to increase humidity. Use as much or as little as you need for your area and your species.
Next add a potted plant of some sort. Now this one is a bit too small, but you get the idea. Something a little bigger and bushier would be a little better. The idea here is that no matter where the sun is, your tortoise will always have some shade.
Alternatively, here are several ways to use some plywood or anything handy to give your tortoise some shade:
These work great for aquatic turtles too. I just get a clean cinderblock, some bricks or an appropriate rock and fill the tub until the water line is almost even with the top of the block. I used that set-up in this particular tub with a baby alligator a while back. Worked great.
The point here is this: It does not have to be difficult or expensive to get your turtle or tortoise out in the sun. Direct, natural sunshine is REALLY REALLY good for them in many ways and its free. Every hour they spend outside is an hour you don't have to pay to run expensive, energy sucking, artificial lights.
Everyone please feel free to add to thread or offer other tips. Happy torting.
The purpose of this post is to demonstrate some really easy ways to get those indoor turtles and tortoises out in the sun. This is as basic as it gets and there is no reason it couldn't be done up much more fancy than this. This is not intended as a permanent outdoor enclosure. Its meant to put a small tortoise or turtle in for an hour or so of sunshine. A top could easily be built if dogs or other predators are a concern, but I don't leave mine unattended.
I have seen pics of lots of beautiful, elaborate outdoor set-ups lately and those are fantastic. We have some truly gifted, capable and artistic members here on the forum. I'm at the other end of the spectrum. My enclosures tend to be simple and functional. Here goes:
First, get a kiddie pool from KMart for $10-15 or something similar. Then get a bunch of your preferred substrate. My pool here is a year old and a little beat up and my substrate was purchased at Lowes for $4.38 plus tax. I have done this in the past with plain old dirt from the yard or no substrate at all, too.
Next add a bunch of water. I used several gallons. Its very dry where I live so I want it wet to increase humidity. Use as much or as little as you need for your area and your species.
Next add a potted plant of some sort. Now this one is a bit too small, but you get the idea. Something a little bigger and bushier would be a little better. The idea here is that no matter where the sun is, your tortoise will always have some shade.
Alternatively, here are several ways to use some plywood or anything handy to give your tortoise some shade:
These work great for aquatic turtles too. I just get a clean cinderblock, some bricks or an appropriate rock and fill the tub until the water line is almost even with the top of the block. I used that set-up in this particular tub with a baby alligator a while back. Worked great.
The point here is this: It does not have to be difficult or expensive to get your turtle or tortoise out in the sun. Direct, natural sunshine is REALLY REALLY good for them in many ways and its free. Every hour they spend outside is an hour you don't have to pay to run expensive, energy sucking, artificial lights.
Everyone please feel free to add to thread or offer other tips. Happy torting.