Check this out!

[matt41gb]

I recently helped my Aunt put in her greenhouse. She bought it from Lowes for around $530. When I came back today, she had all of her plants inside. It was about 52 degrees outside. When I walked in I felt like I was in the rain forest! She had two very small heaters running and the plants giving off heat, kept it at about 85 degrees in there. I couldn't believe it. I went to the website and ordered me one. It's called the SPRING GARDENER 9'H x 10'W x 20'L Gable Greenhouse. It would be perfect for all of my red-foots! Right now they're all in an 8X4 heated house. I should receive it in about 2 weeks. I took some pictures of the building process. It only took about an hour.

-Matt

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Here's the link to the page. http://www.lowes.com/pl__0__s?Ntt=greenhouse&page=3

-Matt

 

[Maggie Cummings]

But what's it going to be like inside there when there's snow on the roof and it's 20 degrees outside? And what is the temperature of the ground going to be?

 

[matt41gb]

Well, it traps heat during the day. I don't think snow will accumulate on it since the sides are so steep. The ground temp was really warm inside. It had actually gotten down to 29 degrees last night and my Aunt said it was "toasty" inside. It's plenty warm with a couple of little heaters running.

-Matt

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Great northern solution.

 

[matt41gb]

I've already ordered mine. I think it would really solve my problems this winter. It's such a chore keeping all of the torts happy, plus having to put them up every night is daunting enough. I guess after I get mine set up I'll let everyone know how it works.

-Matt

 

[Len B]

Just make sure it's tied down to the ground good so it doesn't blow over, with that height it will catch a lot of wind,and i would have a push broom handy( with a long handle ) just in case snow does accumulate on the top.---speaking from experience with a wet sticking snow.---I had to go sweep every couple hours. Len

 

[zzzdanz]

I'ld like to see how 1 of those stands up against a NewEngland winter.

 

[matt41gb]

It gets pretty windy here in Texas too. We don't see much snow, although we did get a record 12" last year. I think it would hold up just fine if the snow did accumulate. I think the roof is angled and slick enough for it to just slide off. It has feet that you can anchor down easily to a base. I guess I'll find out how it works.

-Matt

 

[Kristina]

We had something similar, only it was a "garage in a box." I bought it for a pregnant mare that I unexpectedly ended up with. It was dead of winter so we were unable to get the anchors in the ground, and woke up the next morning to find it had hopped the fence and gotten into a fight with the chicken coop. It was a draw, the door was broke off the coop but there was a hole in the roof of my $300 shelter

We ended up anchoring it to a bunch of cinder blocks and it was fine. The snow (well over 100" yearly) was never an issue.

I'll be interested to see what the temps are like inside. You could even build a slightly elevated floor for it to keep the torts from being directly on the ground. It may not work in the dead of winter, but it can at least prolong the time that your torts have extra room to move around in.

 

[Bowser-the-Redfoot]

It does look like it would do the job... But it looks like it would keep the ground under their safe zone?

I agree with "Kyryah" you should build an elevated floor...

Best wishes for you and your torts !

 

[matt41gb]

The ground was very warm as well. Of course Texas winters are very mild. I was thinking about raising the floor, but I don't think that I'll have to do it. Of course I won't know until I can experiment with it.

-Matt

 

[Len B]

I wouldn't use an elevated floor because it will lose the heat quicker-- than the soil,grass,weeds,etc-- that is generated during the day by the sun.The ground or the pond has never frozen in my 16x24 covered tortoise,turtle pen. We sometimes go days with below freezing temps and clouds. Len

 

[matt41gb]

Is your tortoise/turtle pen a greenhouse?

-Matt

 

[cdmay]

Matt...neat place you made there. I really love the lawn chair in the middle. That would be my idea too.

 

[matt41gb]

Well, that's the one that I helped my Aunt build. I ordered that exact model greenhouse today. Mine will look very similar, but will have a small watering pond for the red-foots.

-Matt

 

[Kristina]

Here is a link I found you might be interested in, Matt.

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Greenhouse-Heat-Sink.htm

 

[jeffbens0n]

I am interested to hear how this works, I know you have fairly mild winters in texas but I am wondering what something like this might do for me in PA. I dont doubt that the heat trapped in the day would it make it nice and toasty, but i wonder what kind of heat it would take to keep it warm for the 12 plus hours it is dark during the winter, especially with those thin sides.

 

[Tom]

Can't wait to see how this works out for you Matt. I really want to know what the temps do.

I'll bet that if I let my sulcatas burrow and then put that over the hole with a doggie door on one side, it would keep things warm enough during those (relatively) cold winter spells we get. It'd keep the rain out too.

 

[Len B]

Is your tortoise/turtle pen a greenhouse?

-Matt

I call it a sorta greenhouse it has wood sides about 2 ft and in fall I cover it with poly,the first year the center peak was high enough for me to stand up in, but I have lowered the height down to less than 4 ft, I have to crawl around if I need to go in.The only thing I leave in it during winter is the turtles that hibernate.If we get a stretch of good weather I can put the mountain torts out during the day.And it also lets me put them out earlier in the spring because it heats up quick and holds the heat real well.Weeds for food grow all winter in it too. There are some pics under Enclosures --getting ready for winter

 

[matt41gb]

Here is a link I found you might be interested in, Matt.

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Greenhouse-Heat-Sink.htm

That's a really neat link! Where do you find solar panels?

-Matt

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Can't wait to see how this works out for you Matt. I really want to know what the temps do.

I'll bet that if I let my sulcatas burrow and then put that over the hole with a doggie door on one side, it would keep things warm enough during those (relatively) cold winter spells we get. It'd keep the rain out too.

I can't wait either! I was so excited how warm it was when I walked in her greenhouse. I was wearing a sweater and had to take it off when I walked in. The more plants you have in there giving off heat, the warmer it will be as well. I'm planning on filling it with a ton of plants just for that reason. I'll take a bunch of temperature readings and post them on here. We don't get a ton of really cold nights, but I think the average low temp here in December, January, and February are in the 30s. This winter is supposed to be much warmer though. I'll compare the outside temps to the inside temps when it's at its coldest. I'll also take ground temp readings as well.

-Matt