Cold Frames

[Irwin4530]

Hello all!

I was looking at a tort forum from England....checking out all of their outdoor enclosures....and most of them has a cold frame included in their set-ups. I have used rubbermaid containers for heat but these are are more practical and much prettier!!

This time of year I daydream about how to make my tort yard prettier, safer and more enjoyable for my "little ones" and for me. These looked like a nice way to offer shelter and start edibles. THOUGHTS?

 

[Redstrike]

cold frame = mini greenhouse...I had to look this up.

Sounds great to me!

 

[Irwin4530]

Dont they look great!!
I am imagining one made out of re-claimed windows....after paint is removed of course!

 

[wellington]

OMG, I was just wondering about them, green houses and also a sauna set up for the cold winters in Chicago. I don't plan on ever leaving him out all year at night, but I would like to be able to put him out in something during the day all year. Any other thoughts on both green house and/or sauna?
Sorry Irwin 4350, didn't mean to piggy back onto your thread

 

[Irwin4530]

Wellington~ the more the merrier......
clearly this applies to Torts. too

 

[jaizei]

If I lived somewhere that had long periods of cold, I'd probably use a cold frame/greenhouse. There is a certain type of acrylic panels you can use that allow most of the uvb to pass through. Something else to keep in mind is ventilation, even on a cold day a greenhouse/coldframe can top 100*f.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I've been thinking about installing one in the new Tortoisarium I'm building...understand that it's a very common thing, amongst tortoisekeepers, in Europe.

 

[Irwin4530]

Terry~ That seems to be where I see them most in all of my "outdoor tortoise enclosure" searches (Europe).
The ones they have look so much cooler then the ones I found here online. they have ground level doors and sides in addition to the ajustable roofs. SO COOL my Russians seem to like their little terra cotta condo I made for them (see attached photo) but I would think the red-foot torts would LOVE their own greenhouse.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Terry~ That seems to be where I see them most in all of my "outdoor tortoise enclosure" searches (Europe).
The ones they have look so much cooler then the ones I found here online. they have ground level doors and sides in addition to the ajustable roofs. SO COOL my Russians seem to like their little terra cotta condo I made for them (see attached photo) but I would think the red-foot torts would LOVE their own greenhouse.

"Terra cotta condo"...Irwin4530, you certainly have a ripe future in advertising!

Yeah, I plan to add those features (ground-level doors) when I build it...likely w/ a rubber "doggy door" so they can go out/come in, as they choose, but the inside temp stays warm.

One I read about is self-regulating, temperature-wise, but the builder wasn't clear on how that was accomplished, and I've been unable to work it out, thus far.

Do think it'd be a VERY handy feature, as the builder guarranteed that the inside can never get too hot.