Creative ways of giving an apartment tortoise more roaming space?

[Mons]

Elevate your bed and use the space underneath for the enclosure

I was trying to find examples of this sort of set up online and in Pinterest. I can see how that might work and would give him loads more space but I didn't find any examples yet.

Could you link me to any you've found and liked? Or, if you have a setup like that, would you mind sharing a pic?

I'm trying to figure out how lighting and heating and cleaning would work. I guess with radiant heat panels like srmcclure uses, that could take care of the heat. And if it were a tall enough bed frame, then a long uv light like what I'm using currently could be hooked up somehow, though that's where I start to get lost in the weeds. And cleaning seems the trickiest. Maybe giant rolling drawers so I could roll it out from under when I need to clean things or take him out? Seems extra complicated but maybe still doable.

What about double-decker homes, like what people use for rabbits or chickens? Not quite like those of course, but maybe that same general idea.

Has anyone done that?

 

[SPILL]

I was trying to find examples of this sort of set up online and in Pinterest. I can see how that might work and would give him loads more space but I didn't find any examples

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/649714683735252445/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/745908757011518890/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/561753753498143378/

 

[Relic]

Elevate your bed and use the space underneath for the enclosure

I hate to disagree, but this is about as dangerous as having your morning constitutional crouched over an open well. Putting your flammable mattress, sheets, blanket, etc. over numerous heat sources, electrical connections, etc. is unnecessarily putting your life (or whoever sleeps there) at risk. Everyone assumes the smell of smoke will awaken them in case of fire, but this is not always so. Many deep sleepers will never notice the smoke, succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning, and die where they lie. Here is just one link to studies examining this issue:

https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/can-smells-wake-us-deep-sleep-1C9386712

It seems an elegant solution - all that unused space - but it comes with a serious threat.

 

[Blackdog1714]

An oil filled radiator heater with a fan will safely heat the enclosure and the room it’s in

 

[Zoeclare]

I hate to disagree, but this is about as dangerous as having your morning constitutional crouched over an open well. Putting your flammable mattress, sheets, blanket, etc. over numerous heat sources, electrical connections, etc. is unnecessarily putting your life (or whoever sleeps there) at risk. Everyone assumes the smell of smoke will awaken them in case of fire, but this is not always so. Many deep sleepers will never notice the smoke, succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning, and die where they lie. Here is just one link to studies examining this issue:

https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/can-smells-wake-us-deep-sleep-1C9386712

It seems an elegant solution - all that unused space - but it comes with a serious threat.

I always thought a "morning constitutional" was a walk! Does it really mean that? ?

 

[ArmadilloPup]

I always thought a "morning constitutional" was a walk! Does it really mean that? ?

I think it can be used that way. I've always heard of it in the more vulgar way. Someone on the localization team for the game 'Animal Crossing' must not have known because the cute little animal villagers say this a LOT.

 

[Srmcclure]

I think it can be used that way. I've always heard of it in the more vulgar way. Someone on the localization team for the game 'Animal Crossing' must not have known because the cute little animal villagers say this a LOT.

You'd be surprised what animal crossing has!!! Statie of david :


???

 

[Madkins007]

My point of view...

1. Free-roaming in a room or apartment- doable, but takes real dedication and planning. Drafts, dealing with poop and pee, other pets, things it can eat that can hurt it, lack of warm basking sites and UVB, etc. etc., etc. I would avoid it, but it CAN be done.
2. Under the bed housing. I LOVE the idea, but would never do it. Tortoises are vibration sensitive and the underbed habitats are transmitting all movements in the bed to the floor under them.
3. Your cage size. My go-to answer will ALWAYS be an adequate cage size. The European size recommendation that I like most is 8 shell lengths by 4 shell lengths minimum. If your tort is 6" long (or will be in a year), the habitat should be 4'x2' minimum of open floor space.
4. Glass walls. I have heard the 'stressed by glass' argument over and over. Bottom line is that some torts are, some aren't. If your tort is bothered by glass walls, put some frosted or opaque tape or material on the glass at their eye level.
5. 'Play areas'. A 'play area', exercise area, 'run', or whatever you call it would be about half way between a free-roaming tort, and one in a smallish cage. You can make play areas in a lot of ways, but one of the cheapest would be an old plastic pool with good tall sides. Rig up a basking area with a mounted CHE or hot bulb, some hides (not too close to the walls), and a substrate of something cheap and light, like cypress mulch. You could also do it with something like a playpen, a bookcase with no shelves laid on its back, etc.

Now, if you have the space, consider making a dedicated large space soewhere in the house that is warm, has a warm floor, and you can give some space to. How I did my 15'x8' space in the den was...
a.) Lay down some rigid foam panels fused or insulating houses.
b.) Run low wattage heating cables on the panels (checking for thermal compatibility), and hook them up to a thermostatic controller. A layer of hardboard or something with a bit of fire resistance would be strongly recommended here under the wires.
c.) Using the walls of the room and some simple plywood walls, outline the area with at least an 18" high wall.
d.) Line the area with a blue tarp big enough for the floor, AND to flow up the walls. Secure the tarp to the walls of the habitat.
e.) Fill it with your substrate. If you are brave, do a 'bioactive' substrate with real soil, worms, and so on. It is great, but takes work. Otherwise, something like cypress mulch. In either case, you're going to have to dig it all out once in a while for replacing and maintenance, so use what you can live with. (PS- using mulch here will almost certainly result in small snow fleas or other annoying but harmless pests)
f.) Rig up lighting, decor, hides, etc.

 

[Mons]

My point of view...

1. Free-roaming in a room or apartment- doable, but takes real dedication and planning. Drafts, dealing with poop and pee, other pets, things it can eat that can hurt it, lack of warm basking sites and UVB, etc. etc., etc. I would avoid it, but it CAN be done.
2. Under the bed housing. I LOVE the idea, but would never do it. Tortoises are vibration sensitive and the underbed habitats are transmitting all movements in the bed to the floor under them.
3. Your cage size. My go-to answer will ALWAYS be an adequate cage size. The European size recommendation that I like most is 8 shell lengths by 4 shell lengths minimum. If your tort is 6" long (or will be in a year), the habitat should be 4'x2' minimum of open floor space.
4. Glass walls. I have heard the 'stressed by glass' argument over and over. Bottom line is that some torts are, some aren't. If your tort is bothered by glass walls, put some frosted or opaque tape or material on the glass at their eye level.
5. 'Play areas'. A 'play area', exercise area, 'run', or whatever you call it would be about half way between a free-roaming tort, and one in a smallish cage. You can make play areas in a lot of ways, but one of the cheapest would be an old plastic pool with good tall sides. Rig up a basking area with a mounted CHE or hot bulb, some hides (not too close to the walls), and a substrate of something cheap and light, like cypress mulch. You could also do it with something like a playpen, a bookcase with no shelves laid on its back, etc.

Now, if you have the space, consider making a dedicated large space soewhere in the house that is warm, has a warm floor, and you can give some space to. How I did my 15'x8' space in the den was...
a.) Lay down some rigid foam panels fused or insulating houses.
b.) Run low wattage heating cables on the panels (checking for thermal compatibility), and hook them up to a thermostatic controller. A layer of hardboard or something with a bit of fire resistance would be strongly recommended here under the wires.
c.) Using the walls of the room and some simple plywood walls, outline the area with at least an 18" high wall.
d.) Line the area with a blue tarp big enough for the floor, AND to flow up the walls. Secure the tarp to the walls of the habitat.
e.) Fill it with your substrate. If you are brave, do a 'bioactive' substrate with real soil, worms, and so on. It is great, but takes work. Otherwise, something like cypress mulch. In either case, you're going to have to dig it all out once in a while for replacing and maintenance, so use what you can live with. (PS- using mulch here will almost certainly result in small snow fleas or other annoying but harmless pests)
f.) Rig up lighting, decor, hides, etc.

Thank you for all the advice! I've been thinking about bookshelves on their sides and plastic pools as additional spaces for him.

If you have a photo handy, I'd love to see your setup. It sounds really carefully designed.

 

[Madkins007]

Like it says in my signature, I don't have any torts now and haven't for a few years. If I run across the photos (they are on CD right now), I will post some.