Does Anyone Use a Pop-Up Mini Greenhouse for Leopard Grazing in Winter?

[RhodaE]

I couldn't find an exact thread on this topic - we moved from CA to TN with our 30 yr old leopard tort, and we've got things set up fine for him but wish to take advantage of the sunny winter days by putting out a small movable greenhouse so he can do some grazing. He so much prefers it to anything on a plate. Looking at an 8'x4'x4' kit. Just for an hour at a time probably. Probably when it's around 40 degrees F. Any input greatly received!

 

[wellington]

I used to use one years ago. I had a heater in it as the sun would leave the yard too soon.
As long as it's in the sun so it stays warm it will work.
I would get one like the one in the pic. It will stay warm at his level then one that is tall.
Put a thermometer in there on the ground to see if a heater is still needed.

 

[wellington]

Btw, I'm in Chicago, so probably a lot colder then where you're at. We also don't get a lot of sunny days in winter like you might.
I would only use it on sunny days.

 

[RhodaE]

I used to use one years ago. I had a heater in it as the sun would leave the yard too soon.
As long as it's in the sun so it stays warm it will work.
I would get one like the one in the pic. It will stay warm at his level then one that is tall.
Put a thermometer in there on the ground to see if a heater is still needed.
View attachment 364795

Funny, that is exactly the one we're looking at getting. Thanks for input.

 

[RhodaE]

Btw, I'm in Chicago, so probably a lot colder then where you're at. We also don't get a lot of sunny days in winter like you might.
I would only use it on sunny days.

Yeah, I grew up in Iowa and would have loved to move back there after 30 yrs in CA, but with our tortoise in mind we chose a more mild climate. And I didn't want to go too far south and have to worry about alligators, ha.

 

[jaizei]

If you do use some sort of greenhouse/coldframe type thing for grazing during the cooler months, you could replace the plastic with a covering that lets some of the UV through

CoolMax 4 Year UV Open & UV Resistant 6 mil Clear Greenhouse Covering | Farm Plastic Supply

CoolMax Greenhouse Film has all of the properties of our IRAC Film (Anti-Condensate, IR Treatment) with the additional benefits of 75% light diffusion and UV Open technology.

farmplasticsupply.com

 

[Megatron's Mom]

I'm not at that stage yet, but my plan is similar. I going to build mine a heated house for outside and use a greenhouse to extend the area that is heated. If they want to go further then they can and still have plenty of heated space too. Much more cost effective then a huge heated shed.

 

[RhodaE]

I'm not at that stage yet, but my plan is similar. I going to build mine a heated house for outside and use a greenhouse to extend the area that is heated. If they want to go further then they can and still have plenty of heated space too. Much more cost effective then a huge heated shed.

That's a neat idea. Our winters are pretty mild and not too long here in TN so I'm just looking to get a little warmth from the sun so he can enjoy some winter grazing. It gets hotter here with the humidity, than what he'd been used to in CA, so we put in a very shallow garden pond with waterfall, so he can cool off whenever he wants. He loves it, as do the frogs, birds and squirrels and our little dog who drinks out of it. Had to get some mosquito fish to deal with that. Got a little de-icer to keep it from freezing solid.