Enclosure Recommendations

[rachelraines]

Okay it’s me again! LOL!
So right now I have my tortoise (I have not named it yet) in a DIY closed enclosure that I had my boyfriend make- it’s great- but will only be able to use it for a few months. Please drop you recommendations for a closed enclosure I can use for my four month Burmese Star! I want it to last a while! What we have works great but I don’t know where to start! Humidity control is super important!

 

[wellington]

The pop up greenhouses work great. They come 3 feet wide by at least 12 feet long maybe bigger but also smaller. Just add a tarp for the floor to protect your floors.

 

[rachelraines]

I had ordered an animal plastics - but if I was going to spend the money I wanted to g

The pop up greenhouses work great. They come 3 feet wide by at least 12 feet long maybe bigger but also smaller. Just add a tarp for the floor to protect your floors.
View attachment 376942Thank you so much!

 

[Tom]

Okay it’s me again! LOL!
So right now I have my tortoise (I have not named it yet) in a DIY closed enclosure that I had my boyfriend make- it’s great- but will only be able to use it for a few months. Please drop you recommendations for a closed enclosure I can use for my four month Burmese Star! I want it to last a while! What we have works great but I don’t know where to start! Humidity control is super important!

Animal plastics are great. Excellent customer service and the quality is truly awe-inspiring for an OCD person like me. Every detail is perfect. Prices are very fair for what you are getting. Their one problem is turn around time. In the past I've waited 8 or 9 months for a typical order. In one instance I waited over a year for delivery. I've talked with Alli (their office manager and sales rep on the phone...) about this several times, and they just have no desire to grow and and become a huge behemoth of a company. Their primary goal is an excellent product at a fair price, and it take however long it takes. The other consideration with AP cages, as is the case for almost all the other brands, is that you have to buy and install all your own electrical heating and lighting equipment. RHPs and a thermostat, LEDs for ambient lighting, they can put in a socket or two for basking and ambient, and then you have to find room and hang your UV tube. These are the two reasons why AP is my second favorite choice for a tortoise enclosure. If you go this route, get the biggest one you can, and get one that is at least 24 inches tall.

Our own @Markw84 started making his own enclosures a few years ago. They are called "Smart Enclosures", and they are fantastic in very way. Delivery time is often a week or two, but seldom more than a month. He has a starter package that is 48x36 inches. Then, in a year or two when your baby is getting larger, you can buy the "expansion pack" and double the size to 8x3 feet fairly easily and cheaply. Personally, I just start off with the full 8x3 feet. All of the heating and lighting is pre-installed professionally and all your thermostats and timers are ready to go. You just plug it in, set your timers, add substrate and its ready to use. They are the perfect tortoise life support system. Mark's enclosures cost more than other enclosures, but that is because all the heating and lighting stuff is already included. If you add up the costs of the enclosure and all the electrical stuff, those other enclosures cost more than Mark's. He buys all the stuff in bulk and sells it to you already installed at a discount over the regular full retail price you will pay if you buy these same items elsewhere from other sellers. There is nothing better.

Other makers have popped up over the years but I don't have first and experience with any of those.

The greenhouse tents that many people recommend here are certainly cheaper and can be thrown over an open topped tub, but they don't insulate as well, they smell like plastic, and they make it hard to see and enjoy your tortoise. Also, you have to put some sort of water proof lining down if you are using a wooden container of planter box to prevent it from rotting or leaking. I've tried that several times over the years, and its not easy or effective. Water always finds a way. PVC enclosures are water tight and sealed to prevent leakage even when filled with water. The tents are better than nothing, and they are cheaper than a large PVC enclosure like the ones offered by AP or Mark, but they simply do not work as well. Its just physics. I'd really like to do a side-by-side comparison, or watch someone else do one, with an electricity meter on both, and see how they compare for heat, humidity, and electricity use. They can certainly be made to work, and they are cheaper, but some people want to be able to see their tortoise and not have a greenhouse tent in their living room. Each of us has to decide what our priorities are.

 

[rachelraines]

I have reached out to mark- waiting to hear back! I think I will go with that or animal plastics!

 

[wellington]

Animal plastics are great. Excellent customer service and the quality is truly awe-inspiring for an OCD person like me. Every detail is perfect. Prices are very fair for what you are getting. Their one problem is turn around time. In the past I've waited 8 or 9 months for a typical order. In one instance I waited over a year for delivery. I've talked with Alli (their office manager and sales rep on the phone...) about this several times, and they just have no desire to grow and and become a huge behemoth of a company. Their primary goal is an excellent product at a fair price, and it take however long it takes. The other consideration with AP cages, as is the case for almost all the other brands, is that you have to buy and install all your own electrical heating and lighting equipment. RHPs and a thermostat, LEDs for ambient lighting, they can put in a socket or two for basking and ambient, and then you have to find room and hang your UV tube. These are the two reasons why AP is my second favorite choice for a tortoise enclosure. If you go this route, get the biggest one you can, and get one that is at least 24 inches tall.

Our own @Markw84 started making his own enclosures a few years ago. They are called "Smart Enclosures", and they are fantastic in very way. Delivery time is often a week or two, but seldom more than a month. He has a starter package that is 48x36 inches. Then, in a year or two when your baby is getting larger, you can buy the "expansion pack" and double the size to 8x3 feet fairly easily and cheaply. Personally, I just start off with the full 8x3 feet. All of the heating and lighting is pre-installed professionally and all your thermostats and timers are ready to go. You just plug it in, set your timers, add substrate and its ready to use. They are the perfect tortoise life support system. Mark's enclosures cost more than other enclosures, but that is because all the heating and lighting stuff is already included. If you add up the costs of the enclosure and all the electrical stuff, those other enclosures cost more than Mark's. He buys all the stuff in bulk and sells it to you already installed at a discount over the regular full retail price you will pay if you buy these same items elsewhere from other sellers. There is nothing better.

Other makers have popped up over the years but I don't have first and experience with any of those.

The greenhouse tents that many people recommend here are certainly cheaper and can be thrown over an open topped tub, but they don't insulate as well, they smell like plastic, and they make it hard to see and enjoy your tortoise. Also, you have to put some sort of water proof lining down if you are using a wooden container of planter box to prevent it from rotting or leaking. I've tried that several times over the years, and its not easy or effective. Water always finds a way. PVC enclosures are water tight and sealed to prevent leakage even when filled with water. The tents are better than nothing, and they are cheaper than a large PVC enclosure like the ones offered by AP or Mark, but they simply do not work as well. Its just physics. I'd really like to do a side-by-side comparison, or watch someone else do one, with an electricity meter on both, and see how they compare for heat, humidity, and electricity use. They can certainly be made to work, and they are cheaper, but some people want to be able to see their tortoise and not have a greenhouse tent in their living room. Each of us has to decide what our priorities are.

Tom, you are incorrect on the greenhouses. I have bought and used 4 different kinds. None smell like plastic once unpackaged and set up for a couple days, the time normally used to get everything working correctly. They are easy to see your tortoise if you buy the clear ones. They are much cheaper, sometimes found for under 50 bucks and work really well either over a table or as the enclosure itself. Can also be reused outside for a warmer area in an outdoor enclosure or reuse for growing plants/tortoise food.
Everything is easily hung inside by the frame. The only drawback is they do not come with a floor. This is an easy fix with a tarp. They come in a variety of lengths, 12 feet I believe is the longest of the triangle roofed ones. Easily folded away when done using it.
It's a great option for those that don't want too or can't spend hundreds on a one time enclosure.

 

[Tom]

Tom, you are incorrect on the greenhouses. I have bought and used 4 different kinds. None smell like plastic once unpackaged and set up for a couple days, the time normally used to get everything working correctly. They are easy to see your tortoise if you buy the clear ones. They are much cheaper, sometimes found for under 50 bucks and work really well either over a table or as the enclosure itself. Can also be reused outside for a warmer area in an outdoor enclosure or reuse for growing plants/tortoise food.
Everything is easily hung inside by the frame. The only drawback is they do not come with a floor. This is an easy fix with a tarp. They come in a variety of lengths, 12 feet I believe is the longest of the triangle roofed ones. Easily folded away when done using it.
It's a great option for those that don't want too or can't spend hundreds on a one time enclosure.

Okay. Let's get into it. Point by point.
1. I said they smell like plastic. You just agreed they smell like plastic. You say they don't smell after a few days. I can still smell them and I don't like it.
2. You think that type of flexible plastic offers as clear of a view as a pane of glass or plexiglass? No. No it doesn't.
3. No argument about the price. I said they were cheaper.
4. Mounting things from the flimsy wobbling frame of a portable green house is not as easy as mounting them from the ceiling of a solid PVC enclosure. Can it be done? Sure it can. Is it better? No. No it is not.
5. Not coming with a floor is not the only drawback, but its the next draw back you want to argue about. Tarps wear through and leak. So does thick painters plastic. Paint wears out and isn't water proof. Ask me how I know all this... Hint: Its not from guessing and its not from my "feelings" on the matter.
6. We agree that they are an option. We don't agree that they are a great option.
7. What is your deal with spending money on your animals? Why do you care so much about what other people want to spend on their animals? How about if we all just make recommendations on what we think is best and let people decide for themselves how much money they want to spend.
8. Portable greenhouse tents are better than an open top. They are not better than a proper closed chamber made of expanded PVC material.

 

[wellington]

Okay. Let's get into it. Point by point.
1. I said they smell like plastic. You just agreed they smell like plastic. You say they don't smell after a few days. I can still smell them and I don't like it.
2. You think that type of flexible plastic offers as clear of a view as a pane of glass or plexiglass? No. No it doesn't.
3. No argument about the price. I said they were cheaper.
4. Mounting things from the flimsy wobbling frame of a portable green house is not as easy as mounting them from the ceiling of a solid PVC enclosure. Can it be done? Sure it can. Is it better? No. No it is not.
5. Not coming with a floor is not the only drawback, but its the next draw back you want to argue about. Tarps wear through and leak. So does thick painters plastic. Paint wears out and isn't water proof. Ask me how I know all this... Hint: Its not from guessing and its not from my "feelings" on the matter.
6. We agree that they are an option. We don't agree that they are a great option.
7. What is your deal with spending money on your animals? Why do you care so much about what other people want to spend on their animals? How about if we all just make recommendations on what we think is best and let people decide for themselves how much money they want to spend.
8. Portable greenhouse tents are better than an open top. They are not better than a proper closed chamber made of expanded PVC material.

The smell of plastic for a couple days is no big deal. Maybe the ones you have used were cheaper plastic.
Hanging lights is easy and very adjustable and never had a problem with the "flimsy" frame.
Will agree not as clear as plexi but you can see your tortoise just fine.
What is your problem with thinking everyone wants to or can spend over 300 bucks for a one time use that might last them a year! Just because you have tons of money and can reuse yours over and over, doesn't mean everyone can or want to.
I have no problem spending money on my animals! I have a problem wasting money when there is a cheaper, just as good an option.
Tarps last a long time, years and are cheap to replace. Ask me how I know! Hint, not from guessing or from feelings! You are not the only person with experience.
I don't care what others spend on their animals. Not sure how you came up with that one. I like them knowing there is an option that doesn't cost so much, will last longer depending on the size they buy, and that can provided the needed environment even if they don't have lots of money to spend. Instead of making them feel like they aren't as good if they can't afford the PVC enclosures.
Never said they were better than the PVC enclosures! I only pointed out the things you were saying isn't true, cause again, I know, and not from feelings or guessing!
Now all correct info is there for anyone to make a decision.