Enclosure
- Thread starter Thadus
- Start date
2 ft tall x 4 ft wide and 10 ft length - correct?
Will it be inside or outside? If inside, correct lighting is critical. Outside, protection from elements and predators is important. Take a look at the enclosures section and there are many good ideas to start with.
We can make more suggestions with details when we know the tort's age and the location of the enclosure.
Will it be inside or outside? If inside, correct lighting is critical. Outside, protection from elements and predators is important. Take a look at the enclosures section and there are many good ideas to start with.
We can make more suggestions with details when we know the tort's age and the location of the enclosure.
Will the tortoise be a hatchling? 2' x 4' is way too small for an adult, even if an outside enclosure is provided. If you have an adult, 4' x 8' is the minimum recommended floor space size. If it's a hatchling, 2' x 4' will not last long.
I have a Russian, Anna, that will be one next month and the 2' x 4' (x 2' height) definitely 'feels' small now. As a month old baby, I did 'lose' my tort after s/he dug deep into the substrate. I destroyed the enclosure - plants, rocks and substrate - to dig her out (for my own relief). She was fine and unhappy that I dug her out. I will probably keep the inside enclosure for another year because she has a 9' x 5' x 2.5' outside enclosure in sunny southern California.
I think 2 to 3 feet depth is important because the lighting and heating elements may need to be adjusted. If you have 6"+ of substrate (coco coir, peat moss, rocks, cypress/fir/reptibark mulch), plants, water dish, and at least 1 humid hide, the walking floor space quickly disappears and the vertical distance between the heating & lighting will be insufficient. Russians are diggers (babies to adults) and need the deeper substrate. I have varying depths from 4" to 9" in the indoor enclosure and 4" to 2' depth in the outdoor enclosure. Most plants also thrive in deeper soil - room for their roots and all that.
I hope this helps.
I have a Russian, Anna, that will be one next month and the 2' x 4' (x 2' height) definitely 'feels' small now. As a month old baby, I did 'lose' my tort after s/he dug deep into the substrate. I destroyed the enclosure - plants, rocks and substrate - to dig her out (for my own relief). She was fine and unhappy that I dug her out. I will probably keep the inside enclosure for another year because she has a 9' x 5' x 2.5' outside enclosure in sunny southern California.
I think 2 to 3 feet depth is important because the lighting and heating elements may need to be adjusted. If you have 6"+ of substrate (coco coir, peat moss, rocks, cypress/fir/reptibark mulch), plants, water dish, and at least 1 humid hide, the walking floor space quickly disappears and the vertical distance between the heating & lighting will be insufficient. Russians are diggers (babies to adults) and need the deeper substrate. I have varying depths from 4" to 9" in the indoor enclosure and 4" to 2' depth in the outdoor enclosure. Most plants also thrive in deeper soil - room for their roots and all that.
I hope this helps.
thanks!
I agree that 2x4' is way too small for an adult, and 10" is way too low for the sides.
For building materials: I just use plywood and 2x4s or 2x3s for most stuff.
For building materials: I just use plywood and 2x4s or 2x3s for most stuff.
Just a quick run down of my costs for a 4' x 8' enclosure that I recently made:
Plywood for bottom & sides off Craigslist $25
Additional wood pieces 2x4s and 1x1s and wheels (I like to move the enclosures as the sun moves) from Home Depot - $40 (wheels are expensive!)
Peat moss, orchid bark, beach rocks, bamboo garden fencing from Home Depot $50
Seeds from TortoiseSupply $0 - they were leftover from last year $7
Safe plants and weeds from own yard $0
No lighting - will add during the fall
Chicken wire - free from father-in-law, will switch to hardware cloth later as well - I don't like the poking bits on the ends
I have since added chicken wire to the sides and the plastic on top is just for the "rainy" (ha!) days.
I planted the seeds in February and only five (the potted ones)plants were added from my yard.
Plywood for bottom & sides off Craigslist $25
Additional wood pieces 2x4s and 1x1s and wheels (I like to move the enclosures as the sun moves) from Home Depot - $40 (wheels are expensive!)
Peat moss, orchid bark, beach rocks, bamboo garden fencing from Home Depot $50
Seeds from TortoiseSupply $0 - they were leftover from last year $7
Safe plants and weeds from own yard $0
No lighting - will add during the fall
Chicken wire - free from father-in-law, will switch to hardware cloth later as well - I don't like the poking bits on the ends
I have since added chicken wire to the sides and the plastic on top is just for the "rainy" (ha!) days.
I planted the seeds in February and only five (the potted ones)plants were added from my yard.
Here's a pic from the other side
This was taken early March. Purchased plants are repotted into unfertilized soil and kept away from the torts for 6 months. I only feed the plants from seedlings under 6 months old. Tom recommends to wait a year for purchased plants though.
This was taken early March. Purchased plants are repotted into unfertilized soil and kept away from the torts for 6 months. I only feed the plants from seedlings under 6 months old. Tom recommends to wait a year for purchased plants though.
Thanks. I have rudimentary carpentry skills and just tried to copy what Tom and the others have built. Just remember to measure twice or thrice! and cut once.
Super nice enclosure. Is is for Anna?
This recommendation comes from @cdmay who is a very experienced tortoise keeper and happens to work at a commercial nursery. My recommendation is based of of what I learned from Carl.
Tom is correct. Mostly, anyway...I run a private garden on Palm Beach which means I work closely with commercial gardens, growers and suppliers. I also have to treat the trees, shrubs, hedges and grass in my garden which is 5 acres. But regardless, the trend in commercial (as well as private gardens) is to use systemic pesticides rather than the traditional contact insecticides and so forth. This means that nurserymen and other commercial plant growers are treating plants with systemic substances that get taken up into the plant tissue itself, thus making the entire plant toxic.
It is not like it was before where one could simply wash off the plant and remove the chemicals, or leave the plant out in the sun for a few days where the ultraviolet rays from the sun neutralize most pesticides after a day or so.
The reason for the long wait is this...many of these systemics remain in the plant tissue for months after their application. In some cases 6 months or more. As this is not an exact science I'm going the extra mile and waiting even longer
@CarolS - no, it's for the three baby CA desert torts. Anna has a 9'x5' enclosure but the seedlings are still pretty small.
@cdmay - So if a spot treatment is used by a neighbor, it could be okay to use at an earlier time instead of months?
turdle yerdle
Active Member
1 piece of 8 by 4 plywood would be good, only16 dollars. Make the walls 10 inches high.
