Help me figure out a low budget outdoor enclosure for my hatchling

VegasJeff

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Help me figure out a low budget outdoor enclosure for my hatchling. I'm going for this idea so the hatchling can get the proper UV light. This enclosure will be out on my front porch partially behind a column. It's always shaded behind the column so my idea is the tortoise could walk between the sunny hot side of the enclosure to the cool shaded side of the enclosure. The only other thing needed is this enclosure must be dog, cat, and bird proof. I heard there is some sort of screen that can be used over the top once I figure out how to attach it.

Here is the idea so far:
Sterilite container
Some sort of mulch/bark/coir on the bottom
A small box he can use as a tortoise home to retreat to
 

wellington

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Hatchlings should mostly be kept in a closed chamber enclosure. So it would only need to be outside for the uvb about 1/2 hour a day or every other day.
Be sure to check the temps within the enclosure before putting him out there. It might get too hot with high sides of the box.
Screen will block a lot of the uvb. I would attach chicken wire to 2x4 put together to fit the top.
 

TechnoCheese

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Try going to Home Depot and getting a 15$ sheet of plywood. Get them to cut it into four 8x1 foot strips, secure them together with stakes or raised garden bed corners, and voila, 8x8 enclosure for cheap. That’s what I did for my Juvinile Sulcata, in addition to cinder blocks :)A7DA1552-E41C-474A-8E9B-CFE1FF136E68.jpeg
 

mark1

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nice enclosure , but my opinion is the walls should be at least 1 1/2 times the length of the tortoise/turtle high ……the log where the plywood meets the cinderblock is a bit worrisome …….. you can get 2"x2"x8' lumber for about $1.50 , cut them in half at an angle , drive them in the ground and screw your plywood to them , would be a little more secure …….… maybe sulcatas are poor climbers , I've never kept them ………..
 

TechnoCheese

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nice enclosure , but my opinion is the walls should be at least 1 1/2 times the length of the tortoise/turtle high ……the log where the plywood meets the cinderblock is a bit worrisome …….. you can get 2"x2"x8' lumber for about $1.50 , cut them in half at an angle , drive them in the ground and screw your plywood to them , would be a little more secure …….… maybe sulcatas are poor climbers , I've never kept them ………..
The trick is making sure they can’t see outside the enclosure. I’m sure any Sulcata could break down or climb walls of any size, but only if they know they can. He doesn’t know he can, so I’ve never seen any evidence of him trying :)
 

VegasJeff

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If predators and thieves aren't an issue....
I'd use a low sided, plastic kiddie pool.

Thieves won’t be an issue but local neighborhood predators are. I had him outside today getting some sun and eating some greens. Then I saw a cat eyeing him like he was a mouse. Poor tortoise would have been a goner if I wasn’t there.
 

Lyn W

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You also have to worry about birds picking him up so some sort of mesh cover would be needed, but as a baby he just needs short, supervised spells outside.
 

ZEROPILOT

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You may need to fabricate some sort of protective cover like a 1x1" wooden frame with chicken wire stapled to it.
It wouldn't have to be a perfect fit as long as it covers your enclosure.
 

DesertGirl

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Try going to Home Depot and getting a 15$ sheet of plywood. Get them to cut it into four 8x1 foot strips, secure them together with stakes or raised garden bed corners, and voila, 8x8 enclosure for cheap. That’s what I did for my Juvinile Sulcata, in addition to cinder blocks :)View attachment 285340
That’s looking great!
 

Blackdog1714

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No t
Is this the same as Orchid Bark?

No that has fertilizer in it. You want just Fine Fir Bark- Greenall is a brand garden stores out carry. It is much cheaper to buy it that way in 2 cubic foot bags rather than the Petco 24 quart Reptibark
 
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