help on making a L shape enclosure

[Recklessrojo]

Hi guys my name is Rojo and i live in Ohio and i want to make a make a L shape enclosure for my russian tortoise Mundo. And im moving into a new house and decided i want to put her in the basement since it have much room than any other bedroom. And i want to go for this type of build, idk where to start or what dimensions of lumber to get?

 

[ecachuh]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Do you have any tools like a circular saw or anything? Just figure out what size you want and go from there. Like a 4x8 piece of 3/4" (or whatever thickness you choose) plywood you can cut into appx 4 -2x4 pieces. They may even have precut wood or cut it for you. Don't get pressure treated. I might be able to find a drawing I previously saw a while back. Had the dimensions for the build. Like those corner benches.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Maybe @Littleredfootbigredheart has stumbled up on some drawings or instructions?

 

[ecachuh]

You could do this....it's more expensive but you can take it down if needed or enlarge the enclosure etc.. The concrete blocks are like $4 a piece. This is what I did outside for a temporary enclose until we finish the yard. Saw this on YouTube.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Maybe @Littleredfootbigredheart has stumbled up on some drawings or instructions?

I haven’t come across any kind of blue prints unfortunatelyI’ve just got a few ‘L’ shaped photo examples, may I ask how old the tortoise that this is for is? I only ask because if under the age of 3 he could ideally do with being in a closed top, which can still be achieved with this kind of design and I have photo examples of that if you need some inspiration?

Though technically two 4x2 fts together provides enough square footage, I’d try and go bigger with the sections of you can just so he has some decent open roaming space, even if just the one is bigger

Have you considered looking for some shelving units with deep sides you could lay flat and put together into an L? Without the shelves in of course lol, if you’re worried about the sides not being high enough to prevent escapes, perhaps you could build a lip around the top and add corner caps, just an idea

What kind of lighting do you plan to use? Ie basking light and uv type? What kind of substrate? Just curious, would love to see some photo progress of this build! Would be wonderful to add to my enclosure thread!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I have and still do use pressure treated lumber. It isn't full of nice stuff like arsenic anymore.
If you use untreated lumber, you'll need a liner underneath the substrate. That can be fancy pond liner material or something as cheap as a shower curtain liner from the dollar store. (Which is what I'd use)
In fact, for a few dollars, the liner is just cheap insurance. Period.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have and still do use pressure treated lumber. It isn't full of nice stuff like arsenic anymore.
If you use untreated lumber, you'll need a liner underneath the substrate. That can be fancy pond liner material or something as cheap as a shower curtain liner from the dollar store. (Which is what I'd use)
In fact, for a few dollars, the liner is just cheap insurance. Period.

I too recommend using a liner either way.

 

[ecachuh]

I have and still do use pressure treated lumber. It isn't full of nice stuff like arsenic anymore.
If you use untreated lumber, you'll need a liner underneath the substrate. That can be fancy pond liner material or something as cheap as a shower curtain liner from the dollar store. (Which is what I'd use)
In fact, for a few dollars, the liner is just cheap insurance. Period.

Oh is that the reason for not using pressure treated? The arsenic? I didn't know why, I just kept reading not to use. Probably old stuff lol

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Oh is that the reason for not using pressure treated? The arsenic? I didn't know why, I just kept reading not to use. Probably old stuff lol

Yes. There's been much debate. And for good reason.
But it's safe to use. Many of us have been doing so. It lasts so much longer in the weather

 

[Recklessrojo]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Do you have any tools like a circular saw or anything? Just figure out what size you want and go from there. Like a 4x8 piece of 3/4" (or whatever thickness you choose) plywood you can cut into appx 4 -2x4 pieces. They may even have precut wood or cut it for you. Don't get pressure treated. I might be able to find a drawing I previously saw a while back. Had the dimensions for the build. Like those corner benches.

Hi sorry for the late response, but I can get them tools and my dad will be happy to help me get it build

 

[Recklessrojo]

I haven’t come across any kind of blue prints unfortunatelyI’ve just got a few ‘L’ shaped photo examples, may I ask how old the tortoise that this is for is? I only ask because if under the age of 3 he could ideally do with being in a closed top, which can still be achieved with this kind of design and I have photo examples of that if you need some inspiration?

Though technically two 4x2 fts together provides enough square footage, I’d try and go bigger with the sections of you can just so he has some decent open roaming space, even if just the one is bigger

Have you considered looking for some shelving units with deep sides you could lay flat and put together into an L? Without the shelves in of course lol, if you’re worried about the sides not being high enough to prevent escapes, perhaps you could build a lip around the top and add corner caps, just an idea

What kind of lighting do you plan to use? Ie basking light and uv type? What kind of substrate? Just curious, would love to see some photo progress of this build! Would be wonderful to add to my enclosure thread!

Hi tbh I don’t know how old she is (kinda forgot to ask at the expo) but I got her last year and I’m assuming she is a juvenile and I would love your photo examples. Where could I find shelving units to see if it’s a good fit for her?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi tbh I don’t know how old she is (kinda forgot to ask at the expo) but I got her last year and I’m assuming she is a juvenile and I would love your photo examples. Where could I find shelving units to see if it’s a good fit for her?

Fair enough, we might be able to get a feel for if she’s still needing it closed if we could get a pic of her?if she looked to be a small hatchling when you got her, I’d say to keep her in a closed chamber for the next year or two.
Here’s some photo examples of the ‘L’ shapes I’ve found, two of which you can see how they’ve been built to be closedsorry the text is repetitive, it’s from two separate threads I made, hopefully they give you an idea for the top though should it need to be closed

Then this one is more open, obviously I’d remove the corner barrier, I’m guess this was meant for two.



Shelving wise, perhaps somewhere like ikea? Sometimes you’d be surprised what you can find on Facebook marketplace too! I guess it is somewhat dependent on if it’s needs to be closed though, if it’s open I wouldn’t be so worried about the wood type provided it’s well lined so tortoise doesn’t have direct access, but if closed it might be tricky finding a safe option with that route, you’d probably be best building from scratch if that’s the case

 

[ecachuh]

Hi sorry for the late response, but I can get them tools and my dad will be happy to help me get it build

No worries! How far do you want the box to come out measuring from the corner?

 

[ecachuh]

Let me know the measurements and you want the hide box area too? Is this what you're looking for?

 

[Recklessrojo]

Let me know the measurements and you want the hide box area too? Is this what you're looking for?

yes that is a perfect size!