Hermann's enclosure

[Justin 15]

Hi guys this is speedy'a enclosure. Had him in here for over a year now. What do you guys think? Is there any problems? I know it's a bit basic. :|

 

[Justin 15]

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a beautiful enclosure, however, it's way too small for that tortoise. Any chance you can get him outside?

 

[Gillian M]

It's a beautiful enclosure, however, it's way too small for that tortoise. Any chance you can get him outside?

Hi Yvonne. How big should a tort's enclosure be? Appreciate an answer, as I have decided to change Oli's enclosure. However, I need help and advice here. Thank you.

 

[Gillian M]

View attachment 147201

View attachment 147204

View attachment 147205

Looks beautiful! Congrats.

 

[Justin 15]

It's a beautiful enclosure, however, it's way too small for that tortoise. Any chance you can get him outside?

I can't really get him outside permanently, only on occasion. I live in North East Scotland so I'm afraid it is too cold here. I'm going to look into expanding indoor enclosure. don't think I could afford something like that right now...

 

[Pokeymeg]

That's a great looking enclosure! The biggest problem is that it really is too small. My adult Hermann (5.5") has a 2 x 6' enclosure... Even that is on the small side, but using plants, etc, to break up sight lines definitely helps make it seem big to him! Any chance you can make your enclosure bigger?

 

[tglazie]

I agree with the consensus. It needs to be bigger. Two by six is a good place to start. I keep marginateds, and whenever they're indoors during inclement weather (which thankfully isn't as inclement as it must be in Scotland during much of the year, no offense, but your winters must be rather rough), I keep them in six foot diameter kiddie pools, which pales in comparison to their six foot by eighteen foot outdoor enclosures. Tortoises need space, and you can provide it for them relatively cheaply, but there is, unfortunately, no two ways about it. The cage top is also inefficient, as far as heat is concerned. Something with a closed top would be more effective at enclosing and stabilizing essential humidity and temperature.

I know it's often difficult to hear this sort of advice. Lord knows I was once in your shoes, keeping tortoises in overly small, overly dry enclosures, most assured that I was doing things properly. However, once I got around to changing my husbandry practices, invested more in the care and housing of my charges, there was a world of difference when I compared the state of my tortoises then with the state of them now. Put simply, there is no comparison. They are far more healthy, lively, and strong than I've ever seen them.

T.G.

 

[Gillian M]

I agree with the consensus. It needs to be bigger. Two by six is a good place to start. I keep marginateds, and whenever they're indoors during inclement weather (which thankfully isn't as inclement as it must be in Scotland during much of the year, no offense, but your winters must be rather rough), I keep them in six foot diameter kiddie pools, which pales in comparison to their six foot by eighteen foot outdoor enclosures. Tortoises need space, and you can provide it for them relatively cheaply, but there is, unfortunately, no two ways about it. The cage top is also inefficient, as far as heat is concerned. Something with a closed top would be more effective at enclosing and stabilizing essential humidity and temperature.

I know it's often difficult to hear this sort of advice. Lord knows I was once in your shoes, keeping tortoises in overly small, overly dry enclosures, most assured that I was doing things properly. However, once I got around to changing my husbandry practices, invested more in the care and housing of my charges, there was a world of difference when I compared the state of my tortoises then with the state of them now. Put simply, there is no comparison. They are far more healthy, lively, and strong than I've ever seen them.

T.G.

Hi. Do you think that a two x six enclosure would suit an adult Greek tortoise?

I'd very much appreciate an answer. Thank you.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Hi. Do you think that a two x six enclosure would suit an adult Greek tortoise?

I'd very much appreciate an answer. Thank you.

You should start your own thread instead of piggybacking on someone else's. You'll get a better response.

2' is a little narrow, but it would work.

 

[connerspringer]

I like it! Got my tortoise last Thursday, no where near that big yet However I really like your enclosure and your tortoise looks really healthy/happy!

 

[Justin 15]

I like it! Got my tortoise last Thursday, no where near that big yet However I really like your enclosure and your tortoise looks really healthy/happy!

Thanks

 

[Justin 15]

That's a great looking enclosure! The biggest problem is that it really is too small. My adult Hermann (5.5") has a 2 x 6' enclosure... Even that is on the small side, but using plants, etc, to break up sight lines definitely helps make it seem big to him! Any chance you can make your enclosure bigger?

Thanks for the advice.
Will have a good think about what I can do.

 

[Justin 15]

I agree with the consensus. It needs to be bigger. Two by six is a good place to start. I keep marginateds, and whenever they're indoors during inclement weather (which thankfully isn't as inclement as it must be in Scotland during much of the year, no offense, but your winters must be rather rough), I keep them in six foot diameter kiddie pools, which pales in comparison to their six foot by eighteen foot outdoor enclosures. Tortoises need space, and you can provide it for them relatively cheaply, but there is, unfortunately, no two ways about it. The cage top is also inefficient, as far as heat is concerned. Something with a closed top would be more effective at enclosing and stabilizing essential humidity and temperature.

I know it's often difficult to hear this sort of advice. Lord knows I was once in your shoes, keeping tortoises in overly small, overly dry enclosures, most assured that I was doing things properly. However, once I got around to changing my husbandry practices, invested more in the care and housing of my charges, there was a world of difference when I compared the state of my tortoises then with the state of them now. Put simply, there is no comparison. They are far more healthy, lively, and strong than I've ever seen them.

T.G.

Hello. Thanks for the advice. As mentioned above, I will have a good think about things.

To be honest I have spent so much money on my tortoise and I would spend so much more if i had the chance. I'll be totally honest with you..I'm 15 years old and I don't have a part time job. Being really busy with school work. I obviously have some money going around but my family actually hate the fact that I've spent so much in the past on my tortoise (enclosures,lights etc) and they don't want me taking up more space. I have spent hundreds of pounds on my tortoises, I even had a vivarium which I scrapped as I was told they were bad (believed it because my first tortoise died of RNS) and I completely believed in open topped enclosures. I'm still learning the ropes of this stuff. Giving up speedy would be absolutely last resort and I have and will fight for what he needs. It's just very difficult to get a expensive and bulky enclosure with my family around at this time. I'll think of something.

 

[tglazie]

You and I have more in common than I initially figured, Justin. I was fifteen once, back in the nineties, and I too know of the difficulties in maintaining a tortoise under the fiscal limitations of your folks' tolerance (and my old man was the one who got me into the hobby, so I can only imagine the challenges you face doing this on your own). With me, it was always a situation in which I butted heads with my old man, given that we both had very different views on the nature of tortoises. Not to get into it too deeply, but he and I often squared off on varying strategies for their care. Keep in mind that this was back in the nineties and early 2000s. We didn't have resources like the forum back then, so there was a lot of bad information going around, and though he was often wrong in his arguments, I was often just as wrong. I killed my fair share of tortoises, given my enormous ignorance, and I tend to think that I've made more than my share of mistakes over the years. It's funny, given that my old man passed on a few years back, and now I've taken full charge of the herd, armed with a great deal of knowledge I've acquired and had reinforced by members on the forum. This is truly an invaluable resource, and it's the best kind of resource, given that it is always flexing and changing as we members collectively learn more and more. Tortoises are truly complex creatures, and the reality is that we've only really scratched the surface when it comes to how they operate, from a behavioral, ecological, and genetic standpoint.

Gillian, to answer your question, it can work, sure. However, I've always been of the "size definitely matters" school of thought when it comes to tortoise enclosures. My first tortoise was a Turkish ibera named Graecus, and I still have him in my collection. As he was the first, he maintains something of a favored status, and I recently remodeled his enclosure to a whopping nine by twenty feet. And he uses every square inch of the thing, given that he's such a tenacious beast. I mean, at the moment, it is still burning hot out, so his activity levels have dropped (as is to be expected this time of year), but in the spring and autumn months, I swear, that little guy runs five miles per day inside his enclosure. I don't know if he's unusual in this regard, given that I've never encountered a tortoise as vigilant (or brutal; I've never been able to house him with anyone, as he automatically resorts to ramming and viscous biting, even against a red eared slider that once escaped into his enclosure; I mean, he will literally attack anything with a shell) and tenacious as he is, but I know that Graecus would never settle for anything smaller than six by twelve. Every autumn during the prelude to hibernation, he is always at the walls of his kiddy pool, given the fact that the six foot diameter circle isn't enough space for him. He pushes all the topsoil in the pool to the center in his attempts to scale the walls before the pre-hibernation fast takes his energy levels down a notch. What's crazy about him is that he's an old man, I would guess he's at least fifty years old, given that he's jet black now, but when I first got him twenty some odd years ago, he had a little gold and yellow. He still does on his plastron, but everything else has turned a charcoal grey. Despite his years, he's as robust and outgoing as ever.

T.G.

 

[Gillian M]

You should start your own thread instead of piggybacking on someone else's. You'll get a better response.

2' is a little narrow, but it would work.

I've done it already and did NOT get much help. Therefore, please do not be so hurtful in your answers instead of helping!

 

[Justin 15]

You and I have more in common than I initially figured, Justin. I was fifteen once, back in the nineties, and I too know of the difficulties in maintaining a tortoise under the fiscal limitations of your folks' tolerance (and my old man was the one who got me into the hobby, so I can only imagine the challenges you face doing this on your own). With me, it was always a situation in which I butted heads with my old man, given that we both had very different views on the nature of tortoises. Not to get into it too deeply, but he and I often squared off on varying strategies for their care. Keep in mind that this was back in the nineties and early 2000s. We didn't have resources like the forum back then, so there was a lot of bad information going around, and though he was often wrong in his arguments, I was often just as wrong. I killed my fair share of tortoises, given my enormous ignorance, and I tend to think that I've made more than my share of mistakes over the years. It's funny, given that my old man passed on a few years back, and now I've taken full charge of the herd, armed with a great deal of knowledge I've acquired and had reinforced by members on the forum. This is truly an invaluable resource, and it's the best kind of resource, given that it is always flexing and changing as we members collectively learn more and more. Tortoises are truly complex creatures, and the reality is that we've only really scratched the surface when it comes to how they operate, from a behavioral, ecological, and genetic standpoint.

Gillian, to answer your question, it can work, sure. However, I've always been of the "size definitely matters" school of thought when it comes to tortoise enclosures. My first tortoise was a Turkish ibera named Graecus, and I still have him in my collection. As he was the first, he maintains something of a favored status, and I recently remodeled his enclosure to a whopping nine by twenty feet. And he uses every square inch of the thing, given that he's such a tenacious beast. I mean, at the moment, it is still burning hot out, so his activity levels have dropped (as is to be expected this time of year), but in the spring and autumn months, I swear, that little guy runs five miles per day inside his enclosure. I don't know if he's unusual in this regard, given that I've never encountered a tortoise as vigilant (or brutal; I've never been able to house him with anyone, as he automatically resorts to ramming and viscous biting, even against a red eared slider that once escaped into his enclosure; I mean, he will literally attack anything with a shell) and tenacious as he is, but I know that Graecus would never settle for anything smaller than six by twelve. Every autumn during the prelude to hibernation, he is always at the walls of his kiddy pool, given the fact that the six foot diameter circle isn't enough space for him. He pushes all the topsoil in the pool to the center in his attempts to scale the walls before the pre-hibernation fast takes his energy levels down a notch. What's crazy about him is that he's an old man, I would guess he's at least fifty years old, given that he's jet black now, but when I first got him twenty some odd years ago, he had a little gold and yellow. He still does on his plastron, but everything else has turned a charcoal grey. Despite his years, he's as robust and outgoing as ever.

T.G.

Thanks for your response.
You must have been so lucky having a father with interests in tortoises
It is difficult because whatever money I get from them (whether it's the odd chore, birthday or Christmas money)
I spend it on my tortoise or as my grandfather says "something stupid". Which I'm sure does sound stupid/weird to most folk because it's not a usual thing people would do. Most of the people in my school are going to parties or out to friends houses and I make plans to clean out speedy'a enclosure

It annoys me so much because it's something I want and they think it's better to buy a new pair of trainers or something (which i do). People in my school have tortoises and bearded dragons but they just loose interest in them. One guy said his mum put his lizard away cus he just left it for his social life. Now I do like to do things as well but when you've got an animal that becomes priority. Got no idea how I'm going to persuade my family to upgrade enclosure...my grandparents handed me £300 for my birthday and said "don't you go spending this in your tortoises"
Honestly it sucks being this age...one day I'll have my tortoise farm.

 

[tglazie]

No worries, Justin. Trust me, it gets better. I remember highschool and early college, working grueling minimum wage jobs in restaurants and retail shops, getting bossed around by idiots on power trips, having my parents overreact and negatively disregard my burgeoning interests. All I can say is work hard, work smart, and once you're in college, an internship, or an apprenticeship, learn everything you can and don't be shy about networking with people. You will find that the more you show yourself to be a success to your family and friends, the less those folks will look upon your hobby as strange. My mother used to be absolutely opposed to my keeping tortoises. Now, I set her up in the guest house on my property, and she's always talking about how wonderful my setup is. Things will change as you grow older in ways you'd never expect.

T.G.