You are the best kind of tortoise owner. I love that you’re open to learning and improving Otis’ environment. We’ve all had some missteps when starting out, so know that you’re not alone. I personally am not aware of an enclosure large enough for you to buy. Does there happen to be anyone handy in your family? Or a handy friend or neighbour? The good news is that an adult Russian can be in a tortoise table style of enclosure which is easier to make or have made. Some people use regular old plywood, but more people are moving towards using a material called expanded pvc. Expanded pvc is water and heat resistant, so you don’t have to worry about using chemicals for waterproofing and you don’t have to worry about it moulding or rotting. I recently had a tortoise table style of enclosure made for my 2 year old Hermann’s tortoise. I’m not handy either, so I had no choice but to hire someone to make it. If you’d like to see it, I’ve got some pictures posted here:Thank you, thank you! I would not be here if I didn't want all of this great advice I have been getting! I am just starting out and I really want to do everything as perfectly as I can for him. The moss has been removed (I thought it was pretty, but not worth health probs!) and since I have reptisoil mixed in, the humidity retention should be just fine without it. Pellets are now soaking also!
I did mis-understand about the height thing! And his current enclosure is only 39.5" x 20.4". I now know that he needs more room to roam with taller walls. (Still much better than the 20 gallon fish tank they sold me to keep him in- which has since been returned!!) I am not great at building, what would be a good starter enclosure that I could buy for him?
Keep the advice coming! I am not offended at all and would like to implement these changes ASAP for Otie.
A big thank you & my new enclosure
I first want to thank all of the members who are putting in countless hours posting replies and helping people out. I, like many others, did an enormous amount of research before getting my Hermann’s tortoise. I was so confused by all the conflicting information. The only thing I knew for...
www.tortoiseforum.org
If you don’t want to have someone make one for you, you could look into a hard walled swimming pool. They come in all shapes and sizes and work well for some people. I’m in Canada, so there may be options available in the US that I’m not aware of for a proper pre-made tortoise table style enclosure that would be large enough. I’m sure someone else will chime in, if this is the case.