Ideas for tortoise enclosure....

atom

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Hello,
I got my tortoise back in December, and I have tried to get nice hide outs for her, but unfortunately she will flip herself over on the hide out I recently got her. She also gets stuck behind it. Any ideas for good enclosure décor?? I have done research for hours, but I have not found a nice and safe décor time yet.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)
 

wellington

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A pic of the enclosure will help us to help you.
Without info on size of enclosure and even type and size of tortoise it's hard to give appropriate answers.
 

atom

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A pic of the enclosure will help us to help you.
Without info on size of enclosure and even type and size of tortoise it's hard to give appropriate answers.
 

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atom

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She is a hermanns tortoise. On the side that is closed is her sleeping room. Which I am also not sure what to add in there so it is not as boring.
 

Yvonne G

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Those mfg'd tortoise houses are real handy for the keeper, however they're just not big enough for the tortoise.

If you are unable to set this tortoise up in a safe outdoor enclosure then the next best thing is a LARGE indoor habitat. The full grown tortoise shown in your picture needs a lot a walking around room. This aids in digestion.

One suggestion would be to buy the largest* plastic bin you can find. *By 'largest' I mean one with the biggest floor space. You could even buy two of them, cut out opposing ends and put them together.

Then you get a small plastic dish pan and cut a doorway in one end and invert it for the hiding place.

Another suggestion would be to figure out a way to hang the light fixtures. We've heard a few horror stories where the clamp failed, causing the hot light to land on the substrate, even causing a fire (or a burned tortoise).

If you take a look through our enclosure section you can get some ideas for enclosures. Don't pay attention to the 'closed chamber' ideas, as those are for babies.
 

TeamZissou

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Is that a banana in the feeding bowl? This species does not need or benefit from any fruit, even as a treat.

Read this care sheet:
 

atom

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Those mfg'd tortoise houses are real handy for the keeper, however they're just not big enough for the tortoise.

If you are unable to set this tortoise up in a safe outdoor enclosure then the next best thing is a LARGE indoor habitat. The full grown tortoise shown in your picture needs a lot a walking around room. This aids in digestion.

One suggestion would be to buy the largest* plastic bin you can find. *By 'largest' I mean one with the biggest floor space. You could even buy two of them, cut out opposing ends and put them together.

Then you get a small plastic dish pan and cut a doorway in one end and invert it for the hiding place.

Another suggestion would be to figure out a way to hang the light fixtures. We've heard a few horror stories where the clamp failed, causing the hot light to land on the substrate, even causing a fire (or a burned tortoise).

If you take a look through our enclosure section you can get some ideas for enclosures. Don't pay attention to the 'closed chamber' ideas, as those are for babies.
thank you! I will look into bigger enclosures and a way to hang the light fixtures!
 

atom

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Is that a banana in the feeding bowl? This species does not need or benefit from any fruit, even as a treat.

Read this care sheet:
Yes, I was told that it was a good snack. It is hard to find a source that says the same thing twice when feeding her! thank you
 

wellington

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Oh yeah, I second both posts. Needs much bigger enclosure, minimum of a 4x8 foot and no fruit.
Please read our caresheets and make much needed changes.
 

Krista S

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thank you! I will look into bigger enclosures and a way to hang the light fixtures!
Welcome to the forum, @atom!! I agree that your tortoise needs a much larger enclosure ASAP. Here is a link to the tortoise table style of enclosure I recently put together for my almost 2 year old Hermann’s. Maybe it’ll spark some ideas for your beautiful tortoise.


I agree that there’s a lot of conflicting inform out there. Thankfully you came to the right place. The care sheet that @TeamZissou provided the link for is the best care information available. I recommend forgetting the care information you’ve learned elsewhere and follow that care sheet as close as possible. It was created by one of our members who has decades of experience. He put the care sheet together to help prevent people like you and I from making some detrimental mistakes. I still refer to the care sheet from time to time as a refresher even though I’ve had my little guy since 2019.

Let us know if you have any questions as you read through everything.
 

atom

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Welcome to the forum, @atom!! I agree that your tortoise needs a much larger enclosure ASAP. Here is a link to the tortoise table style of enclosure I recently put together for my almost 2 year old Hermann’s. Maybe it’ll spark some ideas for your beautiful tortoise.


I agree that there’s a lot of conflicting inform out there. Thankfully you came to the right place. The care sheet that @TeamZissou provided the link for is the best care information available. I recommend forgetting the care information you’ve learned elsewhere and follow that care sheet as close as possible. It was created by one of our members who has decades of experience. He put the care sheet together to help prevent people like you and I from making some detrimental mistakes. I still refer to the care sheet from time to time as a refresher even though I’ve had my little guy since 2019.

Let us know if you have any questions as you read through everything.
thank you. you have a beautiful enclosure by the way :) I was looking into making a trough into an enclosure? Not a good idea? I just do not have the most spacious living area and it seemed very easy to get a trough quickly to transform her enclosure
 

Krista S

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thank you. you have a beautiful enclosure by the way :) I was looking into making a trough into an enclosure? Not a good idea? I just do not have the most spacious living area and it seemed very easy to get a trough quickly to transform her enclosure
If you’re able to find one big enough, it could work. I looked into doing that too, with a poly stock tank, but just wasn’t able to find one large enough. The biggest I could find was 150 gallon and the actual floor space on it was about 3 feet by 4 feet so it wasn’t worth it for me. If you’re able to find something closer to 4ft x 8ft, or something that would offer the same square footage, it could definitely work. The space a tortoise needs really isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s a requirement for them to live healthy lives. They need the space to be able to wander around and this aids in their digestion. Hopefully you can open up a good space in your home to give your girl the space she needs. Some people have built 2 story enclosures when they didn’t have adequate space, so that’s something you could search on the forum too.

There’s something called containment tanks as well, but I wasn’t able to find that where I live. Here’s a thread about those.


You could also look into a hard wall swimming pool, as long as it’s deep enough to have the proper depth of substrate and your tortoise couldn’t just crawl out. They come in all shapes and sizes.
 

atom

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If you’re able to find one big enough, it could work. I looked into doing that too, with a poly stock tank, but just wasn’t able to find one large enough. The biggest I could find was 150 gallon and the actual floor space on it was about 3 feet by 4 feet so it wasn’t worth it for me. If you’re able to find something closer to 4ft x 8ft, or something that would offer the same square footage, it could definitely work. The space a tortoise needs really isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s a requirement for them to live healthy lives. They need the space to be able to wander around and this aids in their digestion. Hopefully you can open up a good space in your home to give your girl the space she needs. Some people have built 2 story enclosures when they didn’t have adequate space, so that’s something you could search on the forum too.

There’s something called containment tanks as well, but I wasn’t able to find that where I live. Here’s a thread about those.


You could also look into a hard wall swimming pool, as long as it’s deep enough to have the proper depth of substrate and your tortoise couldn’t just crawl out. They come in all shapes and sizes.
 

atom

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Okay, sorry for all the questions lol but i have seen lots of ideas using giant totes.... since they come in all different sizes? I just don’t want to get the wrong thing again. I just have read so many conflicting articles and I’m all worried I have been doing the wrong things.
 
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