Indoor Enclosure what should I do? What did I

[KT1]

Hi
I have a 3 y/o, 10#, 14” leopard tortoise.
He has been in a closed chamber enclosure, which is now too small for him.
His current enclosure has HO UVB bulbs, radiant heaters and orchid bark as his substrate.

I live just out Chicago, so he is outside during the summer, but needs to be inside in the winter.

So…I need to create a new indoor enclosure for him.
Can he be in an open topped enclosure full time or should he be in his closed chamber at night?

I am looking for suggestions on how to create a proper indoor enclosure for him.
He will be taking over a room in my house, so any suggestions on how to make it tortoise appropriate space is very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. Can you post pictures of the tortoise and the room you want to convert for the tortoise?

 

[wellington]

An open table is fine for winter. However, you would need to go really big. A room is more acceptable or a basement with a large enclosure.
When I had to house a couple females in my basement, I used a 10x12 pop up portable greenhouse.
The very best is to build a insulated heated shed for winter and make it his night house for summer.

 

[wellington]

Btw, I'm in Chicago.

 

[Tom]

Hi
I have a 3 y/o, 10#, 14” leopard tortoise.
He has been in a closed chamber enclosure, which is now too small for him.
His current enclosure has HO UVB bulbs, radiant heaters and orchid bark as his substrate.

I live just out Chicago, so he is outside during the summer, but needs to be inside in the winter.

So…I need to create a new indoor enclosure for him.
Can he be in an open topped enclosure full time or should he be in his closed chamber at night?

I am looking for suggestions on how to create a proper indoor enclosure for him.
He will be taking over a room in my house, so any suggestions on how to make it tortoise appropriate space is very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

You could water proof the floor and about 12 inches up the walls, and use the whole room. An oil filled radiant heater set on a reptile thermostat should keep it plenty warm in there over winter, and you can humidify the whole room as needed. At 14 inches long, you don't need 80% humidity anymore, but try to keep it up near there. You can build a small shelf or table for the heater to keep all the floor space. Make sure the temperature on the floor where the tortoise is is warm enough. It can be 15 degrees colder on the floor compared to eye level in a room.

 

[KT1]

Btw, I'm in Chicago.

Lol, I can’t put any kind of a shed up because we have gone over our allotment of cement in the yard. We have a brick patio and that is already on the villages watchlist😂

I have not emptied the room yet, but it is a 10 x 10 room (so no pic yet). I was thinking of basically building a big “box” on the floor and putting heaters on the sides, have anhave a hanging basking light and UVB lights above.

Would something like this work?

 

[Ink]

Lol, I can’t put any kind of a shed up because we have gone over our allotment of cement in the yard. We have a brick patio and that is already on the villages watchlist😂

I have not emptied the room yet, but it is a 10 x 10 room (so no pic yet). I was thinking of basically building a big “box” on the floor and putting heaters on the sides, have anhave a hanging basking light and UVB lights above.

Would something like this work?

What would you use for flooring?

 

[KT1]

The snap together vinyl flooring, which is waterproof.
That was another question, what kind of substrate would you use in something like this? That’s a lot of work and bark!

 

[wellington]

Lol, I can’t put any kind of a shed up because we have gone over our allotment of cement in the yard. We have a brick patio and that is already on the villages watchlist😂

I have not emptied the room yet, but it is a 10 x 10 room (so no pic yet). I was thinking of basically building a big “box” on the floor and putting heaters on the sides, have anhave a hanging basking light and UVB lights above.

Would something like this work?

Yes this would work. I would line the flooring with a rubber liner or pond liner as this wouldn't be as slippery as a vinyl floor made for humans.
Then you would have to still put substrate over it. They don't burrow, so you wouldn't need a deep layer. You could also, to cut down on the amount of substrate, use some flat slate or flat rocks for part of the substrate/floor area and substrate on the rest.

 

[wellington]

Lol, I can’t put any kind of a shed up because we have gone over our allotment of cement in the yard. We have a brick patio and that is already on the villages watchlist😂

I have not emptied the room yet, but it is a 10 x 10 room (so no pic yet). I was thinking of basically building a big “box” on the floor and putting heaters on the sides, have anhave a hanging basking light and UVB lights above.

Would something like this work?

Wow, they keep a close watch.
Chicago doesn't lol.