My outdoor enclosure and continuous improvements.

[bouaboua]

Dear All:

I found this Forum little over a month ago and the crazy learning and posting of mine starts. I learn so much and gain so many good, funny and some not so good ideas.

I build all my indoor tortoise tables (3) and outdoor enclosures (2) myself.

Now:

Encouraged by Jacqui in one of the thread, I will share how I build my couple outdoor enclosure and then those indoor one.

The first one is an 4’ W X 8 ‘ L x 18 inch H enclosure that designed for three (1.2) Hermanns. I found them on the CL.

Here are the Hermanns.



This is an very simple one. No need too much wood cutting. Due to this enclosure will be an outdoor one so the main structure I use all pressure treated 2X4s.



I think Just follow the sequences of the picture, will be very much self-explanatory how this enclosure were built.

Here is the site of my back yard I picked. My Mother in-law have some plant in some pots. Have to move............

For preventing the escapes, I dig 12 inches into the ground and buries some 12"X18" bricks as a underground wall.



Here is the completion of the underground escape proof wall.



Now you may notice, This 4 X 8 enclosure are 1/2 on the concrete and 1/2 on the dirt.

I better post this before I loss track of what I posted.

 

[ascott]

Good progress...look forward to seeing the completed project

 

[bouaboua]

I just then simply cut two pressure treated 2x4 into 1/2 to make this 4 X 8 enclosure. Then place the the frame of this enclosure on top of the escaping proof wall.



Use some chicken wire as the see through wall.



make two open top. Our Hermann are stay outside 24/7 during the summer. we need to provide the protection for the night animals but to bother them and easy access for us to get inside to clean.



We also make a side gate that can open during the day and close during the night. Those guys are so smart, every morning they will soak up the sun inside the enclosure, once we open the side gate they know the food will be serve, they will all one by one get out of the enclosure and looking for thing to eat.



below are some photo about the entire Hermann's enclosure and "Play ground".

 

[ascott]

Nice....I only would be concerned about the wire mesh...what I mean is that if you are anywhere that raccoons are about or mice/rats they can manipulate that wiring...perhaps would place a piece of flat wood along the edges of the wire mesh so that you essentially sandwich the mesh between the wood frame and the flat wood pieces so that the wire mesh edges can not be messed with? Does that make sense?

 

[bouaboua]

Then we add a Swing chair.

In the summer, my wife and I often drink our morning coffee in the swing chair and have those Hermanns "running" ( I know I pushing it of so call running) under our feet.

Some random shot of them below.

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Nice....I only would be concerned about the wire mesh...what I mean is that if you are anywhere that raccoons are about or mice/rats they can manipulate that wiring...perhaps would place a piece of flat wood along the edges of the wire mesh so that you essentially sandwich the mesh between the wood frame and the flat wood pieces so that the wire mesh edges can not be messed with? Does that make sense?

Yes. Yes!

I thought about how smart the raccoon are. and how they able yo use their finger to open loop and hook luck.

So I do use the spring loaded loop and hook lock for the two top opening.



I do have raccoon visit our back yard. So far they are not able to get in the enclosure.

All the wire mash are 1/2"X 1/2 inch or 1/2"X 1" opening. We also make sure no feed remain in the enclosure after we fed them. We do believe that also reduce the interest of those night animals.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

They look like happy torts! You have a beautiful garden. Thanks for the step by step pictures.

 

[bouaboua]

Those are the photo taken in last summer.

They all in their in door hibernation now. Maybe another couple week or more, we will let them back into the out door enclosure again ans see if they can make babies?????

 

[edwardbo]

you write with an accent, nice country america,

 

[bouaboua]

you write with an accent, nice country america,

Yes. My poor English writing skill. My daughter laugh and correcting me all the time.

That is another department I need continuous improvement.

 

[edwardbo]

where are you from?

 

[bouaboua]

where are you from?

Taiwan.

 

[edwardbo]

wow,what brings you to amarica?...your enthusiasim in endearing,how is it so many torts find thier way into your life?

 

[bouaboua]

wow,what brings you to amarica?...your enthusiasim in endearing,how is it so many torts find thier way into your life?

It is all by God's Mercy and Grace. This is the store of my life.

Almost bankrupted at one time, a cancer survivor of three years now. To now; to discover, to understand ( still a very little), to appreciate ( a lot), all those tortoises we had (maybe more will come.....), and my beautiful and wonderful wife, a full time "Tortoises" housewife.

I can only praise the creator. The Living God.

 

[bouaboua]

The enclosure I would like to share next are little more sophisticated compare with the one above.

The design and the built of this enclosure are for a long term and much larger tortoise in mind.

We fall in love with a baby Sulcata last April when my wife and I visited a fish store to get some feeder fish for our 10 year old RES. So we bought it. We Google it after we came home to realize what we got ourselves into. The "little Pig" is now 4 inches long and weight little over 300 g.



Sulcata need ROOM, so we will get him as much room as we can. Of cause, it will be stage by stage. I will predict this. within 5 year he/she will take over my entire back yard for sure. At this time, I will just built him this.

I was thinking of build a retaining wall for my back yard for years, this outdoor enclosure project gave my the final push to get that done.

So let the fun began.

Here is the retaining wall will be.



And here will be that all insulated "House of the Little Pig" will be.

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We dug a 24 inches deep trench. I borrowed a power tool to do this task, otherwise will take forever by hand.



55 inches long re-bar punched into the ground every 18 inches apart. Then two cross re-bar, one on top and one on bottom linked all vertical re-bar together. Then hand mixed 96 bags (three bags at a time)of cermet at 60 lb each in an old wheelbarrow, then dumped into the trench.

 

[bouaboua]

Here comes the most horrifying part of the entire project. 6,000 LB of rumble stone (This is how Home Depot call its). Thanks Home Depot, the delivery charge was only $88.00.

It took three of us, entire day, loaded into the wheelbarrow one by one, wheeled to the back yard, then unloaded by hand one by one. You can not dump them out of wheelbarrow because some of them may break, we learn that when we dumped the first load.

I can not pick up the server-ware at dinner that night because I can not feel my fingers.



Do you know what to use as mortar to build the retaining wall of rumble stone? It call "liquid nail". Basically the entire retaining wall was "glued" together. Hey! Believed or not! It work very well and lot less mess.

Most important thing.....................My wife LOVE it. It worth all the hard work.

 

[mike taylor]

It looks like you are doing a back yard tortoise renovation . Your tortoises are going to be very happy .

 

[bouaboua]

It looks like you are doing a back yard tortoise renovation . Your tortoises are going to be very happy .

Good Morning Mike. Yes Sir. All for the Tortoises.

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Before we build, Chicken mash around fence. I know Sulcata can dig and I saw some of the Lost and Found threads. I don't ever want to post a thread in that category.

 

[Joanne]

I love all the work you are doing for your tortoises. I especially love your Hermanns! Your garden looks lovely. I'm sure your tortoises will enjoy it so much!

 

[Jacqui]

What a wonderful thread! Glad your wife loves it, I know I love just seeing it. Want to come build me a wall like that? Oh my what a lucky lady she is.Boy the labor you have put into this from mixing all those bags of cement to hauling those blocks and building the way. My body hurts just thinking of it all. What are some of the things your growing in your garden?

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us.