Need help for enclosure

[wickwack]

I will be moving with my three yellow foots to a first floor apartment. The apartment has some open areas which will get a few hours of sun daily, this is where i plan to build an enclosure for my torts. The area has no garden or soil area, so the floor will be either porcelain tiles o ceramic tiles.

My plan is to build a small pen (16ft x 10ft), perhaps delimiting the tortoise area with a short wooden wall, use some sort of lining on top of the floor to put soil and small plants so the tortoises can roam. At one corner i plan on putting a tortoise box where the torts can sleep or live in the winter.

My main concern is the growth of fungus, or damaging the ceramic/porcelain tiles do to any water getting through and sitting there for months. Also what substrate would be suitable in this case? I would plan on having small plants growing on little containers, to avoid any root and overgrowth issues.

I also want to make it look nice, maybe have it look like a garden area. I just dont want the neighbors complaining that i have a tortoise pen there. So that would be a great idea actually, make a sort of japanese garden type area, where it seems like im just in it for the plants and look, but secretively my tortoises hang out unnoticed hehehe...

thanks for reading, any help or ideas will be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[lvstorts]

Hi,
I just took in another two rescues that were kept on smooth wood and shavings. the conditions of their nails and muscle structure of their legs prompted my reply.

Lots of people forget torts need traction. Keeping them on smooth surfaces does nothing for them. Their nails grow abnormally and their leg muscles are very weak. I recommend putting some traction over the ceramic tiles then the substraite. For my indoor pens I put indoor/outdoor carpet down THEN my substraite. That way there is always traction. They are not just sliding around.

As for damage to the tile, I don't think there would be any. Tile is pretty tough. Maybe build a shelf system above the pen to put the plants on thus creating the secret...if it were mine, the plants would be stomped or eaten in a matter of days!

Hope these ideas help.

 

[wellington]

If you are worried about the tiles, build the enclosure up on very short legs, and a bottom, so air can get between the enclosure and tiles. Make the sides tall enough to add enough dirt to plant things and them to dig in if they want.

 

[wickwack]

Thanks for the tips. This will be quite a challenge.

I recently had the idea of making a small japanese/chinese style garden, i have seen many of these in indoor areas and i think it would look great and also take away attention from the torts. It will be very tricky and a lot of work to make it look nice and also provide the right conditions for them. I will surely post some pics for all to see. Thanks!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Here is an example of an enclosure I made for my leopard tortoise hatchling. We were in an apartment at the time and this worked well. It also looked nice enough that we never got any complaints.

I used a cement mixing tub from home depot, natural dirt and transplanted some plants.

You could make something similar using a large pan or tray maybe??. something to hold the substrate so it doesnt sit on your flooring

 

[Rover15]

My first thoughts would be skids they are always free in my area with people begging to be picked up that is one idea.

Second try green out door tarp and run it 6-8" up the wall so you can lay substrate down

Soil would be best as it will absorb a lot of the smell

I know of someone who has litter boxes side by side filled with the substrate I don't remember how he has them connected and I know they would be to small for the red foots but could use the same idea with the under the bed storage bins

Good luck and deffinitly upload pics of what you do and of your torts I have a hatchling yellow foot and I love her XD can't wait to get more

 

[MasterOogway]

Here is an example of an enclosure I made for my leopard tortoise hatchling. We were in an apartment at the time and this worked well. It also looked nice enough that we never got any complaints.

I used a cement mixing tub from home depot, natural dirt and transplanted some plants.

You could make something similar using a large pan or tray maybe??. something to hold the substrate so it doesnt sit on your flooring

This is great. I have seen the cement mixer tubs recommend but never actually seen a picture of it all set up as an enclosure .

 

[lynnedit]

I have also seen the cement tubs used, side by side or end to end. you could create a frame with 2x4's so they are raised slightly off of the ground as Barb suggests. Then have wood sides that you could stain, etc.
Torts tend to be bulldozers, so it is hard to set up anything pretty, but some plants are hardier than others!

 

[saberfire06]

I have also seen the cement tubs used, side by side or end to end. you could create a frame with 2x4's so they are raised slightly off of the ground as Barb suggests. Then have wood sides that you could stain, etc.
Torts tend to be bulldozers, so it is hard to set up anything pretty, but some plants are hardier than others!

As far as not being able to set up anything pretty that's for sure! I put some new plants and rocks in my torts enclosure last night and as soon as he went exploring they were all knocked over and some a bit smashed. But that's what torts do!

 

[wickwack]

hehehe sounds like its gonna be a tought job... I also just recently saw my biggest torts poop for the first time.... I realized that in such a small area im going to have to pick those up!