New Sulcata Indoor Enclosure

[DawnH]

Hi everyone. I feel like I only come here ever few months when I need help! Tuleo is doing great, still on the small size but his shell is nice (I think - please look, this photo was take today) so I try not to worry. It's time to re-do his indoor enclosure though. He will be 2 in July, his outdoor enclosure is great and he gets to roam in it whenever the weather is permitting. His indoor enclosure needs to be bigger though. I have decided I can build this myself (I have a rip saw and goggles, how hard can this be?) but I need to make it aesthetically pleasing as he lives in our living room and we are licensed foster parents so it has to look safe and "nice." I am thinking a basic box like oasis... maybe 3 feet wide by 12" high by 7 or 8 feet long. How does that sound? I was thinking about having the top hinged in two places and either one side having a Plexiglas top or both. He still needs his humidity, correct? His lights have always been outside his enclosure on the mesh - maybe having one area meshed off on top for the lights? Does this make any sense? Right now he has coco and dirt as a substrate. He loves to dig. Then his plants, etc. etc. How would I do that if I used wood? What type of wood is safe? Does anyone have any better ideas that are still aesthetically pleasing? I have done some searches but am really not coming up with consistent answers.

I appreciate any help you can give.

Dawn (& Tuleo!)

 

[ascott]

Hi everyone. I feel like I only come here ever few months when I need help! Tuleo is doing great, still on the small size but his shell is nice (I think - please look, this photo was take today) so I try not to worry. It's time to re-do his indoor enclosure though. He will be 2 in July, his outdoor enclosure is great and he gets to roam in it whenever the weather is permitting. His indoor enclosure needs to be bigger though. I have decided I can build this myself (I have a rip saw and goggles, how hard can this be?) but I need to make it aesthetically pleasing as he lives in our living room and we are licensed foster parents so it has to look safe and "nice." I am thinking a basic box like oasis... maybe 3 feet wide by 12" high by 7 or 8 feet long. How does that sound? I was thinking about having the top hinged in two places and either one side having a Plexiglas top or both. He still needs his humidity, correct? His lights have always been outside his enclosure on the mesh - maybe having one area meshed off on top for the lights? Does this make any sense? Right now he has coco and dirt as a substrate. He loves to dig. Then his plants, etc. etc. How would I do that if I used wood? What type of wood is safe? Does anyone have any better ideas that are still aesthetically pleasing? I have done some searches but am really not coming up with consistent answers.

I appreciate any help you can give.

Dawn (& Tuleo!)

All sounds good, I would change the placement of the uv source though....mesh blocks out alot of its usefulness so I would opt to hang the light fixture from the wall behind the enclosure or directly from the ceiling over the enclosure so that the full benefit is received by the tortoise....also, you can place the plants in a long plastic container and then submerse the planter down into the soil so that when you water it the water remains in the controlled space??? Pine is not so great...teak wood is a wood that lasts along time..however, this is a species that will rapidly outgrow being indoors so your outdoor plans would be a good idea to start now and lovely tortoise...

 

[DawnH]

Thank you so much! We plan on moving in a little over a year so this would be very temporary. Since we live in SETX he is able to outside in his oasis pretty much daily so we don't really rely on his lights for his UV source (he still has them though.) I will be using a liner in "the box" but will also be doing as you suggested and placing the plants in some type of either pot or pan (still not sure just yet. I get my best ideas at 2am...lol)

 

[Tom]

12" high is not tall enough for a tortoise of that size, and 3x7 is a bit small too. He is going to outgrow it in a few months.

I suggest just using the full sheet of plywood as a base and then making a closed chamber with the lights inside. Like this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[DawnH]

Thanks Tom. He is pretty small (compared) for his size and I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote "12 inches tall." That is absurd...lol I would measure Tuleo but he is outside in his oasis, will def. look into the link above/full size plywood as well.