Out with the old, in with the new.

[Maro2Bear]

Yes.. no plants, no shade, no hide. Are you planning on adding a few more additions to the “room”. It needs some landscaping to provide some interesting areas to explore and hidd. Enclosure itself looks great.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Jay it looks good. I am also in Michigan and I just finished my new box. Here is a couple thoughts:

1. My Gatsby seems mad/sad too when he went in his new box yesterday. I gave him an extra long walk today and he seemed to spark right up.

2. I couldn’t help but notice there is no insulation. Is this inside? If so then awesome. If not I can say I am struggling trying to keep heat in mine (I think I made mine way too tall).

3. I do not see a hide inside the enclosure. I only point this out because I made a really nice hide and paid hundreds for a Kane mar with thermostat and my tortoise has yet to go in by himself.

Great work I like it a lot!

Thank you very much, always good to talk to someone from Michigan. I'm actually going out to pick out a different hide tomorrow. When this project started, Sheldon was much smaller I had purchased a wash tub from Walmart that I planned on using. He grew so quickly, the one I bought just wasn't practical anymore. Hopefully I find something better tomorrow. My enclosure is inside, the ambient temperature in the room that he is in has been between 74 and 77. The only insulation that we used is in the top. It's just a thin sheet of that cheap foam insulation sandwiched between two thin pieces of plywood. All the joints have all been caulked. During the day the temps have been hovering between 90 and 93°. The che's havent kicked on yet during the day, just the fluorescent tubes and the 65 watt flood bulb have been keeping it that warm.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Yes.. no plants, no shade, no hide. Are you planning on adding a few more additions to the “room”. It needs some landscaping to provide some interesting areas to explore and hidd. Enclosure itself looks great.

Yeah, once we got it done I was just in a hurry to get him in there. It took us a little longer to get it done than I was planning. I don't know if I'm going to put any plants, I think he will probably just bulldoze them over. I'm going to get a hide tomorrow, the one that I had bought when we started this project just isn't practical anymore. It's a definite step in the right direction, he's been in a tortoise table his whole life. It's been a struggle to get his shell as smooth as what it is. Up till now, he's had humidity 10 to 50%. But will definitely continue to make improvements on the enclosure.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Yeah, once we got it done I was just in a hurry to get him in there. It took us a little longer to get it done than I was planning. I don't know if I'm going to put any plants, I think he will probably just bulldoze them over. I'm going to get a hide tomorrow, the one that I had bought when we started this project just isn't practical anymore. It's a definite step in the right direction, he's been in a tortoise table his whole life. It's been a struggle to get his shell as smooth as what it is. Up till now, he's had humidity 10 to 50%. But will definitely continue to make improvements on the enclosure.

Great. I know i think i went through about 5 or 6 rubbermaid type “humid hides” with our Sully. Good luck. Keep the updates coming in.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Great. I know i think i went through about 5 or 6 rubbermaid type “humid hides” with our Sully. Good luck. Keep the updates coming in.

Will do, I appreciate the feedback.

 

[CarolM]

Yeah, once we got it done I was just in a hurry to get him in there. It took us a little longer to get it done than I was planning. I don't know if I'm going to put any plants, I think he will probably just bulldoze them over. I'm going to get a hide tomorrow, the one that I had bought when we started this project just isn't practical anymore. It's a definite step in the right direction, he's been in a tortoise table his whole life. It's been a struggle to get his shell as smooth as what it is. Up till now, he's had humidity 10 to 50%. But will definitely continue to make improvements on the enclosure.

Love it. Looking really good. Just a suggestion put some plants in that give a good overhang (Boston fern being one) and put them in their pots in the enclosure. That way he won't be able to bulldoze them. They will add some nice hiding spots. Some grazing food and will help tremendously with the humidity inside. They will also make it interesting for Sheldon.
Edit. Go and have a look at Mark84 enclosure he posted. You can see what I mean by the pots and overhanging plants.

 

[CarolM]

I got the temperatures all dialed in. I put him in yesterday , after he was fed. I don't think he's very happy with the change so far, he didn't really want to eat much today. I think he's a little upset with the change in his surroundings. I ended up using coco fiber(30 bricks lol) because they were on sale. And also 5 of the large bags of reptabark mixed together. It is definitely a little on the messy side. Hopefully he feels like eating tomorrow.View attachment 243072View attachment 243073View attachment 243074

Looks awesome btw.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Love it. Looking really good. Just a suggestion put some plants in that give a good overhang (Boston fern being one) and put them in their pots in the enclosure. That way he won't be able to bulldoze them. They will add some nice hiding spots. Some grazing food and will help tremendously with the humidity inside. They will also make it interesting for Sheldon.
Edit. Go and have a look at Mark84 enclosure he posted. You can see what I mean by the pots and overhanging plants.

Suggestions are always good, and I appreciate yours.

 

[CarolM]

Suggestions are always good, and I appreciate yours.

How is the "new" doing?

 

[vladimir]

Yes, I haven't had a chance to catch up lately but I'm excited to hear how Sheldon is doing. That reminds me, I need to post an update...

 

[Lyn W]

That looks great and with somewhere to hide away or a plant to get under he should soon settle in.
Maybe you could add a second floor as he grows with ramps to access it.

 

[CarolM]

That looks great and with somewhere to hide away or a plant to get under he should soon settle in.
Maybe you could add a second floor as he grows with ramps to access it.

I so wish i could do that with mine. But Hubby would never agree to the expense.[emoji17]

 

[Acorn87]

Wow that’s excellent! I’m sure this will be used as inspiration for future tortoise keepers. Great work!

 

[TammyJ]

A new place needs a good hide to run into so I feel safe for the time being until I gradually realise that I am OK.

 

[Jay Bagley]

How is the "new" doing?

It's not going too bad. It's our first time doing anything like this, so a few tweaks are definitely in order. The doors on the right side have swelled, and are a tad difficult to open. Going to fix that this weekend. The paint has been holding up great to the moisture, I have seen a couple flakes sitting on the substrate from Sheldon clunking his shell into it. Been trying to pick them up as I see them. Been doing 12-hour days, so it hasn't left a whole lot of time for anything else. I did put a temporary hide in today. Just a waste basket buried halfway under the substrate. He has just enough room to turn around in it, but it is definitely better than nothing. And I will also improve it over the weekend with something larger.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Yes, I haven't had a chance to catch up lately but I'm excited to hear how Sheldon is doing. That reminds me, I need to post an update...

He's been doing okay, he started eating again on the second day. I think he is still pretty curious about everything. I look forward to seeing your update.[emoji4]

 

[Jay Bagley]

That looks great and with somewhere to hide away or a plant to get under he should soon settle in.
Maybe you could add a second floor as he grows with ramps to access it.

Thank you very much, I appreciate that. Next year we're planning on constructing an outdoor enclosure for him. I also hope to to convert a bedroom into a enclosure for him for the winter. I like the ramp idea.

 

[Jay Bagley]

Wow that’s excellent! I’m sure this will be used as inspiration for future tortoise keepers. Great work!

Thank you, I wish I could take the credit. But other than funding it, my dad built it. My dad built it off a picture of a closed chamber @Markw84 built. He has a thread somewhere on here of his build, and it is truly impressive.

 

[Jay Bagley]

And on a side note, I put his hide underneath his che. I didn't really put any thought into it until now. Should that be okay? I took the reflector off of it so the heat isn't being focused down, but rather just radiate.

 

[vladimir]

He's been doing okay, he started eating again on the second day. I think he is still pretty curious about everything. I look forward to seeing your update.[emoji4]

hopefully he doesn't throw any temper tantrums in the new enclosure and break anything