Here are some of my outdoor enclosures where I keep Tortoises from April until October. By Halloween most are brought indoors for hibernation or over wintering, depending on species.![103108_1447[01].jpg](https://data.www.tortoiseforum.org/attachments/1/1851-2ab032c4de2b5aee22c42148ec19c2e5.jpg "103108_1447[01].jpg")
![103108_1447[03].jpg](https://data.www.tortoiseforum.org/attachments/1/1852-53e23114e462810cb53d510223707a12.jpg "103108_1447[03].jpg")
![103108_1447[02].jpg](https://data.www.tortoiseforum.org/attachments/1/1853-ae950cfd4d8ad279b79478e3892be9b6.jpg "103108_1447[02].jpg")
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Outddor Tortoise Enclosures
- Thread starter Lynn DeVries
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Wow, Lynn: A true, blue, dedicated tortoise keeper!
Yvonne
Yvonne
Yep! 43 years and counting! (if Box Turtles count HA!) I have Never sold one in all these years 
They are toooooo cute!
Lynn
They are toooooo cute!
Lynn
Wow I'm jealous of all these awesome enclosures!
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2009
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- 237
Dang! How many do you have? That looks awesome.
desertsss said:
Hi Thanks desertsss!
How many Tortoises or how many enclosures? I have been keeping Tortoises nearly all my life so I have quite a few :shy:
Lynn
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- Apr 1, 2009
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Wow, I was mainly asking how many torts/turtles, but how many enclosures as well? Looks like 20 or 30. I can't tell too well from the pics.
Are these enclosures self sufficient from a food stand point? They look pretty big. And very nice buy the way!
Thank you very much desertsss and Bettinge!
I guess I'm not exactly sure of how many enclosures there are, I would have to count :shy: the ones shown are just some of them.
They vary as some have enough natural vegitation to provide natural graze and some (like the red ones in the background) are only 4'x8' each and are mostly used for smaller species or babies. They have wire mesh tops to keep the birds out. And they need regular feedings, I grow all of my own feed right on this property (dandilion,clover,plantain etc etc).This particular compound is entirely fenced in and the large sulcata are loose in it all summer and eat everything! Note: while it is fenced entirely in chainlink there is a visual barrier around the bottom to keep the sulcata from pacing or sticking their heads through the mesh. Although it is not that visible in the photos. And the compound provides access to a heated building so they have an escape from the elements. the different species housed in these particular enclosures are Agrionemys horsfieldi, T.h.boettgeri, T.h.ibera etc etc. All in seperate enclosures of course and in compatible groups with appropriate sex ratios (Never mix species) and many single male pens, oh and a few T. marginata as well (I Love those!).
There are more enclosures outside the frame of the photos, to the left is a large earthen pond aprox 60' in diameter and 8' deep. The pond area is a community pond for several compatible species of aquatic Turtles and some semi aquatics as well. There are also a number of individul aquatic enclosures for the specific species groups like Loggerhead Musk Turtle etc.
Past this pond area is another earthen pond that is aprox 60' long and 25' wide. That pond area is where all of the Large Alligator Snapping Turtles live as they do not "play nice" with all of the other Turtles since I am very far North of the Alligator snapping Turtles natural range, I catch them all up in the fall before freeze up and relocate them to a hibernation building for the winter. It was speculated that being so far North the Alligator snappers would not reproduce here. That was fine by me as the only reason I got them is they had been captured in Louisiana and were going to be butchered (this was many years ago) I couldnt let that happen so I bought them all and hauled them to my facility where they have lived ever since. After a few years of acclimating here they started to breed and nest. At first the eggs never hatched. But a few years ago I figured out the correct incubation (its not what I read in all the books ) and they hatched! Now I have a lot of Alligator snapping Turtles
At any rate thats a bit off topic
so how many Turtles and Tortoises live here? Not as many as I'd like HA! seriously Though, I am not really sure :shy:
Lynn
P.S. I do not sell Turtles or Tortoises, thats why i have sooo many
I guess I'm not exactly sure of how many enclosures there are, I would have to count :shy: the ones shown are just some of them.
They vary as some have enough natural vegitation to provide natural graze and some (like the red ones in the background) are only 4'x8' each and are mostly used for smaller species or babies. They have wire mesh tops to keep the birds out. And they need regular feedings, I grow all of my own feed right on this property (dandilion,clover,plantain etc etc).This particular compound is entirely fenced in and the large sulcata are loose in it all summer and eat everything! Note: while it is fenced entirely in chainlink there is a visual barrier around the bottom to keep the sulcata from pacing or sticking their heads through the mesh. Although it is not that visible in the photos. And the compound provides access to a heated building so they have an escape from the elements. the different species housed in these particular enclosures are Agrionemys horsfieldi, T.h.boettgeri, T.h.ibera etc etc. All in seperate enclosures of course and in compatible groups with appropriate sex ratios (Never mix species) and many single male pens, oh and a few T. marginata as well (I Love those!).
There are more enclosures outside the frame of the photos, to the left is a large earthen pond aprox 60' in diameter and 8' deep. The pond area is a community pond for several compatible species of aquatic Turtles and some semi aquatics as well. There are also a number of individul aquatic enclosures for the specific species groups like Loggerhead Musk Turtle etc.
Past this pond area is another earthen pond that is aprox 60' long and 25' wide. That pond area is where all of the Large Alligator Snapping Turtles live as they do not "play nice" with all of the other Turtles
since I am very far North of the Alligator snapping Turtles natural range, I catch them all up in the fall before freeze up and relocate them to a hibernation building for the winter. It was speculated that being so far North the Alligator snappers would not reproduce here. That was fine by me as the only reason I got them is they had been captured in Louisiana and were going to be butchered (this was many years ago) I couldnt let that happen so I bought them all and hauled them to my facility where they have lived ever since. After a few years of acclimating here they started to breed and nest. At first the eggs never hatched. But a few years ago I figured out the correct incubation (its not what I read in all the books ) and they hatched! Now I have a lot of Alligator snapping Turtles At any rate thats a bit off topic
so how many Turtles and Tortoises live here? Not as many as I'd like HA!
seriously Though, I am not really sure :shy:Lynn
P.S. I do not sell Turtles or Tortoises, thats why i have sooo many
Wow Lynn you've got quite the setups there. Congrats on getting your aligator snapping turtles to acclimate to Iowa weather. How do you catch them for the winter? I'm assuming they snap, right?
christinag said:
Hi!
Thank you for the compliment!:shy: I like it and they keep me busy
I catch them in the fall, usually around Halloween. By then the pond water is 40F and they are dug into the mud for winter. I use a pole with a dull hook on the end. Similar to a snake hook but really heavy duty. I walk out into the water ,while all the time poking the pole into the mud ahead of me. I usually know where they are going to be so its not hard to find them. When I locate one I spin the pole around and use the dull hook to gently pull them up out of the mud. The "hook" just catches under the shell it doesnt hook their skin. These are big tough animals, but they are also very shy animals (fortunatley for Humans
)When I get one to the surface and can tell which end is which, I get ahold of the back edge of the top shell and haul it up to shore and put it in a wheelbarrow. Then just wheel it into the hibernation bldg where they sleep all winter at 40F. The first couple are Fun, but after that it becomes pretty cold and tireing. I am glad I only have to do it once a year!!
I have never left them out in the pond over winter because in the wild they periodically take a breath of air during the winter as the surface freezes over but then melts again after a day or a month. But up here in the North country the water freezes over in November and stays completely ice covered until March. The Common snapping turtle can go for this extended period of time without access to atmospheric oxygen, but I fear the Alligator Snapping turtle could not go that long with out taking a breath. So just to be safe I round them up every year
Lynn
Wow, Lynn what a great set up you have. And obviously a GREAT love for turts and torts.
Crazy1 said:
Thanks Crazy1
Yes they are my passion :shy:
Lynn
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