Outdoor enclosure for Burmese Brown Mountain Tortoises

[Morob7]

I am about 75% finished building my new enclosure for my two M. emys emys. They are approximately two years old and have spent the last year living in a tub that is visible under the tree in one of my pics. I plan to do some cosmetic work on the waterfall and pond, paint the treated wood green to match my fence and install doors in the opening that does not have welded wire. I also have to connect the electrical outlet to a power source.

 

[MichaelaW]

Inspiring! That is basically exactly what I have been wanting to do for my four Emys.

 

[Morob7]

Thank you. I have been taking my time and trying to plan every detail. The pond is 110 gallons with a curved shelf i made from expanded aluminum and topped with Matala filter media. The pump is underneath and the water flows through a large canister pond filter with UV. They should be able to poop in the water all they want without worry.

 

[klawran1]

Very nice enclosure!

 

[Yvonne G]

That's very nice and visually pleasing. Your tortoises will be pretty happy in there. Is it shady? They don't do well in the sun.

 

[Millerlite]

How big are they? Looks good. If they are anything like mine a lot of those plants will be gone in a few days. Lol

Kyle

 

[Morob7]

The enclosure receives about 2 hrs of direct sun each day and I have a shade cloth on top to cut the intensity. There are shady spots all over and when my plants mature, it will be mostly shaded by the plants. They spend a lot of time in the hide under the Boston fern. They are about 7 inches and are 685g (1lb 8oz) and 720g (1lb 9oz). The larger one is about a quarter inch longer and was the smaller of the two when I got them from Vic.

 

[Morob7]

They have nibbled on some of the colocasia, but for the most part, they don't bother the plans yet. I try to keep greens available in the enclosure so that they don't get tempted by the landscaping. I did put something around one plant to protect it until it can get larger.

 

[MichaelaW]

Thank you. I have been taking my time and trying to plan every detail. The pond is 110 gallons with a curved shelf i made from expanded aluminum and topped with Matala filter media. The pump is underneath and the water flows through a large canister pond filter with UV. They should be able to poop in the water all they want without worry.

What brand/type of filter and pump do you use? Again, I absolutely love it!

 

[Morob7]

Thank you. I use a pondmaster 950 gallon pump with Matala prefilter and the canister filter is one I found on Amazon that is listed by a few sellers under different brand names. The one I bought was branded Goplus and was $99.99. 13watt UV built in to it.

 

[Morob7]

Update: I have connected the power, painted the enclosure and installed the doors. All that remains is to work on the waterfall. That is going to wait until my local garden center gets there stone shipment. I am going to try covering the enclosure in plastic and get a heater as the weather cools off to see how long I can keep them in the enclosure this fall and winter.

You may notice the trap. We have captured a couple of possums this past week. A couple of years ago, we caught and released 8 young possums. So I'm sure there are more around. The parents live on a property a few houses down. I also found the remains of a young possum on the side of my house. He probably met a neighborhood cat.

 

[MichaelaW]

Wow! I am seriously impressed! If you don't mind me asking, what was the cost of the project minus the filter and pump?

 

[Morob7]

I didn't add it up. Probably about $200 on plants (I'm hoping they won't decide to detroy them). The pond liner was about $120. About $150 on contructing a shelf in the pond. About $250 for treated lumber. About $100 on miscellaneous (stainless screws, lag bolts, washers and triple zinc plated fittings for 4x4s). Primer, paint and supplies about $100. You can see why I didn't want to add it up. Many days of personal labor. Somewhere around $1000. I have to make sure it would pass my wife's inspection.

 

[richosullivan]

Thank you. I use a pondmaster 950 gallon pump with Matala prefilter and the canister filter is one I found on Amazon that is listed by a few sellers under different brand names. The one I bought was branded Goplus and was $99.99. 13watt UV built in to it.
View attachment 187837

Just ordered one, starting my black mountain and elongated enclosure build out this weekend. Thanks for the info.

 

[MichaelaW]

Did you sink the walls into the ground at all or is the enclosure built directly on the stone tile?

Now, what we've all been waiting for... photos of the emys! Please.

 

[Morob7]

Just ordered one, starting my black mountain and elongated enclosure build out this weekend. Thanks for the info.

Glad I could help.

 

[Morob7]

Did you sink the walls into the ground at all or is the enclosure built directly on the stone tile?

Now, what we've all been waiting for... photos of the emys! Please.

I sank the posts a foot into the ground at the edge of the stamped concrete. The long wall as you can see is pulled in about 6 inches from the walkway to give more room for lawn mowers etc. to pass. The 2x12 side walls extend over the concrete on either side. I placed a small piece of 1x2 between the conctrete and 2x12 to prevent settling and closure of the gap. I do not want to cause a drainage issue in my back yard. I have not had a chance to take pics of them in their new home yet. They are still adjusting to the open environment after being in their tub for a year. One of them actually tested one of my toes to see if it was a mushroom while I was painting, but the other is shy and waits for me to leave before strolling around. I will try to get some pics this week/weekend.

 

[Morob7]

Now, what we've all been waiting for... photos of the emys! Please.

I snapped some pics while they were enjoying their "tortoise crack".


Leo


Delilah

 

[richosullivan]

Thank you. I use a pondmaster 950 gallon pump with Matala prefilter and the canister filter is one I found on Amazon that is listed by a few sellers under different brand names. The one I bought was branded Goplus and was $99.99. 13watt UV built in to it.
View attachment 187837

Did you use a skimmer, or just run the pump to the filter?

 

[Morob7]

Did you use a skimmer, or just run the pump to the filter?

I do not use a skimmer. I have rigid filter media that the tortoises walk on. Underneath I have the pump with a prefilter to keep debris out of the pump. The pump is connected to the canister filter which feeds the waterfall and tortoise spitter. All filter media acts as biologic filter as well. I pick pine needles and leaves out of the pond by hand.