Outdoor enclosure made from a dog playpen/kennel?

[Peter Williams]

As the weather has been warming up I've been scheming on how to create a new outdoor enclosure for my 14" male sulcata Dozer. It is time to move him permanently outdoors after this long frigid winter. I have been thinking of creating a 'pen' of sorts out equal of sections that could be taken apart, rearranged, or expanded as he grows.

The reason I'm looking to build a temporary/collapsible enclosure, is when next winter comes around, I will be moving him into our greenhouse in the backyard, and I'd like to be able to dismantle his alternate enclosure for the winter months. I don't want him in the greenhouse during the warm weather so he can enjoy a sunnier part of the yard and enjoy those sweet summer rays.

At first I thought I would build it myself out of wood, but then I realized, something like this already exists. A collapsible 'dog run' or playpen or whatever you want to call it. Something like this:



I of course realize it would need to be heavily staked into the ground, to prevent him from just pushing it around. Also possibly would need to build some kind of protection from him tunneling out of the enclosure. I'm not particularly concerned about that aspect at his size, and if he did dig his way out, he is still within a fenced, safe yard. It would be more of an annoyance than trouble.

I remember from my early research into tortoise care aquariums were not recommended because if they could see through the glass they would constantly be trying to walk through it, stressing them out. Is their any validity to this? If so would the see-through nature of these fence sections cause a problem? Could I potentially add some wood panels to block his sight of his surroundings?

One last thing, I would also build an insulated, heated box for him to go in at night or on chilly days. Do you guys think this type of enclosure could work? Again, Dozer is about 14" long. I could buy multiple sets of these panels and make the enclosure bigger and bigger as he grows.

Sorry for the novel, had a lot of info to get out there, would love to hear your thoughts guys!!

 

[jaizei]

I would look into using 'hog panels' instead. You could build a bigger temp enclosure with fewer failure points.

 

[Len B]

For a temp enclosed area I have found wood to work fine, I have some fence panels that I got from Home Depot last year and used them to house yellow footed tortoises and they worked ,but I don't think they would work well with a larger sulcata, The holes in the fence are to big, the tortoise can get it's feet in through the wire and even with staking the panels down, if the ground gets wet from rain the tortoise may be able to loosen them enough to lift it up. I have a 14 inch sulcata also and am debating with myself on whether or not to try using the panels, I think I am going to go with wood to enlarge the area. I have a 27 inch a 19 inch and a couple around 10 inches, along with the 14 inch one, and the 27 incher has shown me some things over the years to help prepare setups so I don't have to keep going back and fixing things. As for the sight barriers I have places where chain link fencing is used and after awhile they have gotten used to it and don't try to bust through it, but some tortoises may have a problem with it. I like wood because I can get it for 50 cents a board foot, a 12 foot long 1x12 cost $6. and the fence panels cost about $3. a foot. The pic taken this morning is of the temporary area I set up for the younger sulcatas for this past winter and if spring ever gets here I will setup the larger area for them.

 

[Tom]

You would have to line the bottom with a wooden visual barrier of some sort or another, so why not just skip the fencing and use wood in the first place?

Personally I like to use slumpstone blocks, but regular cheaper cinderblocks will work just as well. They are temporary, easily moved and easily expanded. You don't have to worry about a sulcata digging out. Like this:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-38788.html

If he's contained in the yard in the event of an escape, why not just use the whole yard?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't think the play pen is big enough.

---

When I first moved into the house I'm now in, I was having a lot of work done on the house and needed a place to put up my dogs so they wouldn't bother the workmen. I bought a chain link dog kennel. It consisted of four 10' panels and one of the panels had a door in it. The kennel was 6' tall. Instead of putting it up in a square configuration, like you're supposed to, I pounded T-posts into the ground at 10' intervals in a straight line and put the panels across the back of my back yard:

That area has never been used since and now its just wasted space - no grass, no electricity.

 

[Peter Williams]

You would have to line the bottom with a wooden visual barrier of some sort or another, so why not just skip the fencing and use wood in the first place?

The reason I find the fencing more appealing is it gives you a basic structure to work with, if I go with straight wood I have to locate, buy and construct the hinge/pin/stake hardware myself. Although this very well may be a way to go, and I'm not against doing it, in my local hardware stores I've never seen something akin to the type of hinge/removable pin system I would need. Also, in terms of price, I have seen these 8 panel dog runs on eBay for as low as $35 a set. I could buy 2-4 of them and really get quite a large area going, and simply 'veneer' some wood paneling via nuts and bolts to the fence sections. Seems much easier in my opinion.

If he's contained in the yard in the event of an escape, why not just use the whole yard?

We have several delicate flower beds and gardens I do not want him destroying. We also have a deck, which we are working on enclosing, however it it still open in several places and he would most likely attempt to crawl under it. While that would be of no danger to him, it would be a huge pain to crawl in the dirt under there to retrieve him.

I also like the idea of an actual enclosure so I can secure the top of it against potential predators, and to keep my dogs away from him.

---

I don't think the play pen is big enough.

I don't either. As stated I will likely buy several dog runs and link them all together.

That area has never been used since and now its just wasted space - no grass, no electricity.

That looks fantastic, but I'm a little confused. The area looks great, are you not using it for tortoises? looks like its secure and has plenty of room. I thank for you posting this because I hadn't previously considered backing this structure up against one of our existing fences, to save me the fence sections on one whole side, allowing me to make the pen for Dozer that much bigger for that much less money.