As I mentioned in some other threads, I recently welcomed a 4-year-old male Eastern Hermann's tortoise named Hermes into my home. I'm working on getting things sorted out properly for him to have a nice outdoor area as well as a decent indoor space when the weather outside is too cold.
His indoor enclosure (that came with him from his previous home) is an entirely inadequate 23" x 38" x 13" "Turtle Box" from AIVITUVIN. https://aivituvin.com/products/wooden-tortoise-house-large-tortoise-habitat-air21 It's a really well built enclosure, but it's just far too small even for a Hermann's tortoise and I will be expanding it dramatically in the near future to fill the available space in the room making it about 2 feet by 12 feet, and probably with a second layer 'balcony' for part of that length. Still not an ideal size, but much better than 2' x 3', and it's the full length of the designated wall in the room so that's the max size I can give him inside.
Outside, I have a section of the yard reserved for a tortoise sanctuary that will be populated with lots of tasty plants, several hides and digging spots, as well as a very shallow stream/soaking pond for 24/7 access to fresh water. The planned space is 6 feet by 18 feet and will have side walls dug down into the ground a good distance and probably about 2 feet above ground to prevent escaping, as well as sectional hinged lids made of frames and chicken wire or something similar to keep predators out.
The questions that I can think of right now are as follows. I may add more later if I think if anything that I missed here.
1: There is a large silver maple tree at one end of the planned space. It will be outside of the enclosure, but the branches extend above part of it so there will be leaves falling from time to time. Are silver maple (Acer Saccharinium, I believe) leaves and flowers going to be a potential problem? The wire lids should keep most debris out, but I'm sure some will get through, particularly the tiny flowers. I've read here, and see on The Tortoise Table, that some maple leaves are fine, but I can't find anything about this specific variety of tree.
2: I will have lots of edible plants in the enclosure, provided courtesy of the Broadleaf Testudo Mix from Tortoise Supply. https://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix
I would also like to have a couple of larger plants for natural shade that are also safe for Hermes to eat and that will grow well and hopefully survive the winters here in Salt Lake City, Utah (temperate zone 7A). I'm thinking maybe a Hosta for lots of shade and also some nice flowers to make my wife happy, and a hardy spineless opuntia like Ellisiana or Beavertail that should be able to handle the cold winters and doesn't grow very large.
3: There is an old concrete garden/landscaping barrier that runs through part of the planned enclosure space. I don't know yet how deep it goes, but it's about 6 inches wide. If it turns out to be too deep and too heavy to move, would there be any problem with just leaving it where it is, and having the surrounding ground level with it to make a paved tortoise "highway" through the enclosure?
4: The ground in the planned space is currently occupied by almost completely dead lawn grass. Would it be better to completely remove the old lawn from the entire space, or leave parts and only remove sections for planting and for the water and food dishes and burrows/hides? I'm planning to remove all of the old lawn unless someone says otherwise.
5: If I do completely remove the old lawn, should I leave the ground bare in the spaces where nothing is built or growing, or should I put down a layer of orchid bark (or something else) over the top?
Thanks!
His indoor enclosure (that came with him from his previous home) is an entirely inadequate 23" x 38" x 13" "Turtle Box" from AIVITUVIN. https://aivituvin.com/products/wooden-tortoise-house-large-tortoise-habitat-air21 It's a really well built enclosure, but it's just far too small even for a Hermann's tortoise and I will be expanding it dramatically in the near future to fill the available space in the room making it about 2 feet by 12 feet, and probably with a second layer 'balcony' for part of that length. Still not an ideal size, but much better than 2' x 3', and it's the full length of the designated wall in the room so that's the max size I can give him inside.
Outside, I have a section of the yard reserved for a tortoise sanctuary that will be populated with lots of tasty plants, several hides and digging spots, as well as a very shallow stream/soaking pond for 24/7 access to fresh water. The planned space is 6 feet by 18 feet and will have side walls dug down into the ground a good distance and probably about 2 feet above ground to prevent escaping, as well as sectional hinged lids made of frames and chicken wire or something similar to keep predators out.
The questions that I can think of right now are as follows. I may add more later if I think if anything that I missed here.
1: There is a large silver maple tree at one end of the planned space. It will be outside of the enclosure, but the branches extend above part of it so there will be leaves falling from time to time. Are silver maple (Acer Saccharinium, I believe) leaves and flowers going to be a potential problem? The wire lids should keep most debris out, but I'm sure some will get through, particularly the tiny flowers. I've read here, and see on The Tortoise Table, that some maple leaves are fine, but I can't find anything about this specific variety of tree.
2: I will have lots of edible plants in the enclosure, provided courtesy of the Broadleaf Testudo Mix from Tortoise Supply. https://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix
I would also like to have a couple of larger plants for natural shade that are also safe for Hermes to eat and that will grow well and hopefully survive the winters here in Salt Lake City, Utah (temperate zone 7A). I'm thinking maybe a Hosta for lots of shade and also some nice flowers to make my wife happy, and a hardy spineless opuntia like Ellisiana or Beavertail that should be able to handle the cold winters and doesn't grow very large.
3: There is an old concrete garden/landscaping barrier that runs through part of the planned enclosure space. I don't know yet how deep it goes, but it's about 6 inches wide. If it turns out to be too deep and too heavy to move, would there be any problem with just leaving it where it is, and having the surrounding ground level with it to make a paved tortoise "highway" through the enclosure?
4: The ground in the planned space is currently occupied by almost completely dead lawn grass. Would it be better to completely remove the old lawn from the entire space, or leave parts and only remove sections for planting and for the water and food dishes and burrows/hides? I'm planning to remove all of the old lawn unless someone says otherwise.
5: If I do completely remove the old lawn, should I leave the ground bare in the spaces where nothing is built or growing, or should I put down a layer of orchid bark (or something else) over the top?
Thanks!