Outdoor enclosure questions for Eastern Hermann's tortoise

Scott&taco

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Tortoise Cave version 2.0 ;)
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They didn't have any slate at the store but they did have some nice sandstone stepping stones that match better than slate would, and I found three that almost fit together like puzzle pieces so I bought them to use as the roof of the cave, and extended the hole some more to accommodate the full length of the three stones. The tunnel entrance is just a bit over 7 inches wide now, and the widest point at the back is about 10 inches wide. It might be better to have it bigger, but that's as big as it can go and still have the roof piece fit securely over the brick walls. The front edge of the ceiling to the inside of the back wall is just a bit under 30 inches. The whole thing front to back is right around 6 inches high from the floor to the ceiling. I might dig down to round out the floor a bit in the back cave to make it slightly taller, but that should be plenty of room for him to stand up with his legs fully extended.

I do have enough bricks to extend the tunnel the length of one more set of bricks, but then the roof wouldn't fit and I'd have to find something to use to finish off that additional section of roof. I think 30 inches back is probably enough for a Hermann's Tortoise, but I'm welcome to input if you think it needs to be deeper.
looking good! Your hermanns is a real lucky tort to have such a spacious hide/enclosure.
 

Michael Bird

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I added some filler soil to fill in the volume lost by taking out that insane jumble of weeds, covered up the cave, and put a few of the plants (Echeverria, Sedum, Hosta, and a really neat navy blue Rose of Sharon that I picked up recently) in the ground. I cut part of one of the pots to use as a barrier around the Hosta so Hermes doesn't cut it down before it gets better established. He tried biting into one of the main stems already so that seems like a real concern.

There are plants coming in the near future (Spineless Opuntia, Rose of Sharon, and Wild Violets) to fill in the rest of the big spaces, and I soaked the entire area to settle the top dust layer and get the plant roots started, and I plan to toss a few handfuls of the Testudo Seed Mix around tonight after the wild birds go to sleep.


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And from this angle looking up the slope it really makes the perspective look odd, but I wanted to get a "front view" of the cave. The darker wet ground does help highlight the designated area, though. The ground is flat up to about where the cave entrance is, then slopes up toward the house, rising about 2 feet from where the cave is to the back of the enclosure area. I let Hermes wander while doing the planting and he happily cruised up and down the hill and chewed on some of the plants so I'll take that as his stamp of approval. :)

Now I need to decide for sure what I want to use for a sight barrier/wall so I can get that in place and then I can let Hermes wander (semi) unsupervised.

I also have some above ground hides and a water dish that will be added before he starts living in the enclosure. I'll decide where to put them after I get the rest of the plants.

Also, I think Hermes approves of the cave. He was trying to burrow under that tarp after he got hot so I put him in front of the cave and he walked right in and took a nap for about an hour. 👍
 

Michael Bird

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Some of the plants are not looking very happy right now. The Rose of Sharon and wild Violets are pretty wilty and dry even though the whole area has been watered properly. The Rose of Sharon is still actively opening new flower buds so it's not dead, but the leaves are really sad. :(

On the bright side, the Echeverria (Hens and Chicks) are already sending out new chicks, the Sedum are starting to spread out, the Hosta has several new leaves growing, and the spineless Opuntia are going nuts.

After only one week in the ground, three of the Opuntia already have flowers and buds, one is growing a new pad, and the fifth one is turning a dark green and seems to be growing over a spot where the pad was cut/broken in shipping.

Now if the Rose of Sharon and Violets will just get over their transplant shock and perk up, and the Testudo Seed Mix will sprout and thrive, we'll have a virtual forest of yummy things for Hermes to eat!

The cactus pad in this picture is only about 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall, and it is doing this!
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Hermes hanging out near the front of his cave, watching the birds in the nearby trees and feeders:
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SinLA

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Will you be able to easily reach in and get it if you need to?

I re-did one of my hides to make it much smaller (not much bigger than my tort) because it was too difficult to reach in and get him. Also black widows seem to take up residence around the enclosure and I really didn't have to have to reach in and feel around for him...
 

Michael Bird

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I haven't really tried, but I think I should be able to reach to the back to get him if I need to. And I wanted to give him a long(ish) tunnel so he can choose exactly where to hang out to get the temperature that he wants at the time.

I need to measure properly with a thermometer and humidity gauge in the middle of a hot day so see how the temperature and humidity compare, but just sticking my hand in toward the back it feels significantly cooler and more humid in the back of the cave than it is outside, so I like the results so far.

I haven't seen any signs of black widows or other nasty spiders anywhere in the yard (yet) so I'm hopeful that we won't have to deal with that problem. Several small spiders, but nothing super creepy.. ;)
 
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Cathie G

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Some of the plants are not looking very happy right now. The Rose of Sharon and wild Violets are pretty wilty and dry even though the whole area has been watered properly. The Rose of Sharon is still actively opening new flower buds so it's not dead, but the leaves are really sad. :(

On the bright side, the Echeverria (Hens and Chicks) are already sending out new chicks, the Sedum are starting to spread out, the Hosta has several new leaves growing, and the spineless Opuntia are going nuts.

After only one week in the ground, three of the Opuntia already have flowers and buds, one is growing a new pad, and the fifth one is turning a dark green and seems to be growing over a spot where the pad was cut/broken in shipping.

Now if the Rose of Sharon and Violets will just get over their transplant shock and perk up, and the Testudo Seed Mix will sprout and thrive, we'll have a virtual forest of yummy things for Hermes to eat!

The cactus pad in this picture is only about 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall, and it is doing this!
View attachment 357978

Hermes hanging out near the front of his cave, watching the birds in the nearby trees and feeders:
View attachment 357980
It sure looks like Hermes is a happy camper.😊
 

Michael Bird

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It sure looks like Hermes is a happy camper.😊
Well, I think he's happy when I let him outside. He seems significantly less happy when I put him back in his inadequate indoor enclosure since I don't have the fence up outside so I can't let him wander unsupervised yet. But he does seem to like that cave quite a lot and that makes me happy, too. I had fun trying to make it look like a natural cave. :)
 

Michael Bird

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The prison walls have been completed. Now Hermes can spend time outside even when I'm not able to sit there and watch him to keep him from wandering to other parts of the yard where he shouldn't go. The tall posts will eventually support a completely enclosed wire cage to keep the large flocks of little birds that live in our trees out of the tortoise pen, and to keep the Peregrine Falcons and Red-tail Hawks (that hunt the little birds) from trying to get a tasty tortoise snack.

The narrow section on the left with fence boards sitting horizontally are a temporary barrier until I build the tall gate for the fenced cage. I might even leave them there as a "seal" to make sure Hermes stays inside when the gate is opened.

I debated for a long time whether to do the fence like this, or simply use long horizontal boards, or a plastic barrier, or any of the other options, and while it definitely took a while to get all of the fence pieces screwed into place, I think it looks really nice and I'm pretty happy with the results. And I think it would have been difficult to make any of the other options work with the very uneven ground.

The water dish is also temporary. I'll set up something more appropriate once I decide where I want it to be.

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