Outdoor Enclosure

[burke082]

Hi, I have a leopard tortoise that is around 9" and want to move her to an outdoor enclosure. Is she big enough to be safe from hawks/snakes/etc.? Or do I need to keep her in a covered enclosure with netting to keep any birds of prey away? Are there any helpful links to building a good outdoor enclosure?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! where do you live? i think she would be safe from snakes and hawks. but cats, dogs and raccoons go after torts, are theses found where you live?

 

[G-stars]

Probably only real danger to a tortoise that size would be a larger dog or people.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Dogs and raccoons. I've seen first hand a raccoon rip off part of a roof to get into an attic and pull a large cement block off of a garbage can lid to get inside. Do you have a securely fenced in yard? You could begin to rule out dogs and neighborhood kids.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

My 10" leopard (so, similar to your size) has full roam of the backyard. Daytime is fine. I don't worry about any predators and don't have a dog. Then at night I lock him up in a tort house. Literally, I lock the door so a raccoon can't get to him.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Good point there Team Gomberg, Raccoons are only out at night. Unless they're sick.

 

[burke082]

Thanks for all the replies! I live near Scottsdale Arizona, so really no raccoons here. The only dog with access to my backyard is my lab and she leaves my leopard alone. However, we do have Javelinas which tend to come in my backyard, usually at night though. Javalinas have been in the yard when my tortoise was and they left her alone. Just sniffed at her at most. I also have a sulcata around 5" and I think that one would need to be covered at all times of I'm not out there.