Hello everyone,
I am from central Arkansas I have a one year old african spurred tortoise doing absolutely perfect. It's about time for me to be moving him back outside to his 15'x15' enclosure I have built for him in the backyard ( i know in time this will become much much larger) I have some great ideas to make his outdoor space a perfect place for him but the one thing I'm struggling with is his hide box. It gets hot here and even though he did great outside last summer I want to be able to provide him a space to allow him a perfect cool down area if he wants to cool off from our extremely hot summer days. I have already decided to remove some earth and replace it with a clay/coconut mixture that he can dig into that would provide some cooling but what building materials should I use to build the actual hide box out of? Should it be wood, plastic, or stone? Which material would reflect the sun the most?! I have everything else completely in check for my tortoise I have literally planted dandelions, clover, Bermuda, orchard grass, and other weeds and grass throughout the entire back yard which can grow here year round, but need help with this one piece of the puzzle.. Can anyone suggest?
I am from central Arkansas I have a one year old african spurred tortoise doing absolutely perfect. It's about time for me to be moving him back outside to his 15'x15' enclosure I have built for him in the backyard ( i know in time this will become much much larger) I have some great ideas to make his outdoor space a perfect place for him but the one thing I'm struggling with is his hide box. It gets hot here and even though he did great outside last summer I want to be able to provide him a space to allow him a perfect cool down area if he wants to cool off from our extremely hot summer days. I have already decided to remove some earth and replace it with a clay/coconut mixture that he can dig into that would provide some cooling but what building materials should I use to build the actual hide box out of? Should it be wood, plastic, or stone? Which material would reflect the sun the most?! I have everything else completely in check for my tortoise I have literally planted dandelions, clover, Bermuda, orchard grass, and other weeds and grass throughout the entire back yard which can grow here year round, but need help with this one piece of the puzzle.. Can anyone suggest?