Outdoor Hideout for Red-footed tortoise

[ZEROPILOT]

I was looking around and I found this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MDZHHM2/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

What are your thoughts? Would this work? I want it to look aesthetic but also to be functional, safe and easy to set up. This is 12 inches (1 ft) high, I could put it on the inside of her fence so that the white fence is visible from the outside. I can get like 4 of these and put it there as soon as tomorrow. I also want to get 1 or 2 more plants. Other than hibiscus, what other plants can I put there? I have many potted tomato plants but I read their leaves are toxic. What other plants could I add? If anything I'd just get a couple more hibiscus, they're easy to care for and do well in the sun.

I don't like that they just "bang" into the ground. It's not very sturdy with our mostly sand yards.
I pound several of those green fence stakes from Home Depot at least 12" into the ground and attach my fence material to that with out door deck screws.
You can see a few on the far left wall. And another behind the igloo in this old photo of an early tortoise enclosure for juveniles.
These fence pickets are green and are about $3 each. You can drive them into the ground with a hammer.
They're also easy to remove later

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

In my case, the time/ability to finish the setup come before its cost, I'd rather spend money and not time, as I currently have more of the first. I have very little free time and just reading I will need screws sounds like I am going to need help or quite a while, I ned to cover about 15 feet of fence. Keep in mind that it would not be the main fence, just a vision blocker, I actually liked that the one I saw was just hammer down and done. She has never been able to climb out of the little white fence I set up for her, she has been there for a few months.

By the way, how common is it that torts eat out of our hands? I love that mine does, she is very chill, rarely hides, or acts scared. I know they do not "bond" but I love that at least I can tell she is not scared when I'm around.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

In my case, the time/ability to finish the setup come before its cost, I'd rather spend money and not time, as I currently have more of the first. I have very little free time and just reading I will need screws sounds like I am going to need help or quite a while, I ned to cover about 15 feet of fence. Keep in mind that it would not be the main fence, just a vision blocker, I actually liked that the one I saw was just hammer down and done. She has never been able to climb out of the little white fence I set up for her, she has been there for a few months.

By the way, how common is it that torts eat out of our hands? I love that mine does, she is very chill, rarely hides, or acts scared. I know they do not "bond" but I love that at least I can tell she is not scared when I'm around.

View attachment 356197

They all behave differently. Some interact with humans. Some don't. I've had some that totally avoided me. Some that treated me as an intruder. And at least one that seemed to really like attention.
You definitely found an escaped pet. (That didn't have an ideal start)
And I'm concerned about him/ her escaping from your yard also.
I like that your enclosure is inside of a fenced yard. So the enclosure is inside of an enclosure. And that will give some insurance that even if he escaped the primary enclosure, he'd still be found in the yard.

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

Yes, she is an escaped pet 1000%. And yes, my yard is completely fenced, and I checked every inch of the fence before letting my chihuahua out, even before renting here, because my chi is tiny and I needed to make sure she'd be 100% safe. I've had a few people insist that I just let the tortoise roam free in the yard because "there is no way she could get out" but I rather she be in a fully "controlled" environment.
I'll keep checking for options to see if I find something that is a middle ground of sorts, that doesn't require me building it, but that is safe.
Have you ever put a tag on a tortoise? I wanted to, like, be able to put a tag on her.

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

Update: Bought 1 of the

I was looking around and I found this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MDZHHM2/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

What are your thoughts? Would this work? I want it to look aesthetic but also to be functional, safe and easy to set up. This is 12 inches (1 ft) high, I could put it on the inside of her fence so that the white fence is visible from the outside. I can get like 4 of these and put it there as soon as tomorrow. I also want to get 1 or 2 more plants. Other than hibiscus, what other plants can I put there? I have many potted tomato plants but I read their leaves are toxic. What other plants could I add? If anything I'd just get a couple more hibiscus, they're easy to care for and do well in the sun.

Update:
Bought just 1 of these to check out the quality, size, etc. and I am returning it, it is very flimsy and not very tall, even as they say it's 12 inches, it is only 8 inches tall after you set it up, the 12 inches include the space that goes into the ground.... still looking for alternatives

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yes, she is an escaped pet 1000%. And yes, my yard is completely fenced, and I checked every inch of the fence before letting my chihuahua out, even before renting here, because my chi is tiny and I needed to make sure she'd be 100% safe. I've had a few people insist that I just let the tortoise roam free in the yard because "there is no way she could get out" but I rather she be in a fully "controlled" environment.
I'll keep checking for options to see if I find something that is a middle ground of sorts, that doesn't require me building it, but that is safe.
Have you ever put a tag on a tortoise? I wanted to, like, be able to put a tag on her.

I've never tagged a tortoise. But that fence inside of a fence is a pretty good idea.
My backyard privacy fence has been relatively effective about containing any escapees in the past.
I've had a few skilled individuals that managed to climb, dig or squeeze through different pens.

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

UPDATE:
Koya is doing great! I ended up not adding vision blockers, but moving her to another section of the yard instead. Now she roams free in a 10 x 30 ft corridor that is completely fenced, vision blocked 100% (with a brick wall on one side, huricane shutters on the other and hurricane shutters+privacy fence on the other 2 sides), she would really have to be a ninja turtle to get out of there. I like to believe she is thriving. She is outgoing as ever, and eats a ton (Her apetite sometimes impresses me, BOY, she can eat!!) . She has 2 water dishes where she can also take a bath, and I leave several small drinking dishes here and there for her to "find". She has several hibiscus plants, a couple palm trees... One day I freaked out because I could not see her, and I started turning every rock. I even posted her as a lost pet (it all happened within 10 minutes), only to find out that my son had taken her out and was "playing" with her. She is the nicest tortoise and I love how we just found her on the street. I hope she can be with us and be passed down to my children when they grow up, as a sort of family inheritance. It's been almost 2 years since we found her and I can only hope it is many many more.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you for coming back with an update! Long live Koya!
Maybe you can post some photos? (yes, the "tortoise tax" )

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

That is my intention, lol! Our family pets usually live very long. My mom's dog is 19 years old and thriving (my mom passed last year, so, he is under our care now). I had a gecko for over 20 years as well, my current chihuahua is only 9, but she looks and acts like a puppy, she HAS to live for at least 20 years too, I made that deal with her. I also keep many lizards, and they are all thriving, my oldest at the moment is just 7 years old. Koya is my first tortoise (even as I love reptiles, it made me uneasy to own a pet that could easily outlive me, I deeply care about my pets and before getting any pets I make sure I can provide a great life for their whole lifespan, so, that had ruled out tortoises for me, BUT, Miss Koya just happened to walk past me on the street and I just could not let her there, where I know she doesn't belong). I am fairly familiar with reptile care, and, I come from the land of redfoots! My native country is Venezuela and they are very common there, a TON of people keep them in their backyards and they very often times reproduce right on people's backyards. I will get a picture of her to share.

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

This is her. There is some pyramiding, it has been like that since we found her. It is interesting, back in my country where they are super common, pyramiding is not something I have seen. I wonder why the difference. Perhaps they are more active? They are rarely in enclosures back then, people often have them roaming free in their yards, and there are many in thw wild.

 

[Michael Bird]

I was looking around and I found this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MDZHHM2/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

What are your thoughts? Would this work? I want it to look aesthetic but also to be functional, safe and easy to set up. This is 12 inches (1 ft) high, I could put it on the inside of her fence so that the white fence is visible from the outside. I can get like 4 of these and put it there as soon as tomorrow. I also want to get 1 or 2 more plants. Other than hibiscus, what other plants can I put there? I have many potted tomato plants but I read their leaves are toxic. What other plants could I add? If anything I'd just get a couple more hibiscus, they're easy to care for and do well in the sun.

That wood fence looks good, but after you bury part in the ground to stabilize it, it will still only be about 8 inches high above ground. You really want something significantly taller than that, especially for when Koya grows up and is 10"-14" long and can easily look up and climb up over it...

 

[Maggie3fan]

In my case, the time/ability to finish the setup come before its cost, I'd rather spend money and not time, as I currently have more of the first. I have very little free time and just reading I will need screws sounds like I am going to need help or quite a while, I ned to cover about 15 feet of fence. Keep in mind that it would not be the main fence, just a vision blocker, I actually liked that the one I saw was just hammer down and done. She has never been able to climb out of the little white fence I set up for her, she has been there for a few months.

By the way, how common is it that torts eat out of our hands? I love that mine does, she is very chill, rarely hides, or acts scared. I know they do not "bond" but I love that at least I can tell she is not scared when I'm around.

View attachment 356197

I had a 17 year old Sulcata tortoise...he weighed 100+ pounds...and every tortoise person on this TFO who read about Bob and me will tell you...YES...they can and do "bond". Bob was just a couple of years old and I had been medically retired from driving when my sister asked if I could keep him for a couple of weeks while she found a home for him. I kept him until he died at 17 and he bonded to me just like a dog...there's stories about him somewhere here...His name was Bob...this is my Layla...she's 3

 

[Koya the found red-footed]

That wood fence looks good, but after you bury part in the ground to stabilize it, it will still only be about 8 inches high above ground. You really want something significantly taller than that, especially for when Koya grows up and is 10"-14" long and can easily look up and climb up over it...

Yes, I bought it and returned it because of that very reason. Koya is actually a bit over 10 inches long, she is a grown up, I just don't know how old because I found her on the street.