Planning a sulcata enclosure

Stuart S.

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Well, the exterior of the shed is done except for paint, I took some pics but it doesn't show the shed, I'll update the thread with a pic later. We did R13 batting in the walls and then 6 mil plastic. The last layer is 1.5 styrofoam board with mylar to reflect the heat back.

for the night box we did another two layers of the styrofoam board on the floor, and will have some on the walls as well. more updates tomorrow... View attachment 229777 View attachment 229778 View attachment 229779 View attachment 229780

Looks Great man! Looks like you're putting his night box inside the insulated shed correct?
 

Nrc470

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Looking forward to seeing this build as it comes along
 

Stuart S.

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yes the night box is in the shed as well... I'm in zone 6 so we get a lot of cold weather...

No definitely, I love that concept, I was actually thinking about doing that with my shed I stead of doing a night box but we’ll see! Great stuff man!
 
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Hugo's Home

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One suggestion is to put a strip/ baseboard of ply about 12" tall along the bottem to protect the foam from being destroyed. Wasn't sure if you were just going to ply the whole inside though. Looks so amazing!! I'm jealous!
 
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jrh

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One suggestion is to put a strip/ baseboard of ply about 12" tall along the bottem to protect the foam from being destroyed. Wasn't sure if you were just going to ply the whole inside though. Looks so amazing!! I'm jealous!
Thanks, yes we are going to do a 16" strip of left over siding (T1-11) around the perimeter, also have a strip in the night box as well...
 

jrh

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Well I worked most of the day on the nightbox, really took alot of time to make sure all the cracks and seems are caulked. as well as lots of cutting and measuring... as promised here is some updated pictures... First picture is a side view of the shed... we did a metal roof and just lapped it over on the side instead of drip edge... I was able to get this glass door for a hundred bucks, it was on clearance as the jamb was slightly messed up. I know it doesn't let the uvb in but the added light is nice as well as on a cold day the morning sun will warm up most of the floor.IMG_20180209_080912786.jpg IMG_20180209_080929641_HDR.jpg
 

jrh

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in this picture you can see the frame of the nightbox and all the caulking, I also spray foamed around any of the voids by the foamboard.
second picture shows from another angle... On the front and outside wall I put another piece of 1" foam board on, you can also see the plywood floor in that picture as well .
last picture is hard to make out but shows all the caulk and spray foam around the edges. this thing should be sealed up tight with all the foam and caulk I've used... lol...
I don't have a picture but I also got the ramp to the night box built as well as hung some more plastic and put up a few more foam boards on the walls. Just have to plastic and foam board the ceiling and door side of the shed. On the night box I just need to finish the lid. I'm also going to raise the floor 3/4" so I can sweep out of the steel door, right now the threshold is higher than the floor and I thought that may making cleaning out the shed a little more difficult.
 

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jrh

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It's been slow going, I aggravated my back on another project and wasn't able to get much done on the shed. We got the roof vapor barrier put on and then built another ceiling with 2x6's to add more insulation. This should give the entire roof about R32 or greater.... Also got the sides put up with T1-11 left over from the shed build. Only thing left on the inside is the door and adding 3/4 plywood on the entire floor then waterproofing...
 

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jrh

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Beside the mess, on this picture you can see the plywood started on the walls and see some of the ramp into the night box. It's muddy outside so I'm constantly moving everything from one side to the other while working...
 

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SULCY

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Looks great. Keep on with the updates going to have to build something similar soon.
 

jrh

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updated progress on the shed and enclosure... lots of pics... This is the cover for the ramp that leads outside from the shed, it is removable and has the vinyl strips on the end... second pic is looking inside the cover and the back of the door leading into the shed with another curtain to keep as much heat in as possible
 

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jrh

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Inside the shed I put a 18" strip of plywood around the walls and door painted with a non toxic liquid rubber product... and of course door open/closed pics... the door is a piece of 3/4 plywood with a frame around it and the door slides between to 2x4s
 

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jrh

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here is the basking area, two flood lights and a uvb on adjustable slides to get the correct height. still need to tidy up the wiring...
 

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jrh

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Here is the lid for the nightbox inside the shed... it's just two pieces of 1.5 inch insulation clued and bolted together washers, less than two lbs weight. Then to hold it open during cleaning I just slide the piece of plywood over like a latch...
 

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jrh

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inside the night box, you can't really see the RBI heat panel because everything is black but it is mounted to a piece of plywood that is just lifted out for cleaning or maintenance... also got the oil heater next to the night box just to save floor space in the rest of the shed. It's walled off with plywood and directly above is the small fan... Also got the box holding the electrical above the heater. we just used scrap wood and built a frame to hold the Inkbirds and timers. Power to the shed is outside and we just drilled a hole in the wall and plugged everything in one double gang outlet.
 

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M

Maggie Cummings

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So for some of my questions...

I was planning on doing a main enclosure of 20x35 with a 10x10 shed with a night box. In the winter I would put up a greenhouse covering on the end of the shed for it to wander out in when its cold but still get some sun. Heaters would be based redundant systems. There would be a gate/board that I could stop them from going down the hill in inclement weather. The lower paddock could be done a couple different ways. I could keep it entirely on the hillside or run a 5 ft wide trough down the hillside and then widen it out to some or all of the flat area. I had other plans to landscape the hillside but I can work around that if the low area is not pheasible.
Question, will the sulcata move itself up the hill ok to go into the night box or would I have to put it in there everynight?
I have many landscape plants on the property so I've been reading up on what is toxic and most of what I have the sulcata can eat flowers or trimmings.
For fencing I saw on another thread where someone recommended treated plywood cut to 16" and 2x4 posts treated. This is the most economical that I've found.
Is there any concern that when the tortoise is on the hill and can look out to greener pastures will that cause them to bulldoze the fence?
How much would a 100lb sulcata eat in a month? We feed our koi around 4lbs a day in the growth season for them, so I don't mind feeding a lot just trying to get an idea... I'm in farm country so getting hay is not hard... just wasn't sure If I would need round bales or not... lol
Also, I know everyone says bigger is better but I want to make sure that the paddock can support the tortoise's feed rate with out over browsing.
I'm sure I'll have more questions as I plan this...

Thanks!!!


My Bob was 125lbs. He went in and out the doggie dog when he wanted to. Rain or snow didn't bother him, when he got cold he went inside and got under his basking light. You'll be surprised at how he'll be with that hill. I personally wouldn't worry about him. I also had a swimmin hole for him, and he'd go in it every day. My box turtles love it. On nice days they'd all get in it, and would now if it it ever stops sleeting. Sulcatas can't seem to swim, so Bob would play submarine and lay on the bottom.The box turtles love to swim.....
 
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jrh

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I was able to get lots of treated lumber from our local yard as culls which we were able to use for fencing... we did a combination of any wood that would add up to 18, so a 2x12 and a 2x6, or a 2x10 and a 2x8, or 3 2x6s. We will painting it black with horse fence paint later this spring. In two days we did around 400 linear feet and have about 100 feet to go. We used 2x4s as stakes... Gates were made with extra posts and panels to lift out as needed.
 

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jrh

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Here is the upper paddock for winter and or bad weather. The gates are open currently but will be closed when the tort is here. You can also see the electric on the post outside the shed...
 

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