Portable Outdoor Pen Idea
- Thread starter MtnDinos
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- outdoor outdoor enclosure
As long as it's big enough. Exercise is a must, along with shade and a water dish.
MtnDinos
New Member
Yeah those would be easy to add - a saucer with water, screen and partial shade area. They are still a baby so pretty big for awhile.
So glad you are using a barrier. Can't risk the accidental run off cuz you blinked too fast 
Good job!
Good job!
There needs to be a visual barrier around the bottom.
MtnDinos
New Member
Not sure what you mean by needs a visual barrier. The ring is metal around the bottom.
They should not be able to see out. Something solid and opaque all around the entire bottom. Many tortoises will injure themselves trying to poke their head through and/or push through when they can see through. They also tend to rub off leg scales and get rub sores on their snouts and skin from continually pushing and trying to get to the "greener grass" they can see just out of their reach.
Like this, for example:
MtnDinos
New Member
That recommendation might work for some tortoises but actually be worse for others. Mine for example, finds any barrier (like the wood in the picture you have above, plastic kiddie pool, Home Depot mixing tubs, etc.) a challenge to take on if he can’t see out. He will bash his nose and spend all his time struggling against it. This ring has metal all around the very bottom and then fine metal screen (way too small for a baby tortoise head or even a fly to get through) around the criss-cross border. So because he has a partial way to look out, he ignores the barrier and spends his time on exercise, sunlight and greens.
Also I thought you or another member had mentioned that having a clear enclosure was fine because didn’t have any problems with tortoises banging on them if they could see out? So would an indoor enclosed pvc unit with a clear side also need to be covered? Again I would say it depends on the tortoise, if seeing out is a problem for them.
You go from not knowing what a visual barrier is to telling me how tortoise behavior works? Roger that. Carry on, and good luck to you.
Regarding the outside barrier, you will have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself. Tom's trying to save you from the dangers/risks based on the cons he's either seen others go through or experienced himself first hand. Ultimately, you'll do what you want to.
I prefer solid barriers and my 10 year old leopard paces them like crazy. He literally scratches up the wood planks, scuffs the concrete blocks, bulldozes through the corner sprinkler and has run right through raspberry and grape vines. I used to have some hardware cloth barriers on other animal pens (hardware cloth is metal screen similar to your fireplace screen) and he ripped off leg scales. Just like Tom said could happen. It took me some time to realize what the issue was. Now, all hardware cloth enclosures always get a wood "tortoise barrier perimeter" around the bottom 8-12".
If your tortoise isn't walking against the mesh, great. Until that time he does and rips off leg scales.
If your tortoise isn't rubbing his nose on it, great. Until that time he does and bloodies his face.
While some may choose to never risk these things and stick with a solid barrier, others might see that risk as low enough to try it.
My thoughts: your tortoise is still small enough that you're unlikely to encounter these issues at this point in time. By the time your tort is bigger, more active, outside longer, etc...you'll be needing a tort space way beyond this fire pit barrier anyway.
So many people let their tortoise run around with no barrier at all and lose sight of them. I'm glad you are not doing that.
I have housed leopard tortoises indoors inside of glass tanks and solid sided totes. I never dealt with pacing issues, banging, climbing/flipping in either style. Although, I've always been a huge advocate for well decorated spaces with lots of plants, rocks and sight barriers and I think that contributed greatly.
MtnDinos
New Member
No I wanted some clarification on what your definition of a visual barrier is and why it would be necessary. It’s confusing to me to hear that it is needed but then I also read that with an enclosed glass/acrylic/pvc enclosed chamber like animal plastics where they can see out no blocking barrier is needed?? Also there is a tortoise eye-level barrier around this pen at the bottom already. They would have to climb up to see over it and even then the view is partial. So were you saying I would need more of a barrier (a certain height???) because that wasn’t clear.
I only explained my current tortoise’s behavior and what works for me. I have owned tortoises, turtles and reptiles since I was a child. But just because I also have experience doesn’t mean I know everything. I believe that we should learn from each other’s experiences collectively - like for example, some tortoises of the same species have behaved differently from others I have had in the past. My point was that maybe some tortoises may need a visual barrier but for others it might not ever be an issue. Would have been nice to get more details on your suggestion other than it being worded like a command without further discussion.
I thought the purpose of this forum was to be educational and to clear up all the contradictory information out there but I guess I was wrong.
