Hi, We are working on an outdoor enclosure for our Russians and have a question. Should we put something down on the bottom (like under the dirt) to prevent them from digging out? If so, what is good to use?
Thanks!
Deanna
Thanks!
Deanna
Question on Outdoor Enclosure to Prevent Digging Out
- Thread starter nikkibop
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I would dig in at least 8" to prevent them from digging out. Mine are quite good at digging. I put metal rods (rebar) every 4". You could put some type of wire in, but I get worried about them getting cut on it.
When I first built my Russian pen I cut a strip of hardware cloth 6" wide and 8' long (to fit between the 4x4 posts of the fence). I bent the wire in half, in an "L" shape lengthwise, then dug a little trench along the fence about 4" deep. I laid the wire in the trench with the bottom of the "L" pointing in towards the pen, then stapled the top part of the "L" to the bottom board of the fence, then put the dirt back in the trench. This was their pen for the last 10 years, and I have NEVER seen a spot where they have been trying to dig out. It is my opinion, that if the pen is big enough, has enough graze and is interesting for the tortoise, they don't try to escape. The only digging they do is to bury themselves...and they are quite good at that! But you can't color all tortoises with the same rule. There are some that DO dig to escape, and you have to allow for that.
Yvonne
Yvonne
nikkibop said:
That's right. I have never seen them dig in the middle of the pen. My Russians only dig when they go into their hides. Some of them dig under the hides and some dig inside the hides. Someone gave me several wooden boxes with doorways cut in them. I have them under a piece of plywood in a corner of the pen. If they want to dig deep, that's probably the way they need to dig to escape the heat.
In this picture you can see the hides under the plywood. The boxes on top of the plywood had to be removed because one of the larger females got stuck in a doorway and couldn't get past it. In this picture I had the pen fenced of across the end in order to allow the seeds to grow in the rest of the pen.
Yvonne
I want to build a pen this week for my tortoises ( Russian, Red-footed and 3-toed eastern box turtle ) and am not sure what type of wood to use. I need the cheapest wood that will get the job done and it only has to last 3 years as I'll be moving out in 3 or 4 years at most.
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