Russian tortoise outdoor

[Dreamwallaby]

This is my finished enclosure for my Russian tortoise. Does it look ok? I have a water dish which is a paint tray. The plants are hostas. Substrate is sphagnum moss and organic soil. I live in NJ and he is outside during the day and in at night. T

 

[jacquiroell]

That is supercool! I love how it looks like a normal landscaping bed - but it has a tortoise in it! Looks like there are a lot of great hiding places.

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Oh! Meant to ask what plants you have in there. Looks like Hosta, but what else?

 

[tyrs4u]

Wow! Excellent environment for the little one. Great job...

 

[lynnedit]

Do you have some gravel or a basking rock in there? (might be able to see them on the other side...)

That looks great, I like using the shrubs (Rose of Sharon?) as a sight block in the middle.

 

[Dreamwallaby]

There is stone (pond pebbles) around the edges now and the plant boxes in the middle are strawberries and raspberries. There is also a flat stone for basking, though my hope was to put several in a row so it would have to be crawled over to get to food and hopefully keeps the nails worn down.

 

[Dreamwallaby]

Here are more pics

 

[lynnedit]

Really nice! They love raspberry leaves.

Eventually you can add a few more pavers or slate pieces, gravel, but your tort should love it!

 

[Jacqui]

I like it very much, but because this is for a Russian, I have a major major worry. Russians can be great climbers and escape artist and I am not seeing an inner lip or corner blockers. I will be curious to hear how long the plants last in there with him. Of course I have a group of Russians, but if I planted those hostas in their enclosure, by nightfall they would be down to stubble.

 

[Dreamwallaby]

Yeah, I was thinking of putting a lip on there, it's pretty high so I don't think he can climb over it, but better safe than sorry. What do you suggest for corner blockers? Is this for digging at the corners or climbing out at corners? I'm fine if he eats the plants, kinda why I picked them, but he's the only one so I don't think he'll kill them too quickly. Think I should add more slate? I can do that thanks for all the help/suggestions it's really appreciated.

 

[lynnedit]

If you want to protect the entire edge, how about using a 1x3 or 1x4 piece of cedar (cheapest version) along the edges? you can cut to size and use deck/wood screws to attach to the top. It just has to stick out over the inside an inch or so. This will prevent them climbing out, which is one of their favorite past times.
If your sides are high enough, then a triangular piece of wood over each corner, screwed in, will prevent them climbing there. Corners are particularly easy for them to shimmy up.

I think you could add some gravel and slate pieces to the 'warm side' (the hosta is the 'cool side', lol). Gravel and rock and slate absorb the heat nicely, so it gives the tort options.