Several doubts about my outdoor enclosure

[Melonero]

Hi guys, I’m new writing in this forum, but I’ve been reading since I have tortoises and I’m interested in them.

First of all, English is not my mother language but I’ll try my best.

I know a person that have a lot of tortoises in semi-wild conditions, they are in a land that she owns. She can’t care all of them, and she offered me two, I accepted but I don’t know well how was the condition they were.

They gave me them a month ago, and before that, I build an outdoor enclosure in my yard, the enclosure is about 2 square meters, I don’t know whether the tortoises are hermanni of graeca. And she told me they are around a year old. The tortoises are about 3 inches length. Therefore I thought that measure will be enough, When they grow up, I’ll buy a bigger one.

The enclosure have around 2 inches of top layer substrate and loosed natural dirt under.
It have 2 colder spots buried and they also can bury inside the spots. Normally in the spots is 6-7ºC colder than outside.
They also have plants and fully access to a water plate. They seemed very happy, walking around and being curious with the plants and enviroment.

My doubts are:
As I live in the mediterranean coast, temperatures in this months can reach 40ºC, though the tortoises hide in the spots, is this too much for them? I also have an sprinkler system that I can control with my phone, and when It’s too hot, I enable them. The torts will be good with that? I turn them on in the hottest hours and the temperature downs around 6ºC, I thought that the tortoises will see it as a rain. This also helps me keeping the humidity high. Even so, the tortoises are outside the spots from 9 a.m to 12:30 a.m, they eat and take direct sun. And then they hide in the cold spot until 5-6 p.m, when they eat a little more, go for a little walk and hide again, is this behavior regular?

Also, the humidity levels in my zone are in average 55%, with 80-90% in early morning, and 15-20% in early afternoon. I think is correct for them as I turn on sprinklers in this hours and the humidity level in the enclosure raise about 90%.

I would like to know if I am doing things wrong or if there is something I don't know that I need to be careful with, thank you in advance, and sorry for the grammatical errors.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome from Mediterranean Cyprus!

1. Tortoise on the photo looks like a Greek tortoise to me.
2. Their behaviour is totally normal - in the wild they don't roam around in the full sun but active in the mornings and evenings. Rarely at nights when it gets very hot.
3. One thing, which require immediate attention - is that tortoises should be separated in their own enclosures. They absolutely fine live alone and get along in larger well-formed groups. In pairs one of them always dominates the other one and both live in constant stress. It's not very obvious as they rarely show plain aggression but following each other, sitting on the food plate, sleeping in one hide and such are signs of "tortoise bullying". This often ends with sickness and underdevelopment of one tortoise in pair and eventually death.
4. Enclosure size is good for baby tortoises and later you will need to expand. I would aim for 10 sq. m. at least for a 6 inch tortoise.
5. Idea with sprinklers is really good and that's what many do. Also, you can add a "deep shade" over the part of the enclosure - multiple layers of shade from a tree, shade sail and plants in the enclosure, for example.

You can check this care sheet for the details on their diet and such:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Please, ask more questions and post some photos of the enclosure and your tortoises!

P.S. Don't worry about grammatical errors, your English is really good. I do a lot of mistakes myself (and many members do) and have never seen anyone to be blamed for that.

 

[Melonero]

Hello and welcome from Mediterranean Cyprus!

1. Tortoise on the photo looks like a Greek tortoise to me.
2. Their behaviour is totally normal - in the wild they don't roam around in the full sun but active in the mornings and evenings. Rarely at nights when it gets very hot.
3. One thing, which require immediate attention - is that tortoises should be separated in their own enclosures. They absolutely fine live alone and get along in larger well-formed groups. In pairs one of them always dominates the other one and both live in constant stress. It's not very obvious as they rarely show plain aggression but following each other, sitting on the food plate, sleeping in one hide and such are signs of "tortoise bullying". This often ends with sickness and underdevelopment of one tortoise in pair and eventually death.
4. Enclosure size is good for baby tortoises and later you will need to expand. I would aim for 10 sq. m. at least for a 6 inch tortoise.
5. Idea with sprinklers is really good and that's what many do. Also, you can add a "deep shade" over the part of the enclosure - multiple layers of shade from a tree, shade sail and plants in the enclosure, for example.

You can check this care sheet for the details on their diet and such:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Please, ask more questions and post some photos of the enclosure and your tortoises!

P.S. Don't worry about grammatical errors, your English is really good. I do a lot of mistakes myself (and many members do) and have never seen anyone to be blamed for that.

Thanks, appreciate your help.
I thought is a greek tortoise but as I live in spain, It make more sense to me to be an hermanni.

I have been reading these days about having 2 tortoises, I didn't know this could be a problem. The girl I mentioned told me she will give me a third tortoise, if i have 3 tortoises together, the problem would cotinue?

I already read the tread you attached, It helped me a lot, specially with alimentation, I usually gave them weeds from outside such as dandelions or endive. When I can’t I give them lettuce.

I’m not currently at home and I don’t have so many photos, however, I attach a few.

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome! Your tortoises are only three inches in length? They may be too young or too small to be kept properly outdoors. @Tom I think they should be kept separately in closed indoor enclosures, with the correct temperatures and humidity, until they are bigger.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thanks, appreciate your help.
I thought is a greek tortoise but as I live in spain, It make more sense to me to be an hermanni.

I have been reading these days about having 2 tortoises, I didn't know this could be a problem. The girl I mentioned told me she will give me a third tortoise, if i have 3 tortoises together, the problem would cotinue?

I already read the tread you attached, It helped me a lot, specially with alimentation, I usually gave them weeds from outside such as dandelions or endive. When I can’t I give them lettuce.

I’m not currently at home and I don’t have so many photos, however, I attach a few.

I have always thought, that Hermanns have more coloration and dark patterns. Greek tortoises could be captive bred in Spain or introduced in the wild. We have no native tortoise species in Cyprus but have Greek and Hermanns introduced by humans and acclimatised there.

3 tortoises can be a triple problem if you end with all three being males...

You can also feed them hibiscus, mulberry and young grape leaves if there are growing nearby and not treated with pesticides. Opuntia cactus ("prickly pear") pads are good too.

Thank you for the photos! Adorable little torts! And I like the enclosure grid cover - it gives good shade and sun exposure at the same time..

 

[Melonero]

I have always thought, that Hermanns have more coloration and dark patterns. Greek tortoises could be captive bred in Spain or introduced in the wild. We have no native tortoise species in Cyprus but have Greek and Hermanns introduced by humans and acclimatised there.

3 tortoises can be a triple problem if you end with all three being males...

You can also feed them hibiscus, mulberry and young grape leaves if there are growing nearby and not treated with pesticides. Opuntia cactus ("prickly pear") pads are good too.

Thank you for the photos! Adorable little torts! And I like the enclosure grid cover - it gives good shade and sun exposure at the same time..

Ok, so definitely I'll separate them in two different enclosures.
Right now there are a lot of bamboo outbreaks growing inside the enclosure, I'm not sure if they will eat them or not. But surely they will provide shade and keep some humidity.

Some photos are in a provisional indoor enclosure where I put them in the hottest moments.

Hi and welcome! Your tortoises are only three inches in length? They may be too young or too small to be kept properly outdoors. @Tom I think they should be kept separately in closed indoor enclosures, with the correct temperatures and humidity, until they are bigger.

Hi, Yes they are 3 inches, I'm not used to inches system, they are both very close to 7.5 centimeters.
I'm a little concerned about if it's too early for leave them outside, if it is the case, please let me know and I'd put them indoors.
However, as I said in my first message, I'm not sure about the age, but I read that around a year It's safe for leaving them outside.

 

[Tom]

Hi guys, I’m new writing in this forum, but I’ve been reading since I have tortoises and I’m interested in them.

First of all, English is not my mother language but I’ll try my best.

I know a person that have a lot of tortoises in semi-wild conditions, they are in a land that she owns. She can’t care all of them, and she offered me two, I accepted but I don’t know well how was the condition they were.

They gave me them a month ago, and before that, I build an outdoor enclosure in my yard, the enclosure is about 2 square meters, I don’t know whether the tortoises are hermanni of graeca. And she told me they are around a year old. The tortoises are about 3 inches length. Therefore I thought that measure will be enough, When they grow up, I’ll buy a bigger one.

The enclosure have around 2 inches of top layer substrate and loosed natural dirt under.
It have 2 colder spots buried and they also can bury inside the spots. Normally in the spots is 6-7ºC colder than outside.
They also have plants and fully access to a water plate. They seemed very happy, walking around and being curious with the plants and enviroment.

My doubts are:
As I live in the mediterranean coast, temperatures in this months can reach 40ºC, though the tortoises hide in the spots, is this too much for them? I also have an sprinkler system that I can control with my phone, and when It’s too hot, I enable them. The torts will be good with that? I turn them on in the hottest hours and the temperature downs around 6ºC, I thought that the tortoises will see it as a rain. This also helps me keeping the humidity high. Even so, the tortoises are outside the spots from 9 a.m to 12:30 a.m, they eat and take direct sun. And then they hide in the cold spot until 5-6 p.m, when they eat a little more, go for a little walk and hide again, is this behavior regular?

Also, the humidity levels in my zone are in average 55%, with 80-90% in early morning, and 15-20% in early afternoon. I think is correct for them as I turn on sprinklers in this hours and the humidity level in the enclosure raise about 90%.

I would like to know if I am doing things wrong or if there is something I don't know that I need to be careful with, thank you in advance, and sorry for the grammatical errors.

Hello and welcome.
Their behavior and your temperatures seem great. The sprinklers in the heat of the day are great too.

Here are the problems I see:
1. Baby tortoises do best when housed in more stable controlled conditions indoors in a large closed chamber. Outside all day and night is not good for babies even in their native countries, and regardless of the current weather or climate. Adults do best, in a mild climate like your, when housed outside full time in a large enclosure, and with an insulated, temperature controlled shelter. You can see these shelters in the thread Alex linked for you. I realize the lady you got them from houses the babies outside. People here do that too. I'm telling you that I have done many side-by-side comparisons with clutch mates, and the indoor babies do MUCH better every time.
2. They should never be housed in pairs. A third one would eliminate the pair issue, but as Alex explained, it could lead to problems as they near maturity, and you may have to separate them all down the road.
3. Is there sand in that substrate? Sand is very dangerous and it is a skin and eye irritant. Sand should never be a part of tortoise substrate.
4. Are you soaking these babies? Hydration is VERY important, especially for babies and especially in hot weather.

Here is more helpful info, ad questions are welcome:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Melonero]

Hello and welcome.
Their behavior and your temperatures seem great. The sprinklers in the heat of the day are great too.

Here are the problems I see:
1. Baby tortoises do best when housed in more stable controlled conditions indoors in a large closed chamber. Outside all day and night is not good for babies even in their native countries, and regardless of the current weather or climate. Adults do best, in a mild climate like your, when housed outside full time in a large enclosure, and with an insulated, temperature controlled shelter. You can see these shelters in the thread Alex linked for you. I realize the lady you got them from houses the babies outside. People here do that too. I'm telling you that I have done many side-by-side comparisons with clutch mates, and the indoor babies do MUCH better every time.
2. They should never be housed in pairs. A third one would eliminate the pair issue, but as Alex explained, it could lead to problems as they near maturity, and you may have to separate them all down the road.
3. Is there sand in that substrate? Sand is very dangerous and it is a skin and eye irritant. Sand should never be a part of tortoise substrate.
4. Are you soaking these babies? Hydration is VERY important, especially for babies and especially in hot weather.

Here is more helpful info, ad questions are welcome:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you Tom, really appreciate your answer. I read a lot of threads and your information is probably the best on the internet.

1. When a tortoise is no longer considered a baby? I'm going to check the thread and considerate all the options I have, I want the best for the tortoises.
2. Ok so I'll tell the girl that I'm going to keep only these two and I'll separate them as soon as posible.
3. I knew about the sand problem, there is only substrate with natural leaves in the top layer and dirt under.
4. I'm soaking them 3 times a week about 30 minutes. I could do more but I see they really don't like soaking and they keep moving and trying to escape the plastic plate where I soak them, and they can't see trough it. Though with the sprinklers they get wet every day 2 or 3 times for about 10 minutes each.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello welcome to the forum! As folks have already said these guys need separating a put into indoor enclosures, I’ll talk you through a somewhat cost effective way to set them up inside for a starter enclosure, hopefully it helps give you an idea🙂

Just to quickly answer some of your questions, they are considered hatchlings up to a year, then yearlings, then up till around the age of 3 young juveniles, past that until fully grown they’re just juveniles, least that’s my opinion.
It sounds like you may have use some sort of top soil for your substrate which isn’t appropriate, I’ll talk more on substrate below.
Definitely do daily soaks for hatchlings like yours, don’t worry that they try to escape, most tortoise do, it’s actually good exercise for them😊

I’m going to include some information below on the types of equipment to use, how to maintain humidity, and a cost effective way for you to get a suitable sized enclosure, hopefully it helps inspire an idea for you🙂
I’ve included indoor uv, but if you’re able to get these guys out for a few hours of natural sunlight, you won’t need it.

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. I highly doubt yours does though lol.

Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. Again though if having natural sunlight daily don’t worry about this bit.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The trouble with top soil is you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, they could be toxic.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

Humidity for young growing tortoises needs to be maintained around 80%, 24/7, you’ll find that difficult to achieve with an open top, for the set up I’m recommending I’d get a greenhouse cover. Once the tortoise is older a cover won’t be needed.

To maintain humidity whilst the tortoise is younger a greenhouse style set up works well and provides more space, as an adult each tortoise is going to ideally need a minimum of an 8x4, the bigger you go the better, it’s ideal if you can build your own base to go as big as you can for the room you have.

If you can’t find an exact fit for your base with the cover, then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor.
When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds or just make their own, for both these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough to prevent escapes.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 inches for uv I recommend) then secure with cable ties.
I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy. You could throw some pvc covering over the stands if youre struggling for a topper, but again if you do that, I’d put lining down under the base to stop condensate.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard. The one you’re using is quite smooth.

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

Wishing you all the best from the uk🥰

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum! @HermanniChris will be able to give you a definite identification on the species. In the meanwhile, the care of both species is very similar.

 

[HermanniChris]

Welcome to the forum! @HermanniChris will be able to give you a definite identification on the species. In the meanwhile, the care of both species is very similar.

They are Moroccan tortoises (Testudo graeca marokkensis).

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom, really appreciate your answer. I read a lot of threads and your information is probably the best on the internet.

1. When a tortoise is no longer considered a baby? I'm going to check the thread and considerate all the options I have, I want the best for the tortoises.
2. Ok so I'll tell the girl that I'm going to keep only these two and I'll separate them as soon as posible.
3. I knew about the sand problem, there is only substrate with natural leaves in the top layer and dirt under.
4. I'm soaking them 3 times a week about 30 minutes. I could do more but I see they really don't like soaking and they keep moving and trying to escape the plastic plate where I soak them, and they can't see trough it. Though with the sprinklers they get wet every day 2 or 3 times for about 10 minutes each.

1. There is no set answer for this. Generally, in my way of looking at it, they are:
-Hatchlings until they lose their egg tooth at around 6 weeks.
-Babies until around a year.
-Yearlings from about 1-2 years.
-Some time near the end of their 2nd year, I start calling them juveniles.
-In the case of larger species, "subadults" are large enough to breed, but far from full grown size. An example would be an 18 inch sulcata male. Its not a juvenile, and it can reproduce, but its only half of its full size length and a small fraction of its full size weight.
-Adults would be mostly grown or fully grown mature animals capable of reproduction. This can be confusing because there are occasional odd exceptions. Most Radiata, for example, can reach full adult size in 6-7 years, but they generally can't, don't or won't reproduce until they are 9-10 years old. But there are exception to the exceptions too, as some Radiata will occasionally produce fertile eggs when they are younger than the general age.
2. Sounds great.
3. Also sounds great.
4. I'd soak more often in hot weather, and for longer, when they are so little. As full size adults, soaking once or twice a week is plenty. Soak them in a tall sided opaque tub that they can't see out of or climb out of for 30-40 minutes. Keep the water warm the entire time. Don't worry about their fussiness. We call that the "tortoise treadmill". Its a good workout and stimulation for a bored tortoise in a relatively tiny enclosure (tiny compared to the wild). Think of how strenuous and difficult wild living must be and how far they must walk every day to find food, water, shelter, and mates, all the while avoiding territorial males, predators, and dodging weather extremes. Life in the wild is very difficult. In captivity they sit around all day and nothing ever happens. The weather is always perfect. Excellent food and clean fresh water is never more than a few steps away. Plenty of shelter and nothing to do and nowhere to go. A little scrambling in the soaking tub is GOOD for a captive tortoise. In addition to all that, good hydration prevents lots of health problems and keep them thriving.

 

[Melonero]

1. There is no set answer for this. Generally, in my way of looking at it, they are:
-Hatchlings until they lose their egg tooth at around 6 weeks.
-Babies until around a year.
-Yearlings from about 1-2 years.
-Some time near the end of their 2nd year, I start calling them juveniles.
-In the case of larger species, "subadults" are large enough to breed, but far from full grown size. An example would be an 18 inch sulcata male. Its not a juvenile, and it can reproduce, but its only half of its full size length and a small fraction of its full size weight.
-Adults would be mostly grown or fully grown mature animals capable of reproduction. This can be confusing because there are occasional odd exceptions. Most Radiata, for example, can reach full adult size in 6-7 years, but they generally can't, don't or won't reproduce until they are 9-10 years old. But there are exception to the exceptions too, as some Radiata will occasionally produce fertile eggs when they are younger than the general age.
2. Sounds great.
3. Also sounds great.
4. I'd soak more often in hot weather, and for longer, when they are so little. As full size adults, soaking once or twice a week is plenty. Soak them in a tall sided opaque tub that they can't see out of or climb out of for 30-40 minutes. Keep the water warm the entire time. Don't worry about their fussiness. We call that the "tortoise treadmill". Its a good workout and stimulation for a bored tortoise in a relatively tiny enclosure (tiny compared to the wild). Think of how strenuous and difficult wild living must be and how far they must walk every day to find food, water, shelter, and mates, all the while avoiding territorial males, predators, and dodging weather extremes. Life in the wild is very difficult. In captivity they sit around all day and nothing ever happens. The weather is always perfect. Excellent food and clean fresh water is never more than a few steps away. Plenty of shelter and nothing to do and nowhere to go. A little scrambling in the soaking tub is GOOD for a captive tortoise. In addition to all that, good hydration prevents lots of health problems and keep them thriving.

Hi tom, Since I’ve separated mi tortoises in 2 different spaces, should I soak them separated too?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi tom, Since I’ve separated mi tortoises in 2 different spaces, should I soak them separated too?

I’d always soak separately🙂

 

[Melonero]

Hello welcome to the forum! As folks have already said these guys need separating a put into indoor enclosures, I’ll talk you through a somewhat cost effective way to set them up inside for a starter enclosure, hopefully it helps give you an idea🙂

Just to quickly answer some of your questions, they are considered hatchlings up to a year, then yearlings, then up till around the age of 3 young juveniles, past that until fully grown they’re just juveniles, least that’s my opinion.
It sounds like you may have use some sort of top soil for your substrate which isn’t appropriate, I’ll talk more on substrate below.
Definitely do daily soaks for hatchlings like yours, don’t worry that they try to escape, most tortoise do, it’s actually good exercise for them😊

I’m going to include some information below on the types of equipment to use, how to maintain humidity, and a cost effective way for you to get a suitable sized enclosure, hopefully it helps inspire an idea for you🙂
I’ve included indoor uv, but if you’re able to get these guys out for a few hours of natural sunlight, you won’t need it.

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. I highly doubt yours does though lol.

Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. Again though if having natural sunlight daily don’t worry about this bit.

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The trouble with top soil is you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, they could be toxic.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then, which also helps boosting humidity or give the top a spray. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I don’t recommend misters or foggers, they get the air too wet and cause respiratory problems.

Humidity for young growing tortoises needs to be maintained around 80%, 24/7, you’ll find that difficult to achieve with an open top, for the set up I’m recommending I’d get a greenhouse cover. Once the tortoise is older a cover won’t be needed.

To maintain humidity whilst the tortoise is younger a greenhouse style set up works well and provides more space, as an adult each tortoise is going to ideally need a minimum of an 8x4, the bigger you go the better, it’s ideal if you can build your own base to go as big as you can for the room you have.

If you can’t find an exact fit for your base with the cover, then place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d put lining down under the base and cover though to stop condensate getting on your floor.
When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds or just make their own, for both these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough to prevent escapes.

Some people even hang their lighting from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire round so it’s at the height you need(check with temp gun/put thermostat in, 18-21 inches for uv I recommend) then secure with cable ties.
I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy. You could throw some pvc covering over the stands if youre struggling for a topper, but again if you do that, I’d put lining down under the base to stop condensate.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard. The one you’re using is quite smooth.

Ignore whatever else is in these enclosures in the photos, they’re just to give you an idea👍

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

Wishing you all the best from the uk🥰

Thanks a lot for your information, Is really Useful.
I was looking for ways of building my indoor enclosure, I will take a closer look on your guide soon.
You think is a good idea to use a fish tank as chamber?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks a lot for your information, Is really Useful.
I was looking for ways of building my indoor enclosure, I will take a closer look on your guide soon.
You think is a good idea to use a fish tank as chamber?

No problem at all, I think the problem is fish tanks don’t tend to run big enough for how much they’d cost you, they’ll outgrow one in no time, and it’s tricker to make it a closed chamber unless you were to maybe fashion something like this(attached) again though I don’t think it’ll last you very long

 

[Melonero]

No problem at all, I think the problem is fish tanks don’t tend to run big enough for how much they’d cost you, they’ll outgrow one in no time, and it’s tricker to make it a closed chamber unless you were to maybe fashion something like this(attached) again though I don’t think it’ll last you very long

Okay so the best idea is a raised bed for garden for each tortoise, set up lamps and all the stuff there and cover it with a greenhouse cover. But how I'm supposed to pour water in the bottom layer? Although the enclosure is covered, I'm not sure if it will be enough for keeping 80% humidity along the day.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Okay so the best idea is a raised bed for garden for each tortoise, set up lamps and all the stuff there and cover it with a greenhouse cover. But how I'm supposed to pour water in the bottom layer? Although the enclosure is covered, I'm not sure if it will be enough for keeping 80% humidity along the day.

Yeah that’s probably the most practical way to go in my opinion.
As for the pouring, simply pour lukewarm water into the corners, the water will spread and dampen the bottom layer, you’ll be surprised how well it does at keeping your humidity, in our closed set up we’ve not had to pour for a few weeks now and the humidity is still in the 90s! Spraying the top doesn’t last anywhere near that long, the top layer gets dried so quickly by the lamps, having that bottom layer damp does wonders, give it a shot and you’ll see😊

 

[Tom]

Hi tom, Since I’ve separated mi tortoises in 2 different spaces, should I soak them separated too?

Yes. That way you can monitor which one is pooping and how much.

 

[idcowden]

Hi tom, Since I’ve separated mi tortoises in 2 different spaces, should I soak them separated too?

Also - if you have a high sided soak tub as Tom suggests they may start picking fights and climbing on each other when they inevitably get bored after 2 minutes and start trying to find a way out.