Sheldons new home

[todd and his tortoise]

Well here it is...Sheldon's Jurassic cage, 65 days in the making. 1st we live in a townhome and don't have a lot of free interior space. I had to come up will a smart way to make him a big home without sacrificing space. the only free space we have is under our stairs.we also were having a challenge keeping the humidity level up with an open cage.


it was challenging with the triangular angles. I spent a few days drawing up the plans and after a lot of measuring and a few trips to Lowes I started my epic adventure.

I started with the wood, made the measurements and started to make the frame.

it was so big I had to cut the wood on our porch and assemble it in our living room. I gave him a nice desert background to make him feel at home

I had a few feline helpers in the assembly of sheldons new home

before completing it, I slid it in the opening under the stairs to make sure it wasn't too big. by no means I am no carpenter. all the angle cuts were made by eye.

after making sure it fit, I added the MVB bulb, CHE bulb and a spot bulb for basking. they are all on a 12 on/12 off timer.

I gave him a large hide(which I found he rarely uses). it also has a 3 inch slope filled with moss and coco hair if he wants to burrow. I then put a plexiglass front for easy viewing and to keep the humidity in.


I added 1 plant for now but plan on adding more plants that Sheldon will like. he now goes to the plant corner when he wants to sleep, I guess it comforts him under the plant. since these pictures I added an ultrasonic mister the keeps up the humidity. Sheldon seems happy.

 

[wellington]

Job well done.

 

[Shannon and Jason]

I agree

 

[Eloise's mommy]

How creative!!! I hate closets under the stairs but a tort house!! love this!!!! Great job!

 

[todd and his tortoise]

thanks for all the praise. it was a labor of love. all for little sheldon

 

[skottip]

Great job! Are you just going to give him the whole downstairs when he grows out of his enclosure? 200+ pounds comes fast!

 

[TxTortMan]

Where did you get the idea for the bamboo plant? I've been wanting to put in more plants but need some that are small enough. Is bamboo safe for them and alright to eat? Or is it decoration?

 

[todd and his tortoise]

Where did you get the idea for the bamboo plant? I've been wanting to put in more plants but need some that are small enough. Is bamboo safe for them and alright to eat? Or is it decoration?

this is just for decoration, i had and extra one lying around so i thought it would add some color to the cage. i feel its high enough that he can't get to the leaves. i was thinking about adding some cactus plants to the cage too. i want it to make it feel like home for him.

 

[SnakeyeZ]

That's a great idea! I may have to do this for our tortoise since the stair closet never get's used anyway.

 

[Tom]

Very clever and very cool.

I'd suggest taking the CHE off the timer and instead running on a thermostat, so it can keep him warm enough all hours of the day. I'm not seeing a water bowl. Is that coming later? Looks like you made it out of particle board. With any humidity or moisture that stuff will come apart. Just watch out for that. If you have a problem, you might have to rebuild it with plywood.

 

[Robyn@TRR]

Great pic series, thanks!

 

[ulkal]

Cool idea, looks really nice. You know something's good when it passes the cat-box test

 

[argus333]

ya that wood looks a little sketchy.

 

[todd and his tortoise]

the frame of the house is a half inch thick wood,it is treated for moisture and outside use. hopefully will hold up for a few years. i have two layers in the bottom due to moist substrate. i think the wood is very good,it cost me about 25.00 a sheet and is very heavy. i it starts to fail i will give an update. next on the list is a good che thermostat to maintain temps. i am looking for one with a day and night temp settings though.