So many questions still...

[haylee345]

Hi! I'll be getting a baby leopard tortoise soon and I've been reading everything I can and drawing up enclosure plans. I still have a few questions, though. I'm trying to do everything on a budget (I know tortoises are expensive, I'll spend as much as I need to give my tort the best life). My plans are to build a 2-level tortoise tower out of sanded pine plywood. They will be 3ftx4ft boxes on top of each other with about a foot in between. I'll also have a foot wide terrace on the top-level hide box. I'll be building a lot of ramps. I know I need wood "stairs" and maybe some grit in between, like skateboard skid paper. I'll also have sides to keep my tort from falling off. The terrace will be 8in high and the ramp to it will be a foot long. Will a baby leopard tortoise be able to manage that after training?

The ramp connecting the two levels will be 30in long with about 24in between the top and bottom floors. I'm much more worried about it. The whole enclosure will be closed, warm, and humid for the first 6 months. Should I wait before connecting the bottom level and just use it for storage or something? Or should I do a ramp to a bottom level terrace, then a ramp to bottom level floor so it's not just 30 straight inches of stairs?

Should I paint/seal the plywood? The bottoms will be lined with thick plastic, but I don't want the walls to swell. I also don't want chemicals to leach into anything.

If both levels are open, I plan to light and heat both so if the tort doesn't want to climb, it'll have everything it needs.

For lighting/heating, I think I'll be using a 22in t8 10.0 reptisun bulb in a 22in GE fluorescent light fixture, paired with one or two hardware store 65 watt flood bulbs. Do I also need a Zoomed ceramic infrared 100 watt heat emitter? Will the flood bulbs be good basking lights?

Where can I get live plants for my enclosure? Can I just buy them at Home Depot and wash them really well (including roots) before replanting in organic soil in a terra cotta pot and sticking the pot in my enclosure? They won't be a primary food source, but I want my tort to be able to graze if it wants. I don't have a yard. Can I just walk around the woods in NC and dig up something I know is edible?

I do have a patio and a 3ftx3ft outdoor enclosure already that I'll be growing tort food in. I'll be living in a house with a yard in 3 or 4 years, so then my tort will live outside and roam freeeee (ish).

Thanks so much! I just want to be the best tortoise mommy I can be.

Attached are my table plans and the dimensions I'll have my plywood cut. Also a stolen screenshot of my terrace goal.

 

[Tom]

1. I would restrict a baby to one level until it gains some size.
2. You will definitely need a CHE set on a thermostat to maintain ambient temps on each level.
3. This size enclosure ail probably not last a leopard tortoise for 3-4 years unless you get a very slow grower.
4. I used Drylok to "paint" my plywood and its working great so far.
5. Any plants bought at a hardware store or nursery will be full of systemic pesticides. This cannot be washed off and it will remain toxic for up to a year. Best to grow your own or get some from a known safe place. Plus the tortoise will likely eat or trample and live plants you put in there.
6. Where are you getting the tortoise? Read this first: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
Almost every breeder starts them too dry and this leads to disaster weeks or months down the road.

 

[haylee345]

Thanks for all the advice!

Do you think the long ramp can be managed after a year or so, with good growth?

What can I grow in a planter box outside in NC during the winter? Maybe some grazer mix from Tortoise Supply, hibiscus trees I'm getting dug up and potted from a friend's clean area, and some flowers, like California poppy?

So a tube light for UVA/UVA, CHE for ambient, and a 65 watt flood light for basking, or will the area under the CHE be hot enough to bask?

I plan on getting this baby from Vickie at Tortoise Yard. She has good reviews and I can tell she loves all of her tortoises and takes good care of them. http://tortoiseyard.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=17665&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

 

[Tom]

1. There is no way to know how fast they will grow and it can vary wildly. If all goes well, yes, they should be able to use your ramp in a year.
2. It freezes in NC in winter. I don't think any tortoise food will grow in snow. You'll have to figure something else out.
3. The CHE is not for basking, it is for maintaining ambient day and night. The flood bulb will be for basking.
4. Read that thread in post 6 above. Lots of people love their tortoises, but that doesn't mean they start them with daily soaks, damp substrate, warm temps and a humid hide. Ask Vickie how many times a week she soaks, what substrate her babies are on and if they have a humid hide. Ask her if she uses a brooder box or if she leaves them in the incubator for a week on the incubation media while they absorb their yolk sac. These are the questions that will help get you a healthy, well started baby and ensure you have a positive, successful tortoise keeping experience.

 

[Neal]

The split level may work for even a new hatchling...it just depends on how steep of a grade it is, and to a certain point the activity level/general inquisitiveness of the tortoise.

More important to the design of the enclosure is the functionality of it, in my opinion. If all areas in the enclosure can maintain temperatures and humidity to where you want them, then design is irrelevant. If it were me, I would follow Tom's suggestion and just keep things on a single level for now and for as long as you can as it would involve less equipment and less time on maintenance.

As far as plants, I would just start out with grazer mix from tortoise supply as well as some testudo mix planted directly in the enclosure. I cannot comment on the safety of using plants from Home Depot or elsewhere as a food source or even decorations, but since your new to this I would take a conservative approach and recommend avoiding them.

 

[haylee345]

Thank you! I need a small footprint for now so I'm trying to build an indoor enclosure that will last a couple years and still provide enough roaming and enrichment space. I may check out a local organic nursery for a couple spider plants or something for foliage. I want it to be as naturalistic as possible. I'm trying to do everything right from the start.

I chose a leopard tortoise because I don't like keeping animals confined, so I want a tortoise that will be safe living in a backyard in West Texas eventually.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi! I'll be getting a baby leopard tortoise soon and I've been reading everything I can and drawing up enclosure plans. I still have a few questions, though. I'm trying to do everything on a budget (I know tortoises are expensive, I'll spend as much as I need to give my tort the best life). My plans are to build a 2-level tortoise tower out of sanded pine plywood. They will be 3ftx4ft boxes on top of each other with about a foot in between. I'll also have a foot wide terrace on the top-level hide box. I'll be building a lot of ramps. I know I need wood "stairs" and maybe some grit in between, like skateboard skid paper. I'll also have sides to keep my tort from falling off. The terrace will be 8in high and the ramp to it will be a foot long. Will a baby leopard tortoise be able to manage that after training?

The ramp connecting the two levels will be 30in long with about 24in between the top and bottom floors. I'm much more worried about it. The whole enclosure will be closed, warm, and humid for the first 6 months. Should I wait before connecting the bottom level and just use it for storage or something? Or should I do a ramp to a bottom level terrace, then a ramp to bottom level floor so it's not just 30 straight inches of stairs?

Should I paint/seal the plywood? The bottoms will be lined with thick plastic, but I don't want the walls to swell. I also don't want chemicals to leach into anything.

If both levels are open, I plan to light and heat both so if the tort doesn't want to climb, it'll have everything it needs.

For lighting/heating, I think I'll be using a 22in t8 10.0 reptisun bulb in a 22in GE fluorescent light fixture, paired with one or two hardware store 65 watt flood bulbs. Do I also need a Zoomed ceramic infrared 100 watt heat emitter? Will the flood bulbs be good basking lights?

Where can I get live plants for my enclosure? Can I just buy them at Home Depot and wash them really well (including roots) before replanting in organic soil in a terra cotta pot and sticking the pot in my enclosure? They won't be a primary food source, but I want my tort to be able to graze if it wants. I don't have a yard. Can I just walk around the woods in NC and dig up something I know is edible?

I do have a patio and a 3ftx3ft outdoor enclosure already that I'll be growing tort food in. I'll be living in a house with a yard in 3 or 4 years, so then my tort will live outside and roam freeeee (ish).

Thanks so much! I just want to be the best tortoise mommy I can be.

Attached are my table plans and the dimensions I'll have my plywood cut. Also a stolen screenshot of my terrace goal.

Just to give you some idea of how quickly they can grow, I have a 3 - 4 year old leopard and he is almost 11 inches long.
He has his own room.

 

[haylee345]

Wow! He sounds very spoiled. I have been looking more into how fast they can grow... Maybe I can put a leash on mine if it gets too big and take it for walks? Lol.

 

[Lyn W]

Wow! He sounds very spoiled. I have been looking more into how fast they can grow... Maybe I can put a leash on mine if it gets too big and take it for walks? Lol.

Needs must in the UK! I don't have a heated outdoor home for him and he is too big for an indoor enclosure so he has a disused shower room to himself. The temps here have been quite low all year through but he has been very cosy.
I saw a 7 year old last year and he was 18"+ long and over a foot tall!
They sure can grow big!!