starting to gather for new enclosure :)

[heyprettyrave]

length: 65 inches width: 32 inches (rough estimate)

i want to make it out of wood... but i am not sure if i should line it with pond liner or if water proofing it would be good enough?

also, i wanted to make some hills... and give her some plants to climb around in( though i have a very hard time keeping them alive.... so i joined this site hopefully for help...http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/terrarium/

i was wondering if anybody had any advice on how to go about this....i was also thinking possibly keeping the plants potted in their pots?

and was wondering about a natural waterfall? something like this ....
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...rainforest-rapid-tropical-foam-insert-20-gal/

so it would be more like a rain forest, i want to get very creative with this project and am willing to spend a lot

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also, i think i will make it so that the pots are level with the dirt

 

[terryo]

That looks really cool, and I love it. I keep all the plants in the little pot's that they come it. I just bury them right in the substrate up to the rim of the pot.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I lined mine with linoleum and honestly believe that it does a great job sealing everything and is also easy to clean. I like it better than a shower curtain because it lays down flat, even in the corners and because I didn't tack through it ever with a nail or staple it is all that much better at waterproofing.

Also, it is very easy to install and you can get it in almost any color imaginable.

 

[heyprettyrave]

i never thought of linoleum, very cool idea

 

[Balboa]

Dunno if you checked out my thread on Rocky's new digs, but what yer talkin is kinda what I did

I had originally planned on linoleum lining, but still wanted to varnish the wood in case of linoleum leakage, and after varnishing it real well decided to try going without the linoleom. I've dug down a few times in different spots to look for signs of trouble, but so far so good. I would point out that I used spar/helmsman type heavy duty outdoor varnish, not the indoor only waterbased stuff and made sure it was well cured before occupation. I also siliconed the joints after varnishing.

I know Terry has good luck with sticking the new plants in, pot and all, but I was pretty nervous about that. I barerooted them and stuck them in the dirt substrate. With doing the bio active thing, I wanted the roots in the substrate anyways, and I wanted to make sure there were no fertilizers, pesticides or perlite balls in there. Those little pots are usually PACKED with perlite.

Nice thing about keeping them in pots is discourages the torts from bulldozing the plants if you leave them sticking out high enough. Sometimes they'll still climb right up on top anyways though. I caught Rocky high centered on a pot once. Leave them out too high and the torts just lookin at pots, not exactly the nature we're striving for hehe. The pots would also make it easier to pull the plant for a little recuperation if it gets badly mauled... which it will.

Yours is still just a little baby right? That makes selection easier. Only the sturdiest plants have survived 6 inch rocky, and that's with some help from me. I had to keep moving them around as Rocky established her paths. If you can look for things that give some good resistance when you push on them. Palm trees tied together do alright, but Rocky can push them over when she really wants to. Day Lillies have survived Rocky the best, surprisingly resistant, but they aren't thriving and are slowly going away. Forget the pretty little ferns. Trample fodder.

I imagine if you try to let the plants establish themselves well for a month or two before introducing the Tort, that would help, but who's gonna wait that long?

I REALLY wanted to do a waterfall too, but couldn't think of a practical way to do it, at least not in a hurry like I was. I wanted to still be able to remove the water dish easily for daily cleaning. The waterfall would almost have to be independant of the dish really. A tort will clog a pump in a hurry. Maybe have the waterfall drain into a pebble dish so there is no standing water for the tort to play in. It would still contribute some to humidity so would be somewhat useful.

good luck and have fun with it whatever you do!

 

[heyprettyrave]

thank you, im really excited and personally i got most of my ideas from your post lol
when i start the project im going to def be asking for more advice and tips, and i thought about a bio active substrate as well

 

[sk8todd]

I think you are on the right track with advice from the terrarium forum. Your redfoot will thank you for building a natural habitat with live plants. I used a heavy duty plastic bag to stop any excess moisture from penetrating the base. But more importantly than a liner, is a thick sealing coat over all of the actual wood. A brand called Kilz makes a really heavy duty thick water proof primer that will treat the wood from absorbing moisture. Use many layers. I also sealed all edges with silicone before priming and painting.

As far as landscaping goes, I have found that no matter how many hills and valleys you create, your tortoise(s) eventually bulldoze it back to a flat surface, so build the hills tall and try to compact the soil as much as possible. I used a sphagnum soil mix found at HD.

Get creative with your design. Add some decorative wood, slate rocks... have fun with it.

Here's a link of different stages of my planted tort table...
http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Planted-indoor-habitats-for-my-3-redfoots

 

[Balboa]

Glad to be of any help I can, I'm all about enriching the lives of Torts everywhere

Its really not too tough to do, basic carpentry skills help, but I'm no great carpenter myself. Cost really shouldn't be too bad, just get creative. I think all totalled up there's only about $200 into Rocky's setup, less for me as I had alot of it on hand. Plywood and Plexiglass are probably the biggest ticket items. I was lucky and scored some really top notch plywood at my local home depot for $25 a sheet. (And I do STRONGLY suggest going with waterproof 3/4" plywood, not OSB or MDF). It was some kind of "special buy" deal that they custom order in on occasion... I don't know if other home depots do this, as normally I pay $45 or so for lesser quality. Rocky's pad took two full sheets, but depending on how large you need/want a decent enclosure could be made from one. (and by putting in more windows, but plex costs more than plywood). For Example, One sheet could be cut into a 32" x 64" bottom, 16" x 64" back, and 3 16" x 32" pieces, two for sides and the last to cut up for hides or whatever. Then you could get some big pieces of plex for top and front (or to save coin still get a second sheet of ply and have some left over. It just pays to spend a little time thinking about how to cut the ply so you get the most out of each sheet.

To go really uber, and what I would've done had I known more redfoots were in the future is a full 4x8 top and bottom, then a third cut into 2 2 x 4 pieces for sides, and a 2 x 8 for the back. Next time hehe.

If you use exterior grade glue combined with screws (make sure to predrill so as not to split the ply) you can butt join the pieces without further corner reinforcing and be plenty strong (with 3/4 ply). I can actually walk around inside Rocky's enclosure without much deflection, since its actually joined at some point on all 6 sides. In the case of a full 4x8 I'd think about some joists, middle legs or internal webbing to support the middle. (By internal webbing I mean possibly some walls inside that span top to bottom, but not fully front to back. Aside from strengthening, those could help create a temp differential and give the Tort a line of site break, to give them the feeling of more to explore, a maze) I thought of that one a little too late.

HEHE dang I can ramble on. Hope some of that's helpful.

 

[Balboa]

Hey Todd, yours IS a totally awesome enclosure!

BUT .. (and I apologize if this has already been brought up)

Those cute little "Sago Palms" from HD aren't really sago palms at all and are HIGHLY toxic. (They are Cycas Revoluta, whereas the true Sago Palm is Metroxylon Sagu)

I thought they were pretty cool, and have eyeballed them at the hardware store, so looked them up just now, and we're not talking the "if you eat a large quantity you might get an upset tummy" kind of toxic, but the "small quantities are LETHAL" kind of toxic. Yes, torts are usually pretty smart about not eating bad stuff, but just thought I'd bring it to everyone's attention just in case. Not a risk I'll be taking.

 

[heyprettyrave]

i absolutely LOVE your enclosure, that is exactly what i want to do... except larger. i want this to last for a good few years did you plant your plants down in the ground? i can never keep my plants alive....

also, i didnt know if i could gradually build a hill out of wood? just have a slip proof thing on the bottom of it..idk its still in debate