Steve's New Enclosure; the First One I've Built

[Oxalis]

I promised I would post how the new enclosure is going: slow and steady! I think we have all the parts we need now. It's 4 feet x 4 feet, so that's quite a bit more space than his old 40 gallon tank. We have plain dirt and sphagnum peat moss for his substrate, and we have a liner for the inside so we don't have to worry about sealing the wood or anything. Good thing he'll have his own bedroom now. Although he'll be rooming with some fishies (my boyfriend has a cichlid tank). I'm still in the process of acquiring some new "furniture" for him too. I'll be sure to post more updates as soon as I can. I have a lot of studying to do so I'm one busy tortoise mommy!

Any tips or helpful hints, feel free to post.

 

[Oxalis]

It's really coming along now! Compare the enclosure size to the couch next to it! I love my engineer boyfriend. XD

All the wood is untreated, by the way.

 

[Oxalis]

Getting the legs on the table now. Now it's in the future tortoise bedroom, with his future roommates, the fishies. You can see the 20-gallon fish tank in the background. Might be a few more days before I'm able to put in more work on it (because of work and school).

 

[luvpetz27]

Thats gonna be a big one!!
Steve will love it!! ......so funny cuz thats my hubby's name! lol
Cant wait to see it when its all done!!

 

[lynnedit]

Nice and big! You can line the wood to protect it from moisture (with pond or shower pan liner, vinyl with the edges siliconed, etc.).
You might want to think about a wood lip around the top to prevent escapes!

Your tortoise will love the extra room.

 

[Oxalis]

We have the legs attached and it's standing up next to the fish tank now, all ready for the lamps and substrate.

 

[Oxalis]

The liner is down in the enclosure now and it has dirt and sphagnum peat moss over it. We found a few large, flat rocks for him to bask or climb on. He'll have another log hide arriving in the mail tomorrow as well as a 12'' water terra cotta saucer. All that is left now before Steve arrives is to set up our lamps. My boyfriend has been awesome in assisting with the table! We were surprised to find how soft sphagnum peat moss is! I think Steve will love this new home. He'll get some sunshine and plenty more space to roam around than he's had in his old 40-gallon glass tank. He should be moving in sometime this week!!

 

[ascott]

Nice space and good job...

If you have found the substrate to be soft, simply press/pack it down with you hands...this will allow a bid more solid surface for your tort to move about on...if too fluffy it will be hard for him to walk on as his legs will sink in versus walk on...

I do not know how large your tort is, but I would possibly put a ledge around the perimeter of the enclosure top that hangs inward to assure he does not hook his legs on the top and pull himself on up and out---and I would also be sure to check how the sun moves across the entire table at various times of the day---you do not want him to bake....

 

[Oxalis]

If you have found the substrate to be soft, simply press/pack it down with you hands...this will allow a bid more solid surface for your tort to move about on...if too fluffy it will be hard for him to walk on as his legs will sink in versus walk on...

I do not know how large your tort is, but I would possibly put a ledge around the perimeter of the enclosure top that hangs inward to assure he does not hook his legs on the top and pull himself on up and out---and I would also be sure to check how the sun moves across the entire table at various times of the day---you do not want him to bake....

Thanks for the tips! He's pretty small so I doubt he'll be able to climb over the walls. When we did observe the sunlight on the enclosure yesterday, it looks like there will be plenty of space for him to find shade in his new home.

 

[Yvonne G]

Your BF did a nice job. I was just about to write a post advising him to put cross braces across the bottom, then I noticed he added a support leg to the middle.

I think you're going to find that eventually the plastic is going to be ripped by little claws when he digs. Be thinking about a nice water-proof latex paint to replace it with.

 

[Oxalis]

Your BF did a nice job. I was just about to write a post advising him to put cross braces across the bottom, then I noticed he added a support leg to the middle.

I think you're going to find that eventually the plastic is going to be ripped by little claws when he digs. Be thinking about a nice water-proof latex paint to replace it with.

Awesome, thanks! We're definitely expecting some experimentation with our table!

 

[Oxalis]

The lamp is up now, on a chain so it's adjustable. I don't have my extension cord at the moment so the lamp isn't plugged in yet. Today we'll put in his water dish and a couple little rocks from his previous home so he can recognize a few things. Then later today he moves in! Yey!

 

[Oxalis]

He's checking out his new home!! I hope he likes it. He seemed to go around and sniff everything like a puppy. I have more photos I can post later.

 

[Chef]

Hello, just wondering how deep the substrate is in there? Does Steve ever burrow and spend extended periods of time underground?

Also, what part of MI are you from? I'm in the Flint-Lansing area of Michigan. I just got a Russian Tortoise which I'm told is about 6 months old. Have you had Steve all of his life or did you adopt him as an adult?

 

[Oxalis]

Hello, just wondering how deep the substrate is in there? Does Steve ever burrow and spend extended periods of time underground? Also, what part of MI are you from? I'm in the Flint-Lansing area of Michigan. I just got a Russian Tortoise which I'm told is about 6 months old. Have you had Steve all of his life or did you adopt him as an adult?

The substrate's a few inches deep, at least 3. He does burrow, not super deep, but more just carves out a little sort of "nest" for himself in the substrate, usually under his log hide.

I did adopt Steve when he was older. I've had him since 2009. I took him to a reptile vet and the vet guessed his age at probably closer to 15, maybe 20, but most likely no older than 25.

I am in the metro Detroit area. Steve does love his naps, so sometimes I wonder if he thinks he's a cat. ;D With all our cloudy days, he isn't always active, but at this time of year, it's going to be cooler too (even though he's indoors). When we first got the enclosure set up, we spent a good deal of time measuring the temp and humidity. We ended up having to set up a second heat lamp for him to bring the temp up to something more suitable for him. We just moved into this house this past summer so we don't know yet what the house is like in the winter, and the same goes for Steve's new enclosure since we just built it. But I'm sure everything will be OK; he's on the second floor of the house where the heat rises.

 

[Oxalis]

Stevie's home is getting an upgrade: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/building-tortoise-table-number-two.157223/