Stock tank for encloser?

[Kylee L.]

The stock tank has to be lifted all at once, though. You can move cinder blocks one or two at a time so all the weight of the enclosure is not being lifted all at once. A 3' x 8' stock tank will be a bit unwieldy to move unless you have a helper.

They actually deliver the tank lol But I think I'm going to do a solid base and wood plank sides, I can attach the top to the sides much easier as well. Thank you for all your help. I'd be lost without this group, sometimes.

 

[zovick]

They actually deliver the tank lol But I think I'm going to do a solid base and wood plank sides, I can attach the top to the sides much easier as well. Thank you for all your help. I'd be lost without this group, sometimes.

After reading through all the posts on this thread, plus keeping tortoises for over 60 years, I actually think that Tom's idea with the chicken coop is the best way to go for an outdoor enclosure. The coop will keep 99% of predators out, plus you can enter it easily if necessary and be able to stand up in it.

Another point I would make is that if you are doing an enclosure outside, the best thing to do is to just use your original lawn for the bottom. You really don't need to cover your ground with something else for a base and then try to grow plants or whatever on top of the base. Just plant them in the ground.

 

[wellington]

Is it metal? If so, it will be quite heavy. The largest ones I have used for tortoise enclosures were 6 feet by 2 feet.

Also if you use it outdoors and get a really heavy rain, the water can sometimes get too deep for the tortoise(s) and drowning can occur. For this reason, I used to make sure any stock tanks I used for terrestrial turtles and tortoises outdoors were higher at one end than the other (I put a brick or two under one end), so water would accumulate at one end and not cover the entire floor. Another option is to drill a few holes in the bottom, but then it is no longer useful for holding water if you ever wanted to use it for that.

I don't think there is a floor in the one he showed a pic of. An actual stock tank of either the aquarium kind or live stock kind would have a floor. The one in the pic, which has a link to the pic is a garden bed.

 

[Tom]

After reading through all the posts on this thread, plus keeping tortoises for over 60 years, I actually think that Tom's idea with the chicken coop is the best way to go for an outdoor enclosure. The coop will keep 99% of predators out, plus you can enter it easily if necessary and be able to stand up in it.

Another point I would make is that if you are doing an enclosure outside, the best thing to do is to just use your original lawn for the bottom. You really don't need to cover your ground with something else for a base and then try to grow plants or whatever on top of the base. Just plant them in the ground.

Years ago I built some big cages for black throat monitors. I used pressure treated lumber and 1x2 inch welded wire. The lizards gradually died off as the years passed, and I started using the cages for tortoises. First Russians and now my platynota have been in there for a few years. I really think large cages are the way to go for all but the largest torts. Anything smaller than a redfoot goes in a cage now. Rats can still get in, but nothing larger than that, and the torts can't get out, which was a huge bonus when I had all the Russians. It gives me so much peace of mind knowing that my smaller species are safe and sound in those big cages.

The cage is 28 x 36, and divided into 4 strips of 28 x 8 feet.



The chicken coops from Tractor Supply work really well and they sure make life easy. I use those for all sort of animals. Macaws, iguanas, Harris hawks, and tortoises. I just started with some baby North American spotted turtles, and their little starter pond will be inside one of these cages this spring.

 

[Kylee L.]

After reading through all the posts on this thread, plus keeping tortoises for over 60 years, I actually think that Tom's idea with the chicken coop is the best way to go for an outdoor enclosure. The coop will keep 99% of predators out, plus you can enter it easily if necessary and be able to stand up in it.

Another point I would make is that if you are doing an enclosure outside, the best thing to do is to just use your original lawn for the bottom. You really don't need to cover your ground with something else for a base and then try to grow plants or whatever on top of the base. Just plant them in the ground.

Keeping my original lawn would be so much easier, my only worry is fire ants. I do have some spray I use to keep them out , will that be effective if I use it around, not in of course, the enclosure.

After reading through all the posts on this thread, plus keeping tortoises for over 60 years, I actually think that Tom's idea with the chicken coop is the best way to go for an outdoor enclosure. The coop will keep 99% of predators out, plus you can enter it easily if necessary and be able to stand up in it.

Another point I would make is that if you are doing an enclosure outside, the best thing to do is to just use your original lawn for the bottom. You really don't need to cover your ground with something else for a base and then try to grow plants or whatever on top of the base. Just plant them in the ground.

The chicken coop or enclosure directly on the ground would be absolutely the best idea for me, however, it's just the fire ants that have me worried about him being directly on the ground. I do have stuff I use , will spraying around the enclosure, not in of course, keep them out. And THNAK YOU so much for taking the time to help!!

 

[SinLA]

Keeping my original lawn would be so much easier, my only worry is fire ants. I do have some spray I use to keep them out , will that be effective if I use it around, not in of course, the enclosure.

The chicken coop or enclosure directly on the ground would be absolutely the best idea for me, however, it's just the fire ants that have me worried about him being directly on the ground. I do have stuff I use , will spraying around the enclosure, not in of course, keep them out. And THNAK YOU so much for taking the time to help!!

I can't offer any specific advice, but definitely search fire ants on this forum. Lots of people have had experience with them (some tragic).

 

[Tom]

Keeping my original lawn would be so much easier, my only worry is fire ants. I do have some spray I use to keep them out , will that be effective if I use it around, not in of course, the enclosure.

The chicken coop or enclosure directly on the ground would be absolutely the best idea for me, however, it's just the fire ants that have me worried about him being directly on the ground. I do have stuff I use , will spraying around the enclosure, not in of course, keep them out. And THNAK YOU so much for taking the time to help!!

I wouldn't use spray. Use the granules. Its more direct. Treat the individual ant hills in and around the enclosure while the tortoise is not in there. When all the granules are gone, you can put the tortoise out there. Keep pushing the ants back farther and farther away from your enclosure, radiating out to the edges of your property and beyond. The farther you push them back, the longer it will take for them to re-infest the enclosure area. You can go back to using your spray if that is effective for you, once you get away from the tortoise enclosure area, and any area where tortoise food grows. It takes vigilance to keep them at bay.

 

[zovick]

Keeping my original lawn would be so much easier, my only worry is fire ants. I do have some spray I use to keep them out , will that be effective if I use it around, not in of course, the enclosure.

The chicken coop or enclosure directly on the ground would be absolutely the best idea for me, however, it's just the fire ants that have me worried about him being directly on the ground. I do have stuff I use , will spraying around the enclosure, not in of course, keep them out. And THNAK YOU so much for taking the time to help!!

I live in GA where we have PLENTY of fire ants. I kept all of my tortoises directly on the ground for 20 years without a problem from fire ants. Whenever I noticed a new mound beginning to form, I would sprinkle Orthene powder on it and the ants would be totally dead and gone in 24 hours or less. After they were dead, I would shovel up the treated soil from the hill and remove it, then water the area. If there was a depression left after removing the treated soil, I would fill it with soil from another part of my property to level it out again.

During the treatment time, I would either move the tortoise out of the involved enclosure for a day or two, or in larger enclosures, I would surround the mound with some type of barrier such as cinder blocks or an overturned 5 gallon pail with some weight (like a cinder block) on top of it so that a tortoise could not move it.

I highly recommend Orthene powder for treating the ants. It also had fairly good results with a few yellowjacket nests in the ground which I accidentally stumbled onto while walking around my property over the years.

 

[Kylee L.]

I live in GA where we have PLENTY of fire ants. I kept all of my tortoises directly on the ground for 20 years without a problem from fire ants. Whenever I noticed a new mound beginning to form, I would sprinkle Orthene powder on it and the ants would be totally dead and gone in 24 hours or less. After they were dead, I would shovel up the treated soil from the hill and remove it, then water the area. If there was a depression left after removing the treated soil, I would fill it with soil from another part of my property to level it out again.

During the treatment time, I would either move the tortoise out of the involved enclosure for a day or two, or in larger enclosures, I would surround the mound with some type of barrier such as cinder blocks or an overturned 5 gallon pail with some weight (like a cinder block) on top of it so that a tortoise could not move it.

I highly recommend Orthene powder for treating the ants. It also had fairly good results with a few yellowjacket nests in the ground which I accidentally stumbled onto while walking around my property over the years.

Thank you!!!! This is good news!! I'm looking forward to finally putting him outside . I think he will be so happy to have sun and fresh air!

 

[zovick]

Thank you!!!! This is good news!! I'm looking forward to finally putting him outside . I think he will be so happy to have sun and fresh air!

I agree. Good luck.