Tips for building Night Time lock boxes

[Levi the Leopard]

I have an outdoor enclosure that I am modifying to house a Russian tortoise.

I have decided not to make a lid for the entire enclosure. I like the look of an open pen, its very large at 20'x6' and has 2 trees that would have presented difficulty in trying to frame.

What I would like to do is make a box to go inside the enclosure. One that I could secure the tortoise in at night. Lock it. Then open the door in the morning to let the tortoise out.

I'd like to get it right the first time so can you give me any tips? Point out things I have missed? Helpful advice?

I have seen many boxes made for sulcatas and leopard. But I want it to be suited for a Russian. Here in so cal I shouldn't need to heat it. And ideally if I could make it so the tortoise could burrow and brumate in this box, I'd like that too.

Here are my thoughts..

24"Lx 12"Wx12"H. I'd make the walls and most of the top solid. I'm thinking a 4" or so part of the top to be made with the wire mesh to let in morning light until I let the tort out. The entire top hinged so I have full access. Also a lock for the top. The door could hinge down as a mini ramp. Also, a lock for the door.
At fist I thought about an open bottom so the russian could dig down to brumate. But then, what if it dug out of the box or a predator dug under and in.
So what if I made the entire bottom of the wire mesh as well. Then it can't collect or puddle water. It can drain and be predator/escape proof.

How deep would I want to/need to provide as a dig in area for the tortoise? 6"? more?

I got this initial idea off of some pictures of night boxes that Kimber_Lee 314 posted.
Kimber, if you see this I'd love to know what your box construction plans were!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I tossed and turned all night in anticipation for what kind of tips I may find in the morning....

I was so sad to see none! lol

Silly me, I should have slept easy :/

 

[sibi]

I haven't built my outdoor enclosure yet, but you have some of the same ideas that I was thinking of. The bottom of the box could be 3 feet down. Then, a heavy grade metal mesh that is rust proof could be the ground level. The top could have a portal with a good combination lock to secure it. This will serve as your entry point should you need to have quick or spot entry/inspection. The ramp door is the entry point for your tort and you can secure it each night. What think you?

 

[Zamric]

I would say the bottom should be buried @ 1foot deep with a mesh (Wire cloth) across the bottom (to prvent deeper burming). 2' long a 1' wide should be big enough (how many Russians?) and I like the idea of a hinged lid on top and an access door for the torts but the top should be solid so no rain can come in.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I would say the bottom should be buried @ 1foot deep with a mesh (Wire cloth) across the bottom (to prvent deeper burming). 2' long a 1' wide should be big enough (how many Russians?) and I like the idea of a hinged lid on top and an access door for the torts but the top should be solid so no rain can come in.

so 12inches deep would be enough for them..that seems ok. maybe 12inch above ground with a 6 or 8 inch high door?

its for 1 russian to start. eventually i'll add more but am going to make multiples of everything in the event of a separation. i plan to make 2 of these boxes from the start.

full solid lid would be great for rain.. what if i put a 2inch strip of the mesh on the side of the box above the door. then some light can come in during the morning while waiting for me to open the door.. ??

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i'm aiming for the 1:3 ratio. but time will tell if that happens. i may get 1 or 2 and stop there...

 

[N2TORTS]

Here are some enclosure idea's like you mention. The large area itself is fully wired ( caged in) , in one of the sections there is a hide that is made from old doors. It can be folded down for a ramp to allow you torts to walk out ,along with a hinged lid....so the top can completely open, allowing for easy access to them. All of these can remain "outside" but still provide a heated locked source for your shelled buddies.
Happy building ..........
JD~

other outdoor hides can made to lock up too.......

or just hides that dont lock , that can remain in the " hut " yet provide an extra security of warmth and comfort.....

 

[Moozillion]

WOWWWW!!! That thump you just heard was my jaw hitting the ground!!! FANTASTIC!!!!

 

[N2TORTS]

WOWWWW!!! That thump you just heard was my jaw hitting the ground!!! FANTASTIC!!!!

v^v^rampart v^v^rampart ... we have a 911...

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Great! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to check out the pictures more closely on my computer

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I did notice one thing with your boxes. They all have floor level bottoms.
They are exactly what i want to do except i want ones that a Russian can burrow in to brumate in safety.
Is this possible? Does any one do that?

 

[Zamric]

Nice work! Looks like you've done that once or twice...

 

[Levi the Leopard]

JD, what do you put inside your boxes? is that hay? is that ok for me to use as well?

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All of these can remain "outside" but still provide a heated locked source for your shelled buddies.

would a russian need the night box heated? here in my area of so cal, our nights are not often below 60 (not counting the winter) and since i would be using this box during spring, summer and fall i assumed i would not need a heat source.
??

 

[N2TORTS]

JD, what do you put inside your boxes? is that hay? is that ok for me to use as well?

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All of these can remain "outside" but still provide a heated locked source for your shelled buddies.

would a russian need the night box heated? here in my area of so cal, our nights are not often below 60 (not counting the winter) and since i would be using this box during spring, summer and fall i assumed i would not need a heat source.
??

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I'm in SO Cal too ..... yes you will need heat . I'm not that well versed on Russians but I’m sure some folks will peep in. The hay you see in the one shot is " Timothy Hay" it was in a large sullies set up just for his night time resting area. It serves as a bedding , easy to clean ( throw it away) , cheap ....and Edible ... the larger sullies munch it . Again this is just a night time setup as all my animals have free roam and yards ... so they are outdoors nearly 365 a year. But rounded up nightly and put inside their "huts"

JD~

 

[Levi the Leopard]

i, too plan to have my russian outdoors 24/7 with free roam of a 20'x6' planted pen.

i want to use the box to lock him up at night. so should i use dirt?

i hope someone can chime in about what heated temperature i need to set a night box at for a russian.
*i know what to do for the leopard when the time comes... but everything says russians need the "cool down" at night and the 60 and 70 degree temps are ideal. so if the russian was never out below 60 would the box still need heat?

 

[lynnedit]

OK, here is one of mine that is outside. It is not heated. The roof is insulated with rigid insulation, and a thin piece of paneling to protect it.
If the &%$# torts would have used it this year, they could have hibernated w/o heat as it is about 18" deep with topsoil/coir.
It does not lock (yet) but would be easy to set up with a door that hinges to the side. And it could be any size, based on the side of the container sunk into the ground.





Later this week I can take pics (in daylight) of my Rubbermaid hide with a bulb for heat, modeled after Joe Heinen's 'deck box hide' on the Russian tortoise site.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

lynn this was very helpful for me to see!

i have seen Joe's deck box hide too

 

[lynnedit]

My torts love this hide. (they just loved the greenhouse more as the weather cooled). I think the fact that the clearance is only about 8" appeals to them; like burrowing into a tunnel.
One tort when about 12" down for 2 weeks early last Spring as a pretend hibernation.
I did put a layer of drainage gravel beneath it and down the outside to ground level.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

i have one of these tubs, lots of gravel in a side yard too.

i may copy this exact design

thanks for these tips!

 

[lynnedit]

The hard part is digging the hole right so that the top 6" of the tub is flush or a bit lower than the framing that sits on the ground. Dig deeper than you need and back fill with some gravel; which you can add/remove to get this right.
I measured, I think my door is only 5" high, even the big female can get in.
So you have to notch out a door in the Rubbermaid to match the opening in the wood frame. I used 2"x6" framing, so there is about 1" of frame left on top of the door. You could also use 2"x8" wood.
I also used small machine screws to hold the Rubbermaid to the frame on either side of the door.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Easiest thing, lock with key. Never breaks, easy to open.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

i dug in the rubbermaid bin yesterday! i did a bigger hole and filled the bottom of the hole with gravel. it was back breaking! but i did it

the bin is roughly 12x24. a little longer than 12 one way but a little less than 24 the other way. and i think it was around 16 deep... i need to measure another one i have for the exact numbers now, i forgot.
it is flush with the ground so i wont cut a hole in it for the door. there is a small lip, enough to secure it to the box frame but not enough to need a doorway cut.

im going to hopefully work on the box frame today. i was planning for a 6x6 door based on Joe's recommendations. door that folds down to double as a ramp, locks up at night. hinge lid that also locks.

i'll let ya know when i get more done and share some pictures

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Easiest thing, lock with key. Never breaks, easy to open.

Are you referring to lynns rubbermaid box? I'm not sure..