Tortoise enclosure

[MurtleLeopardTortoise]

Hi, so I’m just wondering if this enclosure would be okay for baby tortoise just for the time being as her current enclosure is under reconstruction. Just wondering if the heat lamp would melt the plastic?

This enclosure is supposed to be for a guinea pig/rabbit which I’d say is far too small but anyways…. Photos below….

The top has a metal wiring.

 

[wellington]

How little of a baby, what species and for how long?
It's way too small for any length of time and yes the heat lights and heat emitter would melt it
Instead get the largest tote box from a place like home Depot. 50 gallon or larger. Set that up as the enclosure. Will last longer and you can cut holes in the lid, line the rim of the holes with aluminum foil and set your heat and lights over the holes. A tube flourescent should be able to hang inside along the top.

 

[Tom]

Hi, so I’m just wondering if this enclosure would be okay for baby tortoise just for the time being as her current enclosure is under reconstruction. Just wondering if the heat lamp would melt the plastic?

This enclosure is supposed to be for a guinea pig/rabbit which I’d say is far too small but anyways…. Photos below….

The top has a metal wiring.

Check this out instead:

How to make a closed-chamber baby habitat out of a 55gal Sterilite bin

Since several folks have asked about how to make a closed chamber baby enclosure out of a 55gal Sterilite tote, here are some pics and description of how I do. This is not the most beautiful option, but since the babies will only be in here for 9-12 months, I'm okay with that. My own Russian...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[MurtleLeopardTortoise]

How little of a baby, what species and for how long?
It's way too small for any length of time and yes the heat lights and heat emitter would melt it
Instead get the largest tote box from a place like home Depot. 50 gallon or larger. Set that up as the enclosure. Will last longer and you can cut holes in the lid, line the rim of the holes with aluminum foil and set your heat and lights over the holes. A tube flourescent should be able to hang inside along the top. as

How little of a baby, what species and for how long?
It's way too small for any length of time and yes the heat lights and heat emitter would melt it
Instead get the largest tote box from a place like home Depot. 50 gallon or larger. Set that up as the enclosure. Will last longer and you can cut holes in the lid, line the rim of the holes with aluminum foil and set your heat and lights over the holes. A tube flourescent should be able to hang inside along the top.

She’s a baby leopard tortoise I’d say around 2mm in length at the moment (estimate). She is very tiny, i accidentally broke her current enclosure when cleaning I knocked it by my mistake (of course she wasn’t in the enclosure at the time) so whilst im waiting on her new one the only other option is the plastic rabbit/guinea pig enclosure (the same as the photo posted). I do have all of the lights required however I’m only using the hanging bulb one for the plastic one as it’s quite small compared to her other enclosure. I haven’t yet received tracking details on the enclosure I’ve ordered so I’m hoping it’ll arrive within the next couple of days as I paid extra for express shipping.

 

[Tom]

She’s a baby leopard tortoise I’d say around 2mm in length at the moment (estimate). She is very tiny, i accidentally broke her current enclosure when cleaning I knocked it by my mistake (of course she wasn’t in the enclosure at the time) so whilst im waiting on her new one the only other option is the plastic rabbit/guinea pig enclosure (the same as the photo posted). I do have all of the lights required however I’m only using the hanging bulb one for the plastic one as it’s quite small compared to her other enclosure. I haven’t yet received tracking details on the enclosure I’ve ordered so I’m hoping it’ll arrive within the next couple of days as I paid extra for express shipping.

The rabbit cage won't be suitable because it is too open. You need a viv. For a quick and cheap alternative, check out the thread I linked for you in post #3.

 

[wellington]

She’s a baby leopard tortoise I’d say around 2mm in length at the moment (estimate). She is very tiny, i accidentally broke her current enclosure when cleaning I knocked it by my mistake (of course she wasn’t in the enclosure at the time) so whilst im waiting on her new one the only other option is the plastic rabbit/guinea pig enclosure (the same as the photo posted). I do have all of the lights required however I’m only using the hanging bulb one for the plastic one as it’s quite small compared to her other enclosure. I haven’t yet received tracking details on the enclosure I’ve ordered so I’m hoping it’ll arrive within the next couple of days as I paid extra for express shipping.

If you can't get the tote box both I and Tom mentioned, is the grate on top of the cage you showed metal or plastic? If it's metal, they should be fine. If it's plastic, cut some of them away and then set up a piece of plastic or tarp over the whole enclosure to make it a closed chamber enclosure with all lights and heat under the plastic/tarp but not touching the plastic or tarp. This should hold until the enclosure arrives.
If the enclosure you ordered is still an open top enclosure, meaning there is a grate, wire mesh as part of the top, it too will have to be turned into a closed chamber.

 

[MurtleLeopardTortoise]

If you can't get the tote box both I and Tom mentioned, is the grate on top of the cage you showed metal or plastic? If it's metal, they should be fine. If it's plastic, cut some of them away and then set up a piece of plastic or tarp over the whole enclosure to make it a closed chamber enclosure with all lights and heat under the plastic/tarp but not touching the plastic or tarp. This should hold until the enclosure arrives.
If the enclosure you ordered is still an open top enclosure, meaning there is a grate, wire mesh as part of the top, it too will have to be turned into a closed chamber.

Thank you and no the new enclosure I will attach a photo of it. I have got everything to make a replica of this enclosure however I am going to extend my one to make it a bit more longer and I’m also going to change the bars to like a mesh kind of material so that it can be humid and stuff for her. And I’m also going to add a wooden frame 20cm high around the flooring so she can’t escape but yes so for temporary she’s in the plastic one at the moment and I’ve just cut a hole threw the metal top part as it has like a plastic coating so didn’t want to risk it melting or anything, I’ve also placed a little blanket around the bottom to provide her with some more privacy at the moment just trying to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible just until her new enclosure!!

 

[wellington]

Okay, she needs a fully closed enclosure. So replace the bars with either plexiglass or wood. Being so open like that, heat and humidity will escape and pyramiding will win over.
And you do know, this will only last her 2 maybe 3 years and she will need a lot bigger. As an adult, she will need a room size enclosure unless you move her outside when she is 10 inches long and have a heated shed for her for winter and cold summer days and nights.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Thank you and no the new enclosure I will attach a photo of it. I have got everything to make a replica of this enclosure however I am going to extend my one to make it a bit more longer and I’m also going to change the bars to like a mesh kind of material so that it can be humid and stuff for her. And I’m also going to add a wooden frame 20cm high around the flooring so she can’t escape but yes so for temporary she’s in the plastic one at the moment and I’ve just cut a hole threw the metal top part as it has like a plastic coating so didn’t want to risk it melting or anything, I’ve also placed a little blanket around the bottom to provide her with some more privacy at the moment just trying to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible just until her new enclosure!!

That tiktokker has a cute tortoise, but she includes some information in their videos that aren't the best for the health of their tortoise. You can see in some videos that the tortoise has some pyramiding due to the wrong UVB bulb and too dry enclosure. I suggest you make the changes wellington recommends and get a diffrent UVB light.

 

[MurtleLeopardTortoise]

That tiktokker has a cute tortoise, but she includes some information in their videos that aren't the best for the health of their tortoise. You can see in some videos that the tortoise has some pyramiding due to the wrong UVB bulb and too dry enclosure. I suggest you make the changes wellington recommends and get a diffrent UVB light.

Yes I am aware she does include some information that aren’t the best for their health however the enclosure is perfect to use for a year or 2 which will give me enough time to prepare for when she gets bigger. Also the lights I use aren’t the same as hers I have all the correct lights that she needs

 

[MurtleLeopardTortoise]

Okay, she needs a fully closed enclosure. So replace the bars with either plexiglass or wood. Being so open like that, heat and humidity will escape and pyramiding will win over.
And you do know, this will only last her 2 maybe 3 years and she will need a lot bigger. As an adult, she will need a room size enclosure unless you move her outside when she is 10 inches long and have a heated shed for her for winter and cold summer days and nights.

Yes I am going to change out the bars, I was going to use some kind of mesh but plexiglass is perfect I didn’t really think of that! And yes I am aware that this will only last a short amount of time I am planning on moving houses with a larger garden in the next year or so, so when I do move she will be getting her own room but I’m planning on building an outdoor enclosure for her for the summer days. Thank you for your feedbacklooking at plexiglass now!!