Tortoise home!

[turtlebrad]

Soo ive wanted one for so long and i finaly said i was going to do it. Ive started to build a outdoor tortoise home(pen). Its about 20feet long, and 4 feet wide, a fence is on one side and one end, at the farest end ive made a garden to grow some of the tortoises food. Im so excited, got lots of plans for how to make a house and how the rest of the pen will be. All that being said i havent made up my mind on what tort would be best. I live in central florida so the weather is hot, theres going to be ample space to be in the shade and also for heat. But im looking for help finding a tortoise and a list of what they eat. I have decent experence with them but a great understanding for all animals. My plan is to rescue a tort. Thanks for any help! Sorry for rambling on about nothing.

 

[Tortus]

With that space, maybe a redfoot or leopard?

It seems 4' wide is a little narrow for a sulcata. But some may disagree.

 

[kathyth]

Because of where you live, you have amny options. Just make sure that the enclosure that you build is appropriate for the species that you get. Their needs are very different.
Please read the fabulous articles on enclosures on the forum.
My tortoise enclosures have underground barries two feet deep, all the way around the enclisure to dprevent the great escape. Some species are just famous for digging. Some dig less, but I would expect it.
It sounds like you will have a great time doing this. Nice project!

 

[turtlebrad]

Are there any easy ways to prevent them from digging out?

 

[kathyth]

I wish there was an easy way, but they can dig and dig. Maybe someone else will have an idea.
Redfoots are less likely to dig from what I have heard.
Keep asking and reading.

I would look for the " search" at the top of the page and put in " tortoise digging". " preventing a tortoise from digging out of enclosure". You will get ideas.

 

[JoesMum]

Russians aka Steppe Tortoise and also aka Hermanns are the worst escape artists with regard to digging and climbing. Fortunately they are entirely unsuited to your humid Florida climate, so they won't be on the list for you!

 

[Thalatte]

You could do a smaller sulcata and then when they reached a big enough size just let him roam your entire yard.
Other than that I have heard red foots and yellow foots do well in your area.

 

[turtlebrad]

Sweet! Thank you guys, also look for ideas for bedding, and also what to put in the pen with grass and dirt. Something natural and cheap

 

[Thalatte]

In the garden centers you can find large blocks of sphagnum peat moss. I bought some at Walmart for $8 bucks a bad and it contains 3 cubic feet.

 

[turtlebrad]

Thanks! Im also looking into paints for the tort house im going to build for him/her aswell, do they sell non toxic paint or will normal paint do fine?

 

[Thalatte]

Most paint is non toxic and if you get the outdoor paint it will protect the wood a bit from humidity.

 

[turtlebrad]

Ok thats easy, what about presure treated wood, is that ok for them to be around?

 

[Thalatte]

No. It has arsenic and other harmful chemicals in it so you will want to stick with natural untreated woods.

 

[turtlebrad]

Thanks

---

Would a 1-5 foot wide sulcata tort be ok in my encloser? Size wise? Theres a few that people are geting rid of and id love to rescue an aminal

 

[Thalatte]

A 1ft sulcata would be ok but obviously a 5ft sulcata would not be ok in a 4ft wide enclosure.
You could probably get away with having a sulcata in your enclosure till they reached 2-3ft then they would need a MUCH bigger enclosure. Sulcatas tend to be rather active and just cruise non stop so the larger the enclosure you provide the happier they are.

---

And a 3ft sulcata is pushing it. You should enlarge the enclosure when they reach 2ft.

 

[turtlebrad]

Okay! Thanks, i will measure the encloser today to make sure.

 

[turtlebrad]

4x15 feet, but the house im going to build for him/her is going to be 2 levels and also off the ground, to provid a cool spot and also a safe area

 

[Thalatte]

A sulcata up to but not exceeding 2ft would be ok in that enclosure but the house could be problematic unless you built everything in massive scale and reinforced it as much as possible. Would the house sit have an open bottom floor and then a ramp leading up to the secured second floor?

 

[turtlebrad]

Just like that, so he can go under it for shade and also go up it

 

[Thalatte]

Sounds fine. So are you goin to go with a sulcata then?