Tortoise Shed Ideas?

[Nellie Rose]

Hello everyone! I've started my search for my young Sulcatas first shed and wanted some tips from those more experienced than I.
I am looking for something 10×10 or 8×12. I was looking to buy a shed and then modify it for my needs such as adding insulation and heat.

What is the best way to go about this and is there a particular model or any features recommended?

Would a metal shed work if I add insulation on the inside or would it still be too cold?

What should the shed contain as far as furniture or decoration?

Can it have windows or will it loose too much heat in the winter?

Any tips or tricks from those also keeping large tropical tortoises in a colder climate? I am in Maryland between Baltimore and Washington.

How should i build her outdoor pen so it is escape proof? I worry about her digging out, shes quite the little excavator.

I plan to heat using a radiant oil heater and a pig blanket, she'll live in here once she outgrows her current enclosure until she is big enough to roam the yard, and then inside a large heated garage in the winter once she outgrows the shed.

 

[wellington]

If you have an appropriate garage that you can dedicate to her and heat it, why not use that as her shed now and just board off a size more suitable for her now and easier to heat. Then as she grows, you can expand the garage area. Save the money on the shed and reinforce the fence.
I have leopards, they don't dig or burrow so I just have private fencing but there is chain link in front of it. Chain link was here and we needed the privacy for them
Some have buried cinder blocks down about 12 inches or so and others have buried fencing. Others I believe just fill in the burrow hole and place plywood over it if it's in a area you don't want it to be.

 

[Nellie Rose]

If you have an appropriate garage that you can dedicate to her and heat it, why not use that as her shed now and just board off a size more suitable for her now and easier to heat. Then as she grows, you can expand the garage area. Save the money on the shed and reinforce the fence.
I have leopards, they don't dig or burrow so I just have private fencing but there is chain link in front of it. Chain link was here and we needed the privacy for them
Some have buried cinder blocks down about 12 inches or so and others have buried fencing. Others I believe just fill in the burrow hole and place plywood over it if it's in a area you don't want it to be.

The garage needs to be temporary accommodation in the winter because my father uses it in the summer, and works out of it to run his HVAC business. But during the winter it is not in use so we're blocking off about half of it just for the coldest couple months.

For spring summer and fall she'll be in the shed, and have the outdoor pen to run around in.

I'm thinking I dig a trench around the perimeter a couple of feet deep and fill with cinder blocks, and have a short cinderblock wall with chain link in front of it.
I got a quote from a local company for $3100 for a shed, I'm thinking about just buying one from home depot, of course then I'd need to transport myself, which I can do, it's just more hassle.

 

[wellington]

I wouldn't do a metal or plastic shed. They are much harder to insulate and heat.
If you don't need the shed for winter, a insulated heated night box like Tom has a post on would be all you should need for spring, summer and fall

 

[wellington]

Thread 'Another Effective Night Box' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-effective-night-box.86632/

 

[Nellie Rose]

I wouldn't do a metal or plastic shed. They are much harder to insulate and heat.
If you don't need the shed for winter, a insulated heated night box like Tom has a post on would be all you should need for spring, summer and fall

Ok thank you. I think I want a full size shed for the fall months when it's a little chilly but she'll be able to walk around during the day, also for more overhead storage space.
I've seen his designs though, and spoken to him about it. Maybe I'll start with a night box and move up as she grows. I shouldn't need a bigger enclosure for at least a year but obviously it's something I'm thinking about.

 

[Nellie Rose]

Thread 'Another Effective Night Box' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-effective-night-box.86632/

Thank you 😊

 

[Nellie Rose]

Been doing some reading through different threads, I see this has been a regularly discussed topic. What is the best way to insulate the shed and what is the most cost effective way? I have about a $3000 budget for the whole thing and the shed itself is going to be $1500 of that.

So then I'm going to need the foundation for the shed (thinking gravel or stone pavers but need to discuss with my dad, he's my handyman lol)
Insulation
radiant oil heater
Pig blanket
Thermostat
Going to need to run electricity to the shed
And build a tortoise proof yard with a tortoise food garden
Hoping to start in November and get it all done within a year, giving myself plenty of time since I just started vet tech school and starting new jobs and whatnot.
I want to also build an L shaped 20×3 tortoise table to put inside of the shed for my small hermanns tortoise to live in, elevated and fixed to the walls so the sulcata can crawl under it without damaging the box or nocking it over.

 

[vladimir]

Been doing some reading through different threads, I see this has been a regularly discussed topic. What is the best way to insulate the shed and what is the most cost effective way? I have about a $3000 budget for the whole thing and the shed itself is going to be $1500 of that.

So then I'm going to need the foundation for the shed (thinking gravel or stone pavers but need to discuss with my dad, he's my handyman lol)
Insulation
radiant oil heater
Pig blanket
Thermostat
Going to need to run electricity to the shed
And build a tortoise proof yard with a tortoise food garden
Hoping to start in November and get it all done within a year, giving myself plenty of time since I just started vet tech school and starting new jobs and whatnot.
I want to also build an L shaped 20×3 tortoise table to put inside of the shed for my small hermanns tortoise to live in, elevated and fixed to the walls so the sulcata can crawl under it without damaging the box or nocking it over.

Hi,

I just had a shed built which I insulated for our sulcata in Pennsylvania.

Planning an outdoor winter sulcata shed

Hello, In the spirit of my previous thread planning an indoor enclosure: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/planning-new-indoor-enclosure.163087/ It's been 5 years since Vladimir moved into that enclosure, and it's clear he's outgrown it now. I'm hoping to buy/build a shed to convert to an...

tortoiseforum.org

I started planning in February 2023, ordered the shed in June 2023, it was delivered in early August 2023 and it took me 2 months to finish insulating it, with the tortoise moving in in early October last year.

There's really no way around it - this is going to be expensive. I had the shed framed with 2x6s instead of 2x4s to provide more space for insulation in the walls, allowing me to put 5.5" of XPS insulation. This added to the cost from the builder, and required more insulation, but it was well worth it when temperatures got into the single digits and the shed was still 82F inside.

 

[wellington]

The electric is going to be costly unless your hub can do that. The portable radiator heaters should not be plugged into extension cords, so electric is a must.
My shed is the third stall of a garage. No over head door and OSB board on walls with the regular pink insulation in between. A wall also separates it from the actual garage. Cement floor but I had a wood insulated floor put over it.
I had a window installed, however I since added another stall on and that one has 3 windows and 3 sky lights. I just cover them with Styrofoam insulation in winter.
I have no idea how warm it stays when it's cold outside without heat. Sometimes I use two heaters and I have a ceiling fan going 24/7 in winter to push heat back down. They all have a basking light with pig blanket and a che for night.

 

[Renee_H]

I saw a shed done here with this stuff https://tigerfoam.com/sprayfoaminsulation/why-tiger-foam/ seemed like a great option for those bigger sheds.

 

[Maggie3fan]

My shed was a metal gardeners shed. It is insulated with that pink fuzzy stuff. the inside walls are 3/4" plywood. The ceiling and floor are also insulated. It is 20'x12'. It stays 85 degrees with a radiator heater. In the summer when it's hot, it gets pretty hot in my tort shed. I take measures with a fan to cool it down, but I have to close both doggie doors and the people doors because of predators at night. Here's some photos

There's a pig blanket inside a sleeping box for giant tortoise, a basking bulb hanging and a black light bulb for nights. The heater is 3 feet off the floor

 

[Nellie Rose]

Hi,

I just had a shed built which I insulated for our sulcata in Pennsylvania.

So you know my struggles of planning an enclosure with colder winters!

Planning an outdoor winter sulcata shed

Hello, In the spirit of my previous thread planning an indoor enclosure: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/planning-new-indoor-enclosure.163087/ It's been 5 years since Vladimir moved into that enclosure, and it's clear he's outgrown it now. I'm hoping to buy/build a shed to convert to an...

tortoiseforum.org

I started planning in February 2023, ordered the shed in June 2023, it was delivered in early August 2023 and it took me 2 months to finish insulating it, with the tortoise moving in in early October last year.

I'm thinking about getting the shed delivered in November, since I won't be working that month, and working on it over the winter, but I'm not sure yet.

There's really no way around it - this is going to be expensive. I had the shed framed with 2x6s instead of 2x4s to provide more space for insulation in the walls, allowing me to put 5.5" of XPS insulation. This added to the cost from the builder, and required more insulation, but it was well worth it when temperatures got into the single digits and the shed was still 82F inside.

Do you think my budget of $3000 is reasonable? With the shed itself costing $1500? Planning on building it myself with the help of my dad and brother, who can do all the electric and help me to insulate it.

The electric is going to be costly unless your hub can do that. The portable radiator heaters should not be plugged into extension cords, so electric is a must.

Gotcha, so definitely need to install electric. I'm lucky, my dad and brother can do all of that for me.

My shed is the third stall of a garage. No over head door and OSB board on walls with the regular pink insulation in between. A wall also separates it from the actual garage. Cement floor but I had a wood insulated floor put over it.
I had a window installed, however I since added another stall on and that one has 3 windows and 3 sky lights. I just cover them with Styrofoam insulation in winter.
I have no idea how warm it stays when it's cold outside without heat. Sometimes I use two heaters and I have a ceiling fan going 24/7 in winter to push heat back down. They all have a basking light with pig blanket and a che for night.

Thank you for detailing your design, it's really helpful 😊

I saw a shed done here with this stuff https://tigerfoam.com/sprayfoaminsulation/why-tiger-foam/ seemed like a great option for those bigger sheds.

Thank you! I'll check it out.

My shed was a metal gardeners shed. It is insulated with that pink fuzzy stuff. the inside walls are 3/4" plywood. The ceiling and floor are also insulated. It is 20'x12'. It stays 85 degrees with a radiator heater. In the summer when it's hot, it gets pretty hot in my tort shed. I take measures with a fan to cool it down, but I have to close both doggie doors and the people doors because of predators at night. Here's some photos
View attachment 378156View attachment 378157
There's a pig blanket inside a sleeping box for giant tortoise, a basking bulb hanging and a black light bulb for nights. The heater is 3 feet off the floorView attachment 378159View attachment 378158

Thank you for sharing your design and pictures.
In Maryland we have extremely hot summers and fairly cold winters, feels like the temps are always at one extreme and the weather can be pretty unpredictable. We're coming off of a summer with months of 100 F days, so I'm also wondering how I'm going to keep it cool in the summer.

 

[vladimir]

Do you think my budget of $3000 is reasonable? With the shed itself costing $1500? Planning on building it myself with the help of my dad and brother, who can do all the electric and help me to insulate it.

Gotcha, so definitely need to install electric. I'm lucky, my dad and brother can do all of that for me.

I had the shed built by a professional, so I'm not sure how cheaply it could be done if you do it yourself. I also had a professional do the electric, as I wanted a panel with separate circuits for primary and backup heaters for redundancy.

I used rigid XPS foam insulation, as it does not absorb moisture and should be the most efficient option. I put 5.5" in the walls, 3.5" in the floor, 3.5" in the roof, and 2" in the ceiling. All the insulation has to be covered with plywood to prevent damage. My budget on insulation alone was somewhere between $1500-2000, plus a bunch more money on plywood and 2x4s to finish the interior.

I would figure out the size of the shed you want, determine what type of insulation and how much, and see how much the insulation alone will cost. That'll give you an idea of if your estimate is reasonable.

 

[Nellie Rose]

I had the shed built by a professional, so I'm not sure how cheaply it could be done if you do it yourself. I also had a professional do the electric, as I wanted a panel with separate circuits for primary and backup heaters for redundancy.

I used rigid XPS foam insulation, as it does not absorb moisture and should be the most efficient option. I put 5.5" in the walls, 3.5" in the floor, 3.5" in the roof, and 2" in the ceiling. All the insulation has to be covered with plywood to prevent damage. My budget on insulation alone was somewhere between $1500-2000, plus a bunch more money on plywood and 2x4s to finish the interior.

I would figure out the size of the shed you want, determine what type of insulation and how much, and see how much the insulation alone will cost. That'll give you an idea of if your estimate is reasonable.

Ok gotcha. I'm going to look at sheds later to see what kind I want. I was thinking either a 10×10 or a 10×12. I'm also planning on keeping my hermanns tortoise in it year round in an elevated tortoise table fixed to the walls, so the sulcata can walk under it without damaging it or knocking it over.
So I'll start doing the math and calculating insulation tonight.

 

[wellington]

With 1500 being left to buy insulation, plywood or OSB electrical wires, outlets, etc, screws etc, I think you're going to go past the budget. You are saving a lot though on building yourself and the electric install.
Are you looking into one of those sheds that's all cut and you just put together?
Have you search your local neighborhood app Nextdoor to see if there is a local handyman that can build what you want from ground up excluding electric?
I had a shed at my old place built. I believe it was a 8 or 10x12 possibly bigger, all but electric and it cost around 5000.

 

[Nellie Rose]

With 1500 being left to buy insulation, plywood or OSB electrical wires, outlets, etc, screws etc, I think you're going to go past the budget. You are saving a lot though on building yourself and the electric install.
Are you looking into one of those sheds that's all cut and you just put together?
Have you search your local neighborhood app Nextdoor to see if there is a local handyman that can build what you want from ground up excluding electric?
I had a shed at my old place built. I believe it was a 8 or 10x12 possibly bigger, all but electric and it cost around 5000.

Still looking around. I can expand my budget if needed, I was just hoping to finance using what I make breeding Leachianus and selling the tortoises old reptile kages enclosures.
I think it's one that's cut and built together but not sure, that's why I'm going to look at them later, it's just a home depot shed.
I can get one for cheap on Facebook but don't have anything to haul it with unfortunately.
I found one guy who could build a shed for me at $3500, so still considering him.