Triangular Enclosure

[AnonHedgehog]

Hello!

I am new on this forum, so if I'm doing anything wrong posting wise, please inform me. I have a ~4 year old Russian tortoise and I am planning to make her a new indoor enclosure. I was wondering if there are any downsides to making it triangular. A triangular enclosure would fit much better into my space, but I don't want to accidentally hurt her. I looked for some, but didn't see any, which is why I am asking. Thanks in advance!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Welcome to the forum! You’ve posted your first thread correctly😊

I wouldn’t personally go for a triangular enclosure because it’ll be difficult for your guy to make up the most of the surface space. With the corners narrowing, your tortoise won’t realise this and will keep walking until they either can’t turn and get stuck, or can’t fit into the corner, which again is a waste of surface space, but I guess it ultimately depends on how big this was going to be? I don’t think it makes a practical shape for an enclosure imo.

My following advice is how I’d personally go about building an indoor set up for this guy, perhaps it can inspire an idea for you😊I’ve also included the types of bulbs and uv that should be being used, you may already be doing that, I just think it’s good to pass onto new members as we aren’t familiar with one another🙂

I personally think this could make a good cost effective set up for this guy!

Assuming this guy is an adult, they need a minimum of an 8x4 set up. My recommendation is you make some sort of base, just make sure the material is safe, or a large bookcase with the shelves removed laid flat, or even a flower bed(pic included) for all these options simply line it with some cheap pound liner to put your substrate in, the liner going all up the sides too, you can then make your own stands out of timber for his uv and lights. Just make sure the sides are high enough to prevent escaping!

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour, for his basking light you want a incandescent floodlight(pic attached)

For indoor UV you’ll need a t5 tube fluorescent strip bulb, I’d personally recommend the Arcadia brand 12%, mounted 18-21 inches from substrate, it comes with a built in reflector fitting as to not waste any uv light, or zoo med reptisun 10.0, I don’t use that one but many on here do. I’ll include some photos of the kind of stands people use to fit those. That can be on a separate 4hr timer from noon.

Humidity only needs to be 30-50%

Recommend substrates would be either coco coir, provided it’s damp and packed down(this wouldnt be my personal choice)with either orchid bark or forest floor on top. Or just either the orchid or forest floor on their own(that’s what I’d personally go for but it’s up to you)🙂

To maintain your substrate and humidity simply pour lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not loads, but enough to dampen the bottom layer, you want to aim for a drier top layer and damp under layer, to stop that top layer getting a little too dry you can mix it all now n then.

For a water dish, a large shallow terracotta saucer is great! they’re considered the safest, especially for smaller torts, they have grip in the event they accidentally flip themselves.

Hope all this helps🙂

 

[wellington]

An adult Russian needs a 4x8 foot enclosure. A triangle should be fine if you block the corners on top so it can't use the material on both sides of the enclosure to climb out.
What has work for many is an L shape along the walls or a U shape using three walls.
A portable pop up green house works good to with a tarp as the floor. These portable ones can be used indoors. They usually are 3 feet wide and up to about 12 feet long. See pic.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

An adult Russian needs a 4x8 foot enclosure. A triangle should be fine if you block the corners on top so it can't use the material on both sides of the enclosure to climb out.
What has work for many is an L shape along the walls or a U shape using three walls.
A portable pop up green house works good to with a tarp as the floor. These portable ones can be used indoors. They usually are 3 feet wide and up to about 12 feet long. See pic.
View attachment 372695

Ooo corner blocking would work too yes!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’m willing to bet someone on here has probably set up a good enclosure that is this shape! I’m wondering if I can try and do some digging to find some photos.. If it’s what’s works best for your space and it’s big enough, I say go for it! Would love to see photos of your build!!😁

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Like yourself @AnonHedgehog I couldn’t find any triangular enclosures but I did find this and thought it was interesting! Obviously the enclosure in the photo is not big enough, but it’d be so cool to see this kind of shape on a larger scale😁
Not that you have to go with this idea, just thought it was a cool find and maybe it’ll work better for you🙂

 

[Tom]

Hello!

I am new on this forum, so if I'm doing anything wrong posting wise, please inform me. I have a ~4 year old Russian tortoise and I am planning to make her a new indoor enclosure. I was wondering if there are any downsides to making it triangular. A triangular enclosure would fit much better into my space, but I don't want to accidentally hurt her. I looked for some, but didn't see any, which is why I am asking. Thanks in advance!

Hello and welcome.

A triangle is not ideal, but if it is large enough, it should work fine. Check this out:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[AnonHedgehog]

Hello! Welcome to the forum! You’ve posted your first thread correctly😊

I wouldn’t personally go for a triangular enclosure because it’ll be difficult for your guy to make up the most of the surface space. With the corners narrowing, your tortoise won’t realise this and will keep walking until they either can’t turn and get stuck, or can’t fit into the corner, which again is a waste of surface space, but I guess it ultimately depends on how big this was going to be? I don’t think it makes a practical shape for an enclosure imo.

My following advice is how I’d personally go about building an indoor set up for this guy, perhaps it can inspire an idea for you😊I’ve also included the types of bulbs and uv that should be being used, you may already be doing that, I just think it’s good to pass onto new members as we aren’t familiar with one another🙂

I personally think this could make a good cost effective set up for this guy!

Assuming this guy is an adult, they need a minimum of an 8x4 set up. My recommendation is you make some sort of base, just make sure the material is safe, or a large bookcase with the shelves removed laid flat, or even a flower bed(pic included) for all these options simply line it with some cheap pound liner to put your substrate in, the liner going all up the sides too, you can then make your own stands out of timber for his uv and lights. Just make sure the sides are high enough to prevent escaping!

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour, for his basking light you want a incandescent floodlight(pic attached)

For indoor UV you’ll need a t5 tube fluorescent strip bulb, I’d personally recommend the Arcadia brand 12%, mounted 18-21 inches from substrate, it comes with a built in reflector fitting as to not waste any uv light, or zoo med reptisun 10.0, I don’t use that one but many on here do. I’ll include some photos of the kind of stands people use to fit those. That can be on a separate 4hr timer from noon.

Humidity only needs to be 30-50%

Recommend substrates would be either coco coir, provided it’s damp and packed down(this wouldnt be my personal choice)with either orchid bark or forest floor on top. Or just either the orchid or forest floor on their own(that’s what I’d personally go for but it’s up to you)🙂

To maintain your substrate and humidity simply pour lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not loads, but enough to dampen the bottom layer, you want to aim for a drier top layer and damp under layer, to stop that top layer getting a little too dry you can mix it all now n then.

For a water dish, a large shallow terracotta saucer is great! they’re considered the safest, especially for smaller torts, they have grip in the event they accidentally flip themselves.

Hope all this helps🙂

Thank you so much! I'm going to try a rectangular enclosure. This was very detailed and helpful!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you so much! I'm going to try a rectangular enclosure. This was very detailed and helpful!

No problem at all! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Please post when you do😁

 

[AnonHedgehog]

Like yourself @AnonHedgehog I couldn’t find any triangular enclosures but I did find this and thought it was interesting! Obviously the enclosure in the photo is not big enough, but it’d be so cool to see this kind of shape on a larger scale😁
Not that you have to go with this idea, just thought it was a cool find and maybe it’ll work better for you🙂

Thank you so much! That is a cool shape for an enclosure. I think I'll be able to fit a rectangle in my space, but thank you so much!

 

[AnonHedgehog]

An adult Russian needs a 4x8 foot enclosure. A triangle should be fine if you block the corners on top so it can't use the material on both sides of the enclosure to climb out.
What has work for many is an L shape along the walls or a U shape using three walls.
A portable pop up green house works good to with a tarp as the floor. These portable ones can be used indoors. They usually are 3 feet wide and up to about 12 feet long. See pic.
View attachment 372695

I'm planning on covering it completely so the cats/dog can't get in. I like the idea of an L shape! If I can't make a rectangle work, I might end up doing that.

 

[AnonHedgehog]

No problem at all! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Please post when you do😁

I definitely will!