Two Story Insulated Tortoise Town-home

[Ramsey]

Hello,

Here are some pictures of the new home that we built for our torts. Basic construction is framed with "2x2", covered with plywood and insulation all the way around (all walls, both floors, and ceiling). Front view/access section is 1/4" tempered, sliding on rails. Had the glass custom cut at my local shop. Rolling on casters so we can move it as needed.

Total dimensions are 8' wide 4' deep 6'tall on 24" legs. Inner dimensions will be about 4" less.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


Starting Point, all the wood. You know how it is, being picky at the lumber yard taking hours to select the specific pieces in what I call a fire-sale:

Insulation (best investment of all):

-floor

-walls

Show-and-tell time,Unpainted:

If you're interested, this is the dowel installation for the mid-braces

Painted. This thing DRANK paint. And I kept feeding it. If I recall, on the order of 3 gallons. semi-gloss non VOC, non-toxic. Fully primered with mold-resistant base.

Testing Electrical, using lights for the heating elements:

Twilight moved in, caught nibbling the fern, then taking off.

Vinyl flooring for the 2nd level resident.... should be "pet safe".

Final Product (for now)

This thing is so well insulated, that the thermostat is only on during the coldest part of the night. Fewer than 3-4 hours per night. Of course, doesn't hurt that I live in a temperate environment. It's very well sealed, it holds humidity very well.

 

[wellington]

Great job! Who lives in them? I couldn't see them good enough.

 

[Sterant]

Looks very nice. I like it! How deep a substrate layer can you put in before it spills out the door opening?

 

[baldegale]

Hello,

Here are some pictures of the new home that we built for our torts. Basic construction is framed with "2x2", covered with plywood and insulation all the way around (all walls, both floors, and ceiling). Front view/access section is 1/4" tempered, sliding on rails. Had the glass custom cut at my local shop. Rolling on casters so we can move it as needed.

Total dimensions are 8' wide 4' deep 6'tall on 24" legs. Inner dimensions will be about 4" less.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


Starting Point, all the wood. You know how it is, being picky at the lumber yard taking hours to select the specific pieces in what I call a fire-sale:

Insulation (best investment of all):

-floor

-walls

Show-and-tell time,Unpainted:

If you're interested, this is the dowel installation for the mid-braces

Painted. This thing DRANK paint. And I kept feeding it. If I recall, on the order of 3 gallons. semi-gloss non VOC, non-toxic. Fully primered with mold-resistant base.

Testing Electrical, using lights for the heating elements:

Twilight moved in, caught nibbling the fern, then taking off.

Vinyl flooring for the 2nd level resident.... should be "pet safe".

Final Product (for now)

This thing is so well insulated, that the thermostat is only on during the coldest part of the night. Fewer than 3-4 hours per night. Of course, doesn't hurt that I live in a temperate environment. It's very well sealed, it holds humidity very well.

what kind of paint did you use? makes me wanna build it..

 

[baldegale]

also, is the insulation sandwiched between wood?

 

[Ramsey]

Great job! Who lives in them? I couldn't see them good enough.

Thanks. It's for leopards.

 

[Ramsey]

Looks very nice. I like it! How deep a substrate layer can you put in before it spills out the door opening?

Thank you.
About 2 inches of substrate.

 

[baldegale]

Thank you.
About 2 inches of substrate.

1.75 is the actual measurement of a 2x2 [emoji6]

whoops just saw theres two

 

[Ramsey]

also, is the insulation sandwiched between wood?

Yes, the insulation is in between plywood on. all surfaces. I'll see if I still have the paint cans in the garage. I interviewed the hell out of a few different people when shopping and even researched the technical spec sheets online. It's from Home Depot.

 

[baldegale]

Yes, the insulation is in between plywood on. all surfaces. I'll see if I still have the paint cans in the garage. I interviewed the hell out of a few different people when shopping and even researched the technical spec sheets online. It's from Home Depot.

just looks amazing. got me wanting to do the same thing but 4ft instead of 6ft and the top half would be split into 4x4 sections for other animals

 

[baldegale]

any idea on how much this thing weighs? wanna get an idea on if its movable LOL. also how much was the total?

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Looks great. One problem. Substrate should be 4 to 6 inches at the least. Torts need a place to dig and bury them self’s to help regulate temps. 2 inches is not deep enough.

 

[Ramsey]

any idea on how much this thing weighs? wanna get an idea on if its movable LOL. also how much was the total?

Yes, it was designed with the intent of being able to split each floor in half with a board. Although I doubt any time soon.

It's heavy. I mean, a ton. I had to use a floor jack at some points. I wanted the look of the smaller casters, and so far they are holding up the weight.

I can move it with ease by myself... But it is heavy. If I ever sell the house, the new tenant better like tortoises.

 

[KevinGG]

It’s beautiful. Great job

 

[baldegale]

Yes, it was designed with the intent of being able to split each floor in half with a board. Although I doubt any time soon.

It's heavy. I mean, a ton. I had to use a floor jack at some points. I wanted the look of the smaller casters, and so far they are holding up the weight.

I can move it with ease by myself... But it is heavy. If I ever sell the house, the new tenant better like tortoises.

i had a single walled 4x8x3.5 and it wouldnt even budge, but if i build this i know exactly where its going and it wouldnt move

 

[CarolM]

Hello,

Here are some pictures of the new home that we built for our torts. Basic construction is framed with "2x2", covered with plywood and insulation all the way around (all walls, both floors, and ceiling). Front view/access section is 1/4" tempered, sliding on rails. Had the glass custom cut at my local shop. Rolling on casters so we can move it as needed.

Total dimensions are 8' wide 4' deep 6'tall on 24" legs. Inner dimensions will be about 4" less.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


Starting Point, all the wood. You know how it is, being picky at the lumber yard taking hours to select the specific pieces in what I call a fire-sale:

Insulation (best investment of all):

-floor

-walls

Show-and-tell time,Unpainted:

If you're interested, this is the dowel installation for the mid-braces

Painted. This thing DRANK paint. And I kept feeding it. If I recall, on the order of 3 gallons. semi-gloss non VOC, non-toxic. Fully primered with mold-resistant base.

Testing Electrical, using lights for the heating elements:

Twilight moved in, caught nibbling the fern, then taking off.

Vinyl flooring for the 2nd level resident.... should be "pet safe".

Final Product (for now)

This thing is so well insulated, that the thermostat is only on during the coldest part of the night. Fewer than 3-4 hours per night. Of course, doesn't hurt that I live in a temperate environment. It's very well sealed, it holds humidity very well.

That is great work. Looks really good.

 

[kesh2l]

Wow that looks amazing!!

 

[Bambam1989]

Very inspiring, thank you for sharing.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Looks really nice! New houses always look great...hope the tenants don’t wreck it!

• Question: the rectangle frame hanging down from the ceiling, is that an air diffuser/shield to prevent a/c or heat from blowing directly down on the enclosures?

 

[baldegale]

Looks really nice! New houses always look great...hope the tenants don’t wreck it!

• Question: the rectangle frame hanging down from the ceiling, is that an air diffuser/shield to prevent a/c or heat from blowing directly down on the enclosures?

i think its an LED light just to make things look nicer