Two Story Insulated Tortoise Town-home
- Thread starter Ramsey
- Start date
Interesting, thanks. Looks great!
NP, thank you.
Agreed - but also seems like if you forget to close the doors (which I do constantly in mine) the tortoises could fall out. Even though it doesn't look as good, IMHO, you might consider putting a 6" piece of something thin across the door openings of both enclosures allowing you to use more substrate and provide a barrier so that the tortoises can't fall out.
cheerios586
Active Member
Hi, very cool! My Russian Tort would like this. But I'm afraid the substrate wouldn't be deep enough for her. We have over 4 inches now in her enclosure and she digs to the bottom and seems to want to dig deeper. However, this is a very nice enclosure, good job!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.
Hi, very cool! My Russian Tort would like this. But I'm afraid the substrate wouldn't be deep enough for her. We have over 4 inches now in her enclosure and she digs to the bottom and seems to want to dig deeper. However, this is a very nice enclosure, good job!
Thank you. The substrate gets deeper further back. Only towards the front is it a couple of inches.
We even have created little hills.
Glad you like.
...
Vinyl flooring for the 2nd level resident.... should be "pet safe".
So it's been a few months and everything is still solid. The paint (inside and out) is holding up well with the 90% humidity.
The vinyl flooring in the upper level is the way to go. It's in excellent shape and hasn't negatively affected the residents. I'll be converting the lower to vinyl when I have a chance.
Great enclosure! Love it!
Did you happen to calculate the cost of the build? It looks amazing.
"Next question."
Haha, jk. The cost eventually became the elephant in the room that I didn't want to acknowledge. I could have probably cut corners here and there, but I chose to do it right the first time. The glass and the paint were the priciest.
All in all, with all electrical, wiring, fixtures and materials it was about $1000 IIR.
You can probably find a plastic setup for less, but it won't have the insulation or customizations, plus this matches my home decor perfectly. In addition, if I ever need to modify it, I have the blueprint somewhere in my head.
Oh, I should note that all of the wood and paint was purchased at Home Depot here in Southern Cal where even the air we breath has a premium surcharge on it.
Turningstar
Member
And my quest for the perfect tortoise habitat is over!
What lighting and heat do you use for each tank?
And can you give me the name of the paint so that I can start collecting supplies to build it?
What lighting and heat do you use for each tank?
And can you give me the name of the paint so that I can start collecting supplies to build it?
