What else?!?

[Peytons torts]

What else should I put in my tortoise enclosure they r coming in a couple of weeks I am going to put a good size dog house in the back but what plants and decorations should I use?

 

[lismar79]

Hibiscus, cactus, tall grasses, mulberry (fruitless) other hiding areas built out of rocks or half logs.

 

[Tom]

What species and size tortoises? How many? Where are you?

You'll need a whole lot more furniture. Logs, boulders, plants, terra cotta saucers for water and food, cuttle bone, hiding places, etc.

Dog houses are pretty useless for tortoises. Better to make something that fits them more correctly.

 

[Peytons torts]

Im getting 5 hermanns and I live in salinas california (which is 15 min away from Monterey)

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

I'm sorry Tom I disagree I've been useing dog houses for all most 15 years , in the summer they hide in them , in the winter I use them to hold The hay . Yes I use lrg flower pots also . Most are plastic dog houses that I pull apart and use both 1/2 s as hides , I Evan use a lrg wood dog with plastic strips over the door way . So I don't understand how dog houses are useless in anyway .


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[Yvonne G]

A dog house is ok if it is placed in deep shade. In the summer, a dog house in the sun will soon turn into a little oven.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Yep. very hot, I had one, and removed quick when I realized my sulcata would probably get cooked... Lots of edible plants.
The tortoisetable.com is a great website for plants. A bunch of water dishes, that's a big yard. Terra cotta dishes would work very well
And hides, lots of hides. Half logs, caves, branches, bark... etc.

 

[Peytons torts]

Ok thanks guys

 

[Alaskamike]

It's always good to put in live plants they can eat as well as a variety of "" hides". One caution with rocks , just watch to see if anything you put in creates a climb where they fall over on their back. I've had to adjust things when this occurred.

I've found it fun creating interesting healthy environments.

Several water dishes , shallow., pushed in so lip is a ground level. Large terra cotta flower pot bases work well for this.

 

[Peytons torts]

Ok thanks guys

 

[Tom]

I'm sorry Tom I disagree I've been useing dog houses for all most 15 years , in the summer they hide in them , in the winter I use them to hold The hay . Yes I use lrg flower pots also . Most are plastic dog houses that I pull apart and use both 1/2 s as hides , I Evan use a lrg wood dog with plastic strips over the door way . So I don't understand how dog houses are useless in anyway .

They are too big for small species, too tall inside for tortoise comfort, and the doors are too big to resist temperature change. Tortoises like smaller spaces, lower ceilings, and doors just big enough to fit through, for their hiding spots.

Doesn't mean they won't use them if there is nothing better, I'm just saying its easy and better to give them something more suited to their needs.

Don't forget that what works in your super duper tortoise climate, might not work as well in a place like the central coast of California. Do a weather check. If you are on a Mac, pull up the dashboard and do a weather dealy-bob thing for Salinas and another for Phoenix. Watch how different they are over the course of a year, especially the night time lows. The bigger door, lack of insulation, and tall ceilings of a dog house are going to be a problem with those colder clammy coastal nights.

A properly designed and built tortoise box or shelter will work much better for the tortoises than a dog house which is designed to give a larger mammal some shelter.

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

Tom I think you and I are saying about the same thing : I don't use the igloo ones and the ones I do use come in different sizes and then I split them in 1/2 and it makes two so they are smlr . But thank you for your tact and your understanding .


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