Age old subject - indoor enclosures

[kellogsmscott]

Hi guys,

Time for my daily worry.... So i have the tortoise, now i need to put him.her in something nice and comfy.

Initially my plan is to build a nice indoor home and work on the outside home afterwards.

At the mo the hermann fits in my hand, and is 5 months old, now i am seeing lots of things and know VIVARIUMS ARE V V BAD!

When building the initial indoor enclosure do i use

a load of seed trays inside a wooden frame style thing...

a big shallowish plastic tray - thoutgh this may be easier for cleaning but i am not sure...

or.. something else? I am going to have a go at constructing it myself but i am raaabish at woodwork so it may be intersting - like a homer simpson spice rack...

And i need a thermostat, a uv source, a heat lamp, a slate for food, water dish, hidey bedroom thing, and um... substrate... am i missing anything here?

I am also petrified of the whole thng going up in flames when i am at work - any precautions i can take?

Ok daily worry dump over...

Kel x

PS: Thankyou - i know i am a pain in the arse....

[Andy n Claire]

inside my enclosure i use sand and soil mix with a hide and some obsticles
i use a heat sorce (clip on light wilko£2.50) uv tube although i have herd the heat tube combi's are good im going to change to one soon,i wouldnt say a thermostat is essential as you can experiment with a reptile thermometer and garden thermometer and fish tank thermometer i use all 3 to make sure my reading is the same for the basking end aslong as it dont get nocked your temps will b ok when you have experimented with them
pic of my first enclosure used sand/soil mix it has a roof to stop uv rays bouncing all over the room as we have a young child


second table is devided into two as i have a tort in quarantine with sand soil and a little hemp in this pic,

table b4 devide when hermans were in it

i not have hermans in the one with a roof as there is only 2 herman now and i have 2 horsfield seperated in the larger table



we made out table out of cupboard doors on the out side mdf inside,lino on the bottom so the thick mdf base doesnt rot with the damp from the soil
i have a large wardrobe im geting rid of so will make a lovely pine tort table:

hope this helps

[Andy n Claire]

what r u keeping tort in now?
what heat ect?

[Mama Healz]

Originally Posted by kellogsmscott

Hi guys,

Time for my daily worry.... So i have the tortoise, now i need to put him.her in something nice and comfy.

Initially my plan is to build a nice indoor home and work on the outside home afterwards.

At the mo the hermann fits in my hand, and is 5 months old, now i am seeing lots of things and know VIVARIUMS ARE V V BAD!

When building the initial indoor enclosure do i use

a load of seed trays inside a wooden frame style thing...

a big shallowish plastic tray - thoutgh this may be easier for cleaning but i am not sure...

or.. something else? I am going to have a go at constructing it myself but i am raaabish at woodwork so it may be intersting - like a homer simpson spice rack...

And i need a thermostat, a uv source, a heat lamp, a slate for food, water dish, hidey bedroom thing, and um... substrate... am i missing anything here?

I am also petrified of the whole thng going up in flames when i am at work - any precautions i can take?

Ok daily worry dump over...

Kel x

PS: Thankyou - i know i am a pain in the arse....

Howdy Mate,
Omg....
Me too!! Like you I am a Tortoise virgin (if thats the correct term). I have found myself worrying about the daftest of stuff...ie: is grow bag top soil? Duh.......I really dont wanna use something incorrect ..
I have found the site users to be soooo helpful .....Thay really do know their stuff- I had bought two Totoises - Elvis/Precilla back in Feb & Mar of this year....Ive come to the horrifying conclusion that Ive been practically poisoning the poor little darlings with "pet shop" junk food !!..Shock Horror !!YIKES...
Anyway,back to the subject eh.... I will be "constructing" an outdoor Crib/yard (as they say...the youth of today that is)....Its a flippin scarey thort ...you know the concept of leaving heat bulbs etc on all hours,I guess once weve got a few years experience under our belts we'l be laughing?? .....Happy to share/trade any info with you.
A x

[Mama Healz]

Originally Posted by Andy n Claire

inside my enclosure i use sand and soil mix with a hide and some obsticles
i use a heat sorce (clip on light wilko£2.50) uv tube although i have herd the heat tube combi's are good im going to change to one soon,i wouldnt say a thermostat is essential as you can experiment with a reptile thermometer and garden thermometer and fish tank thermometer i use all 3 to make sure my reading is the same for the basking end aslong as it dont get nocked your temps will b ok when you have experimented with them
pic of my first enclosure used sand/soil mix it has a roof to stop uv rays bouncing all over the room as we have a young child


second table is devided into two as i have a tort in quarantine with sand soil and a little hemp in this pic,

table b4 devide when hermans were in it

i not have hermans in the one with a roof as there is only 2 herman now and i have 2 horsfield seperated in the larger table



we made out table out of cupboard doors on the out side mdf inside,lino on the bottom so the thick mdf base doesnt rot with the damp from the soil
i have a large wardrobe im geting rid of so will make a lovely pine tort table:

hope this helps

OMG!!!
That looks really good - Nice clear pics too.
A x
(At Home With The Presley's)

[Andy n Claire]

Originally Posted by kellogsmscott

I have picked one

Its the one on the left though bigger now at five months old

The lady will look after her/him for me till after 21st June as i am moving house and i want to get set up etc so its a nice transition for her. It's also going to give me lots of time to do extra reading and get the indoor enclosure bought and set up, with all issues like substrate sorted in my head - what to do, what to do....

she has some more eggs incubating as well which got me thinking - ooooo...

I am in love,

Kel x

sorry i didnt understan from ur first post wen u said u already have tort i wonderd how u were keeping it i know now lol

[Andy n Claire]

Originally Posted by Mama Healz

OMG!!!
That looks really good - Nice clear pics too.
A x
(At Home With The Presley's)

hi
TOP SOIL DONT USE GROW BAGS
make sure its pure topsoil i think growbags have compost in them
i get mine from b&q 35 litres of their own make top soil about £3.95 i think others say use organic i have never had a problem with this as its steriized some microwave their soil ,
i love the quote tort virgins lol i was once
we got our first tort about december 26th last year then we expanded to 5 torts lol
uv got the bug u will have a for ever expanding family

your lights only need to be on 10-12 hours a day
your out door enclosure wont need heat unless your thinking of leaving torts out over night but doubt you will , if you make a frame and pot some perspex on one side and the roof this will draw heat to the enclosure like a green house and then the other end will be like the cool end there is some gr8 ideas about people on here are so fab,with info for you,

[Mama Healz]

Hi Folks,
Thank you ...... I would have trundled off to buy a load of old rubbish no doubt
I have x2 Elvis & Precilla....Lol....hence "At Home With The Presley's".
Im very contious that those of us that are not Tort Virgins may take some of the information as common sence - not so?? If you know whats what then you wouldnt be asking?? Anyhow - All advise etc VERY WELCOME .
Much love folks
A x