Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well if any of you have a tort house in the colder climates I'd love to hear about it but I think mine will be pretty sweet. I've got the base done this weekend and I'll be working on it over the next couple of weeks. my torts will have access at will to the outside, grazing inside and out, planted with natural grasses and flowers, a cement pool (Shallow of coarse) added heating for night time and tons of other features.
I've been saving lots of glass for about 2 years and have been working on the plans for a while.
I will be taking video and pics as I go so if anyone would like to chat about it I'll hook them up with my sketches and pics. I'd like to put a video together of the construction to help someone who is not very crafty. look for this post in a week if your interested.

What's the glass for?

I live in upstate NY, and I've usually just used simple outdoor enclosures (movable pens and such) with my russians, because they are kept inside 99% of the time, but I'm trying to get a good pen going for them this summer.

I've got a simply 6'x6' box I built that's 2' tall (next time I'm going to go much larger in all directions, and build with cinder blocks instead of wood). I put chicken wire on the bottom and filled it halfway with dirt, then I put locking doors on top with wire mesh (I was basically trying to make the whole thing impenetrable). I am keeping the tortoises out of it for a couple of months (probably until july), because I've got a lot of dandelion coming, as well as some clover, as well as some other plants. I'm trying to get it to grow in nicely, so that I can put the torts out there in the daytime and avoid having to feed them store bought food (and pay for heat lamps). Unfortunately, summer only lasts a very short time here. More unfortunately, we have problems with neighborhood kids (as well as break-ins), and I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving the torts out at night.

I can't wait to see pics of your enclosure.

the glass is for the house part. I am making something like a green house with glass walls and glass roof so it will heat up and extend the outside season for my torts. I will be able to regulate it once I learn what temp outside makes the green house inside. I'll keep a log on paper. I think it will be great. the torts will have tunnels that they can go outside when ever they want too. it is fenced outside. fortunatly I have a very safe neighborhood and someone is almost always home at my house.

any way I've been working on it filming and taking pics as I go.

should have most of it done this weekend.
later

Unless you dig WAY down, during the winter the frost heaves will mess up your pen badly as the cinder block walls will get pushed all over the place.

I'd suggest one of the many artificial lumber out there like Trex. Well its not completely artificial...most of the time its sawdust mixed with some sort of plastic. Damn, that stuff lasts forever...
Can get a bit pricey, but like any project, its usually better to do it right the first time.

probably a lot easier too! Yeah, they are expensive, but I'd rather make a pen that is going to hold up to dirt and moisture, and those fake deck boards would really fit the bill.

Thanks for the tip.

Another good thing...the whole pen can be pulled out of the ground if you ever move. Try that with cinderblocks

One more thing about the artificial wood stuff. You'll still have to watch for frost heaves from twisting the stuff around, but it usually springs back with no problems come spring. You just might need to do a little extra digging to get it to sit straight from time to time.

Also since its pretty much wood, its easy to attach sides and even a screened cover to protect your tort from predators, thieves and vandals.

I actually have 4 locks on my outdoor pen, even though I'm in a pretty good neighborhood.

and I haven't even left them out there very long yet. But I'm a worrier when it comes to my animals, so I feel like it would just be my luck that something would happen if I didn't lock the torts up when I'm not directly supervising.

I'm actually suprised how well my outdoor enclosure (made from 2"x12" boards) held up over this past winter. I didn't even take the lid off for the winter, and I was surprised that the wire fencing held up to the two feet of snow it had to bear at some points.

Here's my idea so far for the next pen (thanks to your help):

Start out by digging into the ground about a foot or so, for a little over a 4'x12' space. Build a 4' wide, 12' long, 4' tall "corral" out of those deck planks (probably with 4x4's in the corners and the middle of the 12' sections), and drop that into place. Then put wire fencing down first covering the whole ground area (probably not necessary, but I have a lot of it hanging around), followed by some flat patio blocks to cover most of the area , with gravel filling in the cracks, so I'm left with just about as much protection from escapes/small predators digging in as if I just made a concrete foundation for it, but with much better drainage, and more easily removed if necessary.

Before putting dirt and such in the pen, I would build the lid for it. If I can find a way to make it work, I would really like to make a lid using steel tubing for the frame and 'tennis fencing' type chain link fence (basically chain link fence with small openings), basically just to keep things out as opposed to in. I have a pretty good idea of how I could make it work, but money is also a factor. If it seems like too much trouble I'll probably just make another wood-framed wire mesh lid like I did for the current pen.

Then I'd just have to fill it up with like 18" of dirt, plant it, install all of the hiding areas/water basin and put the torts in.

The only reason I'm shying away from doing this though is that it's a costly design, and I will probably be moving away sometime in the next 4-5 years. It's probably worth it just for those years though. Plus, as you said, it's a design that could be taken apart and moved if necessary.

Thanks for the input. Let me know what you think of this design idea.

the sinthetic board s are very pricey and if you have a good base in the ground with good drainage the frost may heav a liitle but it will go back to the same shape after the frost leaves. I am a builder in the northeast and I have a lot of experience in this area. crushed stone is great on the ground because it doesn't hold the water to freeze. waterin the ground is what freezes and heaves, dry dirt or dirt with low moisture content will not heave....

my pen is on good ground and has a cinder block base. I did not mortar the blocks I used a construction adhesive. they may still move a little but it won't move enough to destroy anything.

I'll have mine done by sunday, I'll post pics then. 4 glass walls a glass roof. cement pools, fenced in outdoor area, nice....
later..

can't wait to see what your pen looks like.

I'm actually currently working on a new indoor pen. Two levels complete with a ramp. I'd like to have 3 levels, but for now I'll see how well i can do with with 2.

thats an interesting concept because you can maximize the space you have

I kind of have a two level but my tables are separate. bottom for my sulcata and top for my redfoot. they are both about 3'x 6' and stacked about 2 feet on top of each other. I'll try to take some pics of them as well.

Yeah, I only have a male russian, so the ramp system I have planned should be fine for him with size considered. I kinda wish I could find the dimensions of a female russian (other than SSL). I'm guessing 8 inches wide for the ramps (with sides of course) should be wide enough if I ever get a female.