Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am going to build a enclosure for sullivan out side for next year.

i don't want to spend to much money but i would like somthing like ( niki ) has.

(niki) how much did you spend getting the cottage all together?
( if you don't mind answering, somtimes people don't like answering questions a bout money. )

i was thinkn about a green house but sombody told me a cottage would be cheaper.

he had a 10 X 10 pen outside with a small box looking dog house
made of plywood, lined with linoleum inside and shingled roof.
Here my husband is adding fence panels to increase his pen to
20 X 10. The box house was fine for him at a small size,
it wasn't heated and he spent the cold winter days inside.
You wouldn't want to go overboard with a hatchling, he probably
couldn't even make the step into Teddy's cottage right now!

This is a bigger box made of plywood, lined with linoleum
and shingled roof, the roof splits and either side can
be opened or both at the same time, for access and cleaning.
It had a light inside and electricity running to it of course,
but I never used it when it was cold, he came inside. Just used
the light a night to see if he was out there. After a while the
plywood got old looking and we dumped this house also. It was
painted on the outside and wasn't bad for almost 2 years.

started framing in July and this is built like residential
construction (a house), with insulation, electricity, and
is lined with melamine inside up to 2 ft. Roof has trusses
and shingles, door is steel, window is double hung vinyl (top
or bottom can slide up or down). The sides are a concrete
mixture called hardiplank which is what the back and sides
of our house are made of. Same stuff, we knew we were building
something like this and had stuff saved when we built our house.
My husband is in construction and can do all of this work.
That's gonna be the kicker, not the materials ($300 - $1500
depending on how much you can "salvage" - I think we paid
for the window and door and insulation only) but the labor
and having someone that can build things well.

Here's his house upon completion - we just had painting and
more landscaping to do. Look at Teddy's homepage site (below
link) and see him as he grew. You will have to make adjustments
as your tortoise gets bigger, like a baby, things that worked
at 1 yr. won't work at 4 yrs. etc... Putting a hatchling the
size of yours into Teddy's house would be silly, he could stay
in something smaller in good weather and should be kept indoors
over the winter months in the biggest thing you can have inside
with mercury UV bulbs available.

Teddy my Tortoise

WOW! i love your cottage. you have a huge piece of property too. i don't live in such a big house so if i built sullivan somthing it couldn't be too big.
thank for the information. it helped alot, i think when sullivan get's a little older i am going to build somthing like that for her/him. lol