Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Tomorrow I plan to start on a project that is much needed and will make my life and the boxies' lives a lot easier.

I'm planning to make two identical tops for my BTE (box turtle enclosure) out of PVC and two sizes of chicken wire. I bought the PVC tubing and fittings today at Lowe's. It only cost $25. I plan to make a rough frame for the two sides (Eastern and 3-Toed) using 90-degree and T fittings. I'm going to run two pipes horizontally and vertically so it looks like a tic-tack-toe board boxed in. I figure I'll need that much for support so the frame is sturdy and doesn't sag. I plan to just lay it on top of my enclosure and use L-hooks to latch it at night and when I'm not home. I have two on the temporary night pen that have "sleeves" that go over the hook once it's latched, and they have worked pretty well. I will also put padlocks on. I don't trust anyone.

I think it will be pretty easy, really. I'm going to dry-fit it before I cement anything together or put the chicken wire on. It will be nice to be able to leave them all in the big pen for good without taking them in and out. Oh, I also built a little bench on the outside of the side of the BTE closest to the house out of some scraps from my deck. It's great. I can watch the boxies and look at my flowerbed and hummingbirds. I'll post pics when everything is done.

Good luck! I too can view the turtle pens from my deck and love to see them behave as they would in nature-going to one hiding place to another mostly

I could never do what you are doing with my daytime pens-too big plus the raccoons around here must weight about 15 pounds! I would need rebar, lol! I do protect them in their nightitme pens.

Can't wait to see the pictures. I did take pictures of my pens and put them on YouTube under boxturtlefriend if you want to take a look. Tess

chicken wire keeps out critters?
It never did for me when I lived in CA.
especially the raccoons.
looking forward to seeing those pix.
/p

>>Tomorrow I plan to start on a project that is much needed and will make my life and the boxies' lives a lot easier.
>>
>>I'm planning to make two identical tops for my BTE (box turtle enclosure) out of PVC and two sizes of chicken wire. I bought the PVC tubing and fittings today at Lowe's. It only cost $25. I plan to make a rough frame for the two sides (Eastern and 3-Toed) using 90-degree and T fittings. I'm going to run two pipes horizontally and vertically so it looks like a tic-tack-toe board boxed in. I figure I'll need that much for support so the frame is sturdy and doesn't sag. I plan to just lay it on top of my enclosure and use L-hooks to latch it at night and when I'm not home. I have two on the temporary night pen that have "sleeves" that go over the hook once it's latched, and they have worked pretty well. I will also put padlocks on. I don't trust anyone.
>>
>>I think it will be pretty easy, really. I'm going to dry-fit it before I cement anything together or put the chicken wire on. It will be nice to be able to leave them all in the big pen for good without taking them in and out. Oh, I also built a little bench on the outside of the side of the BTE closest to the house out of some scraps from my deck. It's great. I can watch the boxies and look at my flowerbed and hummingbirds. I'll post pics when everything is done.
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Patsy

It's really not chicken wire at all. It's some fencing I got from my parents, who kept chickens for a while. The holes are about three times smaller and the metal is a lot more rigid. Then over that I'm going to put on this metal screening that is used to keep squirrels and critters from climbing through vents in the attic. It's really tough. I'll keep an eye on everything, of course, b/c we do have opposums and I would assume raccoons. But so far, the same thing has held up just fine on my night time pens.

I believe what you are talking about has 1" square holes and is heavy guage wire, and is called hardware cloth, but if you say hardware cloth most people don't have any idea what you are talking about, it's what I use for my pens, and if you staple with a heavy duty staple gun and put a few screws in too for good measure, an 80lb dog can stand on top of it.
Post some picts when you are done, and good luck with your project.
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Jeff Benfer
1.0 cinnamon pastel Python regius
1.0 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.3 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
2.0 66% het snow Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 butter p.h. stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 carmel stripe p.h. amel Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 amelanistic p.h. carmel,stripe Pantherophis guttatus

I did something like that with the PVC pipes when I lived out in Myakka City, FL. I lived out in the middle of the boondocks, and I had to deal with raccoons, possums, and coyotes(Yes, there are coyotes in Florida!) killing my aquatic turtles, which were in a metal cattle pond. I went so far that after my biggest sideneck, about 12 inches long was killed, I bought some live traps, and started trapping everything. Anyway, I bought some type of wire at Home Depot. It was probably the same stuff that you have, the holes were about as big as pennies or dimes, and it was more rugged than chicken wire. I connected pieces of the fencing wire together, and used the PVC to form a frame. That stopped the problem of animals raiding my aquatic turtles.
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Cliff

My Collection:
0.1 Florida Box Turtle
2.2 Eastern Box Turtles
1.1 Ornate Box Turtle
0.0.1 Desert Ornate Box Turtle
1.1.1 Redfoot Tortoises
2.1 Russian Tortoises
1.0.1 African Sulcata Tortoises
1.0 Burmese Python
0.1 Virginia Opossum
1.0 German Boxer
1.0 Pit Bull
1.1 Chihuahuas

Coyotes range from Central America all the way into Canada now. They've established themselves in every state in the union. One found his way into Central Park in New York in 2006.

I wonder what they eat?
Scavengers right?

I saw a show that indicated birds of prey are moving into cities, feeding on small city birds like pigeons and nesting on high rises. And vultures are moving into dumps.
Nice place to adapt to?

We had Bob cats on our porch just 15 miles south of San Francisco. Now that is one beautiful cat.

OH, right, good luck on the turtle pen. Sounds like a big deal. I can't have anything outside that is smaller than an adult boxie w/o a cover. We have cattle egrets that eat everything.

/p

>>Coyotes range from Central America all the way into Canada now. They've established themselves in every state in the union. One found his way into Central Park in New York in 2006.
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Patsy

We have everything here in DFW. Depending on where you go, you can see a lot of different preying animals. When I helped my dad deliver newspapers in high school we saw wolves, foxes, coyotes, of course, hawks of all kind, etc. Coyotes are a real big thing around White Rock Lake in Dallas; a lot of people have small dogs and cats go missing.

My wife and I haven't seen anything too out of the norm since we've moved to our house a year ago, besides the bats I posted about awhile back. We see one or two bats patrol our street now each night gobbling up mosquitos. I love that.

I'll definitely post some pics of the project. I got delayed since I posted about it b/c we've been getting steady rain every since and will until Saturday. So it's a bit sloppy out there but the boxies love it!