Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I remember reading a post from Edmund about his Burmese Mt tortoise that escaped from her outdoor pen and was gone for several days. I am soon to receive two Black Mtn tortoises and am feeling concern about whether my outdoor pen will be adequate as parts of the enclosure wall are only two feet high. The new tortoises are 11 inches in length and I read somewhere else that they are climbers. Is this true? My yard is fenced with a 6ft privacy fence except for the driveway and I am in the process of making a moveable gate there. How high is high enough for these torts? Any tips for keeping them more securely? It's hard for me to imagine that with the size of them that they can scale my fence. What do you think?

I remember reading a post from Edmund about his Burmese Mt tortoise that escaped from her outdoor pen and was gone for several days. I am soon to receive two Black Mtn tortoises and am feeling concern about whether my outdoor pen will be adequate as parts of the enclosure wall are only two feet high. The new tortoises are 11 inches in length and I read somewhere else that they are climbers. Is this true? My yard is fenced with a 6ft privacy fence except for the driveway and I am in the process of making a moveable gate there. How high is high enough for these torts? Any tips for keeping them more securely? It's hard for me to imagine that with the size of them that they can scale my fence. What do you think?

Burmies are indeed good climbers, but they need something to latch onto, like branches. I seriously doubt they will scale the two-foot wall of their enclosure if they are 11 inches long. There is just no way any tortoise can scale a smooth wall unless they can reach up over the top and pull themselves up. Just make sure there is nothing at the base of the enclosure wall they can use to "boost" themselves up. And make sure any trees or shrubs are away from the sides.

I have my entire backyard divided up for the different species using only 8-inch high plastic gardening partitions and I have not had one single tortoise get over it yet despite everyone telling me they would be over it in no time. Even my very large desert torts can't get over it. They have given up trying. I consider the Hermann's to be a darn good climber, but even they cannot get over the wall.