Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive been looking for designs for a large indoor enclosure for my adult male eastern.. i am still debating on whether i want to hibernate him, if it is not necessary i dont want to, so any advice on that will be appreciated..

what i was thinking was similar to one of those tabletop enclosures.. what i want to do is get one or two of those cheapo bookshelves from walmart .. i think they are 7 feet by 3 feet or something like that.. and turn it on its back without the shelves in it.. if one isnt enough room, ill put two side by side and leave out the middle board.. i am NOT adept at building things and my boyfriend doesnt have the time to help at this moment.. so this is the easiest way i can think of to make something for him.. the only problem i forsee with this is the crappy cardboard backing.. but i could probably get something from homedepot to replace it with.. it would give him more room inside than i currently have and would be easy for me to put together.. has anyone done anything like this? any suggestions? i want to give the adult more room (hes in a 50 breeder right now since its getting colder outside) then move my two year old up to the 50 and my hatchling to a 20L..

the other question i had was .. exactly how much space does he need? i am more than willing to make him the room he needs in my apartment, but i cant find any definitive info on how large it needs to be.. he is about 4 1/2- 5 inches across his shell.. and for the juvenile too, hes maybe 2 1/2 inches across..

i wish they could all live together, that would make things so much easier!

thanks for any advice/suggestions!
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, chameleon treefrogs?, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

what i was thinking was similar to one of those tabletop enclosures.. what i want to do is get one or two of those cheapo bookshelves from walmart

Not only is the cardboard back you mentioned problematic, but the shelves themselves are particle board, which will eventually fall apart on you--literally disintegrate due to its inability to withstand high moisture/humidity which your turtle will want.

It'd be better to make your own "box" out of wood. I made a "decent" one out of 1/4 inch plywood for the bottom and three sides, and used thin Plexiglas for the front (the turtles will scratch this stuff to the point of opacity though, at least as high as they can reach). Use small (a few inches to a side) triangular pieces of leftover plywood glued across each of the back two corners for reinforcement/sturdiness, then slap a couple of coats of polyurethane in the color/stain of your choice on the finished product to waterproof it.

I wanna say my finished enclosure was somewhere around 50 bucks to complete (Home Depot and other stores will even cut the plywood for you so you don't have to buy extra tools; just make sure you plan your cuts wisely).
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

yeah.. i was wondering if that particleboard could withstand the moisture... im completely inept at making things.. not only does the math involved confuse the hell out of me, im not sure if i could put it together functionally... but id rather try to make one that will function than go cheap and end up having to redo it ...
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, chameleon treefrogs?, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

>>yeah.. i was wondering if that particleboard could withstand the moisture... im completely inept at making things.. not only does the math involved confuse the hell out of me, im not sure if i could put it together functionally...

The math doesn't get much more complex than about a 4th-grade level. Things to keep in mind when designing are the size of materials you can purchase (plywood generally comes in 48x96 inch sheets--4 ft by 8 ft), so you know how big of an enclosure you can build given the size of the original materials; and thickness of the wood when drawing up the plans (so you don't have 2 sides too short/long etc). Done properly, you can maximize the enclosure size and have very little scrap wood left over.

For assembly, I didn't use anything besides wood glue for gluing the sides and back to the wood floor, and silicone adhesive to attach the Plexiglas to the front.

If time and enthusiasm permits, I may take a shot at coming up with some instructions for turning a sheet of plywood into a passable turtle enclosure. In the short-term, a Rubbermaid tub is a cheap alternative (and a generic brand is even better!).
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

I have used a 55 gal rubbermaid tub for the past year or so, and it seems to work. I too live in an apartment, so understand the space limits.. I made a heavy screen for the top, so I can SAFELY put heat and UV lighting on tub.. I also have large cat box for water pond.. They seem to do ok with it. I do have to turn the soil/mulch mix over often, but at least it doesn't soak through the way a bookcase will.

I keep 2 3-toes in my tub..together for part of year, and each to own tub rest year..I am trying to figure a way to connect 2 or more tubs together..and still be able to separate them for moving, hibernation, etc..

hope this helps,

harpy
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