Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys! I'm in the process of moving my 2 female Greek Tortoises outside. I have a wood treated crate that is raised up and I was planning on stapling chicken wire over the top so no critters could get to them, and was going to substrate it with hay.

Is this a solid idea? I don't want the hay getting moldy and giving infections. Also what do I do about rain? Is there a better way than the way I've thought of? Any and all ideas welcome!

Thanks!
Shannon

I would make a removable,light wood frame and staple the wire to that, you want easy access to the pen. I like the white plasic lath material available at garden stores, it offers partial shade in additon to just wire which is full Sun. Hay for substrate is OK, but I like to have some live plants (protected in pots) and some bare areas for absorbing solar energy and basking, using coarse sand and rock slabs. Give them choices, i.e. sun vs. shade, humid vs. dry, soft vs hard, smooth vs. rougher, vary the topography,I build terraces. Also artificial burrows using plactic drain pipe etc. Be wary of too much hay and not many other features, because if/when they flip over, they must be able to find some irregularity in the substrate to hook a toe nail and flip over. This is really important here in the desert where the Sun could quickly kill them if they can't right themselves. For that reason, I provide quite a few stable rocks and logs to climb on and offer challenges and toe holds. Good luck, I am a big advocate of Outdoor keeping if the climate allows. vic

I wouldnt go with the crate if the crate has a wood bottom. I would go with a wood framework directly on the ground in a well drained area. You need to be careful your tortoise crate doesnt turn into a tortoise pool and drown them during heavy rains. You can always terrace or add gravel to improve drainage on the ground in the area your framework would go on top of. A good house hide like a small dog house elevated a bit off the ground will give them a nice dry area to hide in during rain as well. I am not sure about greeks, but I dont put my russians outside til its warm in case it does rain. They seem to tolerate quite a bit of moisture during summer, but I have heard they cannot tolerate nearly as well when the temps are cool.