Industrial machine Guarding to Tortoise house

[temps]

Guarding was being skipped at work, and then ended up in my car. Outdoor run will be attached, that's nearly finished

[Nina]

Wow, this looks amazing -- and very posh! What a find that was, and you've made it look super.

Can you explain where this enclosure will be sited (indoors or outdoors)? If it is outdoors, is there a top/roof on it? If so, then it's a bit like a greenhouse and in hot weather the temperature in there will get way too hot (my greenhouse gets up to 45C on a day when it is in the low to mid 20s outside).

Also,what sort of bulb is in your lamp (does it produce UVB as well as heat and light)?

The set-up looks really great -- the substrate, the variety of textures, plants, space -- you've done a super job!

Please send more photos -- I think this will inspire people to improve their existing enclosures (even if they don't have the guarding.

Nina

[lin]

Wow, temps. What a fantastic find and you have done a brilliant job so far.
I can’t wait to see the finished result.
Lin

[temps]

Nina wrote:
> Wow, this looks amazing -- and very posh! What a find that was, and you've
> made it look super.
>
> Can you explain where this enclosure will be sited (indoors or outdoors)?
> If it is outdoors, is there a top/roof on it? If so, then it's a bit like
> a greenhouse and in hot weather the temperature in there will get way too
> hot (my greenhouse gets up to 45C on a day when it is in the low to mid 20s
> outside).
>
> Also,what sort of bulb is in your lamp (does it produce UVB as well as heat
> and light)?
>
> The set-up looks really great -- the substrate, the variety of textures,
> plants, space -- you've done a super job!
>
> Please send more photos -- I think this will inspire people to improve
> their existing enclosures (even if they don't have the guarding.
>
> Nina

Hi Nina

The bulb is a arcadia D3 160w, roofed with corrugated plastic roofing, this is on wheels, so I can bring it indoors when the weather turns.
The doors can be removed easily, just 4 bolts on each door, the ramp has a hook on the end, so is hooked on to the house. Green house autovent on one of the doors, so that will open when up, with the heat. the end to the ramp will be open, so the boys can come and go as they please, also providing more air flow to the house

[temps]

A plastic drawer which was part of the now defunct machinery, turned in to a cave. OSB board on the sides, covered with pond liner, exits both ends, also a spiraea at both ends, planted so its edible on the top of the cave, covered with thick bark from a tree that had been felled locally, and 2 very handy twig ramps

[temps]

both ends of the cave

[temps]

Noticed the sow thistle growing in a wall, and decided to try & replicate it, on a smaller scale, different eating environment, hopefully they wont try and climb it.

Bricks with plants/weeds planted in the holes, gives a different texture for there feet, and also a nail trim! Keeps the leaves out of the soil as well

[temps]

Out for a forage in the winter, and came across this wall about 50ft long covered in Hawkbits, beside being a nice winter supply, given the size of the leaves, though they would make a good cover for a hide. After a little trial & error came up with this

[temps]

a pot saucer on top of the pot, with the middle cut out, and cable tied together. Filled with coir & top soil and planted up in December with various weeds, and left in a cold frame. Before planting out I cut the bottom off the pot, so the roots can go free. Hopefully the weeds will grow over the edge of the saucer, & create a living hideaway, ( have also moved more soil away after seeing this pics), go to sleep, wake up, eat. Breakfast in bed basically

[Nina]

Hi Temps (sorry, I don't know your name),

I wrote a nice long reply to your posts earlier today and then someone came round and I forgot to click 'Submit' and I lost it!

What I said (if I remember correctly), is that I think I will pass on the link to this thread to lots of people because it's filled with good ideas and will inspire them.

The environment you've created is brilliant -- lots of different textures, things to break up sightlines, clever ways of planting so that plants aren't immediately destroyed and more. What a lot of people don't realise is that tortoises get bored easily in an enclosure that has little 'furniture' and where they can see from one end to the other without interruption, but you've created an enclosure with so much interest -- it's great.

It's nice to have the Hawkbit. My two Horsfields love Smooth Hawksbeard, and I've got lots growing in my garden. They also love the leaves and flowers of Evening Primrose, which seeds itself every year and has the benefit of being pretty in the garden as well as edible.

Anything edible planted in my enclosure gets eaten to the ground quickly, but I used to plant things inside an upturned round wire egg basket -- that way the plant grew out through the spaces between the wires but the main plant was protected. Have attached a photo taken some time ago that shows one in an enclosure but before the plant was put inside it.
[attachment=2]IMG_5143 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]

Basically what I do now is just plant decorative grasses in the outdoor enclosure, because they mow everything else to the ground in no time. I also plant them in my indoor enclosure and they last a little longer but eventually the torts pull them up and eat the. My favourite is Carex 'Frosted Curls' It grows upwards for a bit and then cascades down like a fountain, making a nice place to shelter under. Looks like this http://ghplantlist.wikidot.com/grass:ca ... urly-sedge It also seeds itself everywhere, and if you'd like a little plant I could send send it to you -- just email your address to me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk and I'll dig a small one up.

I also find that those big curved roofing tiles make great hills/tunnels for torts to run through and climb over. Here's a photo of mine sitting on top of their curved roofing tile, and another one of a tortoise emerging from the tunnel.
[attachment=1]IMG_1361 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=0]IMG_1176 [640x480].JPG[/attachment]

Best wishes,
Nina

[temps]

Thank you

[Stevievee]

This is all giving me some great ideas for my outdoor enclosure.

Nina- How deep are the small wooden borders stakes hammered in against your lawn? I might look at using the same, tortoises can't dig under, or climb over these?? Seems like the perfect and inexpensive option!!! So am keen to know your thoughts? Thanks Steve

[Nina]

Hi Steve,

It's log roll that I use (available at any garden centre, Homebase, etc.). You can get it in different heights, and I think mine was 18". Mine is just buried about 4" into the ground, but that is because my soil is super heavy clay and my Horsfields can't really dig into it easily. For ordinary soil, if you have Horsfields, which are a burrowing species (and demon climbers too), you should probably bury it a foot into the soil, and I would also have a little lip facing inwards on walls to prevent climbing out. The logroll is only on one side of the enclosure and other sides are stone walls that support raised beds.

I do have to put things on top of the stone walls, facing inwards (I have some pieces of perspex and some bits of wood), to stop them going over the top if they do climb up, because Dolly climbed up a 14" high wall and up onto a flower bed once, and I learned my lesson. Some people dig the whole enclosure out to a depth of a foot and put down a sheet of porous material so that the tortoise can't dig any deeper.

That is an old photo I posted and the log roll you see is placed with the nice side facing outwards. On the inside of log roll the wires that hold the staves of wood together are exposed, and I was fortunate enough to be present one day when I saw Dolly use those two rows of wires (that run horizontally along the log roll) as a ladder to climb up, over and out (I have a video of it somewhere). After that I turned the log roll round so that the curved, wireless side of it is facing inwards and they can't climb up that, and I have a small inward-facing wooden lip nailed to the top of that wall, just in case they overcome yet another challenge. Right angles where two walls join is a good escape route, so a triangular bit of wood or something on top is good so that if they do climb up they can't go further.

Another tip is not to plant anything or put any little structure next to the walls of the enclosure that they could use as a step or ladder to climb over and out. Horsfields are the worst offenders in this, but other tortoises will also use their skills to escape if given the chance.

I'm sure everyone has already seen the photos of Horsfields climbing walls, but I'll post them again, just in case.

Nina
[attachment=1]Tortoise climbing fence.jpg[/attachment][attachment=0]Tortoise climbing wall.jpg[/attachment]