Urgent need of advice please for outside enclosure
Posted: 30 Mar 2021, 09:22
Hello, I am hoping someone would be able to give me some advice about an outside tortoise enclosure I plan to build for my adult Mediterranean Spur thighed.His previous enclosure needed an upgrade so I'm planning the following:
It will have 3 wooden sides with the wall of our house forming the 4th side. Having dug out the soil, we plan to use wooden scaffold boards, decking or sleepers for the sidewalls. I plan to dig concrete gravel boards into the earth (perhaps 6-8") and place the scaffold boards etc on top of the gravel boards. My intention is that this may help prevent the wood rotting and to stop predators getting into the enclosure. I plan to place plastic chicken wire or similar across the bottom of the enclosure and up the sides to prevent anything getting in and the tortoise escaping. I will then lay a layer of gravel over the wire to help with drainage, then replace the soil etc.
The sides will be approx a foot tall (tortoise is 5 inches long) with an overhang and I will have a hinged mesh lid. The tortoise is small and I worry about security. We live in a rural area with foxes and neighbours have chickens - hence the lid and chicken wire.
Does this set up seem ok? Do I treat the wood and if so what with? Also I'm not sure how deep the sides need to be below ground level.
The more I read, the more confused and stressed I get and I think I am making it much more complicated than it needs to be!!
I would very much appreciate your advice and comments.
Thank you very much.
It will have 3 wooden sides with the wall of our house forming the 4th side. Having dug out the soil, we plan to use wooden scaffold boards, decking or sleepers for the sidewalls. I plan to dig concrete gravel boards into the earth (perhaps 6-8") and place the scaffold boards etc on top of the gravel boards. My intention is that this may help prevent the wood rotting and to stop predators getting into the enclosure. I plan to place plastic chicken wire or similar across the bottom of the enclosure and up the sides to prevent anything getting in and the tortoise escaping. I will then lay a layer of gravel over the wire to help with drainage, then replace the soil etc.
The sides will be approx a foot tall (tortoise is 5 inches long) with an overhang and I will have a hinged mesh lid. The tortoise is small and I worry about security. We live in a rural area with foxes and neighbours have chickens - hence the lid and chicken wire.
Does this set up seem ok? Do I treat the wood and if so what with? Also I'm not sure how deep the sides need to be below ground level.
The more I read, the more confused and stressed I get and I think I am making it much more complicated than it needs to be!!
I would very much appreciate your advice and comments.
Thank you very much.