My Best Night Box Design Yet

[Tom]

1/2 inch yikes that was definatly a 5 man job for a 4x8 box. 11/32 well within my spending limits thanks a ton man.

Especially when you consider its TWO layers of 1/2" all the way around!

I actually carry them with the lids off, and re-install the lids once the box is in place. Doing it this way can make it a one man, three woman job…

 

[Lorielei2001]

Very nice!

 

[brokerheather]

Question on the heater... I have a basking light currently in my temp setup. My girl is 170ish pounds. I'm building a 4x7'ish enclosure. Is the heater going to save me money, just regulate better or is there a benefit basically to using it over the basking light that I currently have? I just bought a thermostat to keep it regulated, but haven't installed it yet.

 

[Tom]

I honesty don't know which one will cost more to run. My 4x8 boxes with the radiant oil heaters cost and average of .18 cents a day to run over our winters which are generally much colder than yours, while our electric rates are much higher. They burn more power while on, but in a well insulated box they are on a lot less than a bulb.

I can tell you that bulbs are not safe or effective for heating large tortoises. They tend to "slow burn" the top of the carapace while not warming the core or bottom of the tortoise enough.

Now in other news... We need a thread with lots of pics and info on a 170 pound female. I would love to know more about your giant girl.

 

[brokerheather]

Ok, that was the info I wanted... not the safest way to go! Ok, I will start a new thread on Mathilda the Mighty now-

 

[brokerheather]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/mathilda-the-mighty-170-pounds-of-lovin-and-her-story.136360/ Adding more pics shortly to this thread...

 

[Cheryl Hills]

Nice box. Would something like that work for Russians or should I just dig or burrows?

 

[LRTortoises]

I am in Arkansas with two large adult leopards 15 inch female and 16 inch male. Wondering if I build this for the upcoming winter if they can stay inside at night and come out for the days that get over 60. Or do people leave leopards locked inside these during the days also.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I am in Arkansas with two large adult leopards 15 inch female and 16 inch male. Wondering if I build this for the upcoming winter if they can stay inside at night and come out for the days that get over 60. Or do people leave leopards locked inside these during the days also.

Here in Oregon I leave my leopard outside all year long with a heated house just like this one.
I lock the door at night and open it everyday. He'll come out for a quick cruise even when it's cold, then head back in.
Sometimes on rainy days he'll poke his head out and decide to stay in. On those days I give him "breakfast in bed" and put a pile of food inside the house.

I'm unhappy with small size of my house so I'd recommend going big. Especially for 2. Do the 4x8 size and you'll be glad you did.

 

[LRTortoises]

Here in Oregon I leave my leopard outside all year long with a heated house just like this one.
I lock the door at night and open it everyday. He'll come out for a quick cruise even when it's cold, then head back in.
.

So in Oregon I am guessing you get some snowy days and so he just stays inside then. We will have a week here each year where the ground is snow and ice.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

In the lowlands of Oregon, 800'-1000' for me, we get an occasional snow on the ground event, every two years or so. Mine stay in their heated box unless really motivated, but then I don't feed them during this time. If they want some, they'll come out and get it. I may spunk it up with tasty broad leaf for them, but if it's only a day or two, I don't worry about them. maybe this was a good enough lap and it's time to head back in?

 

[Bogie=babyDINO]

In the lowlands of Oregon, 800'-1000' for me, we get an occasional snow on the ground event, every two years or so. Mine stay in their heated box unless really motivated, but then I don't feed them during this time. If they want some, they'll come out and get it. I may spunk it up with tasty broad leaf for them, but if it's only a day or two, I don't worry about them. View attachment 168516maybe this was a good enough lap and it's time to head back in?

That's such an odd picture to me, a tort in the snow! It's not bad for them right? Do they like it? I've seen other post pictures like this and I can't understand it. I imagine it would feel like us laying down in the snow naked! Haha I would be miserable! I wonder if it's uncomfortable to them. Thoughts?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

It's not bad for them right? Do they like it? I've seen other post pictures like this and I can't understand it. I imagine it would feel like us laying down in the snow naked! I wonder if it's uncomfortable to them. Thoughts?

Bad for them? Well, without the heated house right behind him, I can't see it being good for them. He put himself in this position, did 1 lap, and headed back in. I was there in the event the return to the heated house didn't take place.
Do they like it? I can't see them enjoying it verses toasty warm goodness. I'm with you. I, too, imagine being in the snow naked and it's not a pleasant thought.

 

[amcgath04]

After much thought about what worked and what I wanted to improve over previous attempts, here is the latest version with a step by step pictorial on how I did it. It is time for my 2010 South African herd to move outside. They are moving into a 16x20' completely closed in enclosure. The enclosure is a wooden frame enclosed top to bottom with welded wire. It has a wire roof and the wire extends 18" down into the ground. The actual night box is 4x8x2'. I found a mini oil-filled heater to heat it with. The heater is on a thermostat and will be set to 80 for about half of the year and 70 over the warmer months.

Here is the lid. You can see the insulation in place.

Here is the plywood cover going over the insulation in the lid. The lid fits on top of the box and is hinged. There will be weatherstripping all around the top and the lip on the lid keeps the rain out of the box. You can see a finished lid for a second box in the background.

Here is the bottom. Notice the door notch and how that will fit in later.

Insulation in the bottom. All the insulation is 1.5" thick and has the shiny mylar foil side pointing to the outside. Don't know if that matters much, but thats how I did it.

Insulation on the floor all covered up.

Here the front and back are attached. Notice the door taking shape. Since 9 animals will initially share this, and as they get older they will get bigger, I went kinda big with the door at 26x16". This way one of them won't be able to sit in the doorway and block all the others in or out, and later, when they reach adult size, they will easily fit in and out of this door.

Another view of the front with the sides going up.

Here the side wall insulation is in place and about to be covered up. This box is also double caulked to keep out any cold drafts on those below freezing winter nights. The only air movement will be from the door, or when I open the lid.

All buttoned up.

Here goes the front insulation.

The front insulation is all covered up here. The 2x4 blocks there will support a 2x10" water tub holding shelf. Having containers of water inside will keep the humidity up in the night box, and act as a bit of a heat sink. This technique has been working very well in my underground sulcata night box.

Here's a top view showing the area where the heater will live, the weather stripping in place, the door flaps, and the 2x4 in the back that the lid hinges attach to.

Here is the front with paint and door flaps and water shelves in place.

Here is the door. I will carve out the dirt where the door/ramp hits the ground so it sits flush. One "weak" spot of previous designs was the simple plywood door. I went to great time and trouble to super insulate my night boxes, but then just used thin plywood to cover the door holes. This time the door shares the same 1.5" insulation as the rest of the box. Door open:

Door Closed:

Here you can see the heater installed, the metal heat shield above it, the water tubs for humidity on the shelves, and my purple shoe box that holds all my electrical stuff.

Here are some of the babies enjoying their bermuda grass bedding.

Here is a wide view showing some of the enclosure. The empty wooden box in the lower right foreground of the pic is their 4x8' shade table/planter box. I will be filling it and planting leopard tortoise food in their in the next few days.

One more view of the same thing from the other side.

Well that's it. Tell me what you think.

What are the water shelves used for? I am guessing open containers of water to increase humidity...

 

[Tom]

What are the water shelves used for? I am guessing open containers of water to increase humidity...

Correct. My climate is extremely dry.

 

[JLM]

This is an awesome design! Thanks for the ideas! Just curious if anyone has ever used ceramic tile flooring with radiant heating? I'm just hesitant about the plain wood flooring. Looking for something that would be easy to clean

 

[Levi the Leopard]

This is an awesome design! Thanks for the ideas! Just curious if anyone has ever used ceramic tile flooring with radiant heating? I'm just hesitant about the plain wood flooring. Looking for something that would be easy to clean

I used vinyl flooring and it's holding up great.. I didn't want a bare plywood bottom either.

 

[BILBO-03]

What all is in there heating it

 

[Tom]

What all is in there heating it

This box is heated by a mini radiant oil filled heater. You can get them at Walmart for about $30. Then you need a $30 thermostat to control it.

 

[BILBO-03]

Ok and a heat mat is that fine

Would that be ok for a adult sucalta around 60 pounds