Sunshine has a new house!!!!!

[LParkey]

OK peeps, I went from a little 20 gal terrarium to the tort table we just built last night - I still have to finish the house and buld the lid today, and go get more substrate. Please everyone, give me your opinions!!! I would like to caulk/seal all the wood, and kinda need advice on what is safe/best for her and the enclosure? I'll post pics of the finished product ASAP!

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow, Lauren:

You've done a great job on giving your baby more room. I think you may be a little sorry you used wire for the sides, though. Its going to be hard to heat and keep humid all open like that. But its a great habitat. GOOD JOB!!! I can see it sitting outside in the sun/shade on good days.

 

[cherylim]

I love it! I really love the rustic wood it's made from.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Great!!! I'm assuming you're going to add more "furniture"?

 

[LParkey]

What do you mean by furniture?

 

[JoeB]

What do you mean by furniture?

Decorations, rocks, plants, a hide.

 

[SailingMystic]

I love it ... Getting good ideas for a table for tort on one side and turtle on the other love the rustic wood too!

 

[Redstrike]

What an improvement, nice job! I think Yvonne is right about the sides being made out of wire, you might consider closing those up with plexiglass or additional wood as it will help you keep humidity and temperatures more constant?

As for sealing the wood, some have used truck bed liner, polyurethane, etc. If you go this route, be sure to let the fumes dissipate before placing your tortoise back into the enclosure. I used a pond liner to protect the wood construction of my table. Others have used thick shower curtains or painting protectors (you know, the plastic you drape over furniture to paint?).

 

[Laura]

you can remove the substrate and line the bottom with a shower curtain or plastic sheeting... then put the soil or something back in.. You will ned to have something that holds moisture a bit better then the bark you have there now.. offer several different types.. see what the tort perfers. You can use soil and plant things as well. or get a potted plant that hangs over and use that as a hide.. liek Spider Plant.. so its safe if eaten as well. Babies like to hide to feel safe.. so 'furniture' is a good idea.

 

[ShadowRancher]

The wood is really cool and it's an awesome amount of space, great job but yeah if you are getting more substrate anyway I would mix in some coco coir or organic soil to help retain moisture...as mentioned humidity will be hard with open sides. I would highly recommend a humid hide (great instructions for one at the top of this thread, its a great thread overall if you haven't read it http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1hyMKpPxx )

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

This enclosure is cool looking
I'm gonna be honest with you though when it comes to humidity and keeping heat in its the worst kind of enclosure because it isn't covered and the sides are made of wire letting out all the heat and humidity.
It should be 80 degrees all over the enclosure and 80-90% humidity.
I don't see a water bowl or humidity hide either which you could have just not put in yet but are essentially for your little baby sulcata.
The light is really far away which is fine if it still creates a basking spot of 100 degrees at least, no more than 105 . A temp gun can help you with finding out exact temps
Your little baby also needs a source of UVB in his enclosure if you can't take him outside every week to get lots of sunshine
Having deep substrate is also a really good idea because tortoises like to dig and its wonderful for high humidity levels.
You might already know all of these things but I am just saying in case you don't
You should read all these threads about how to raise your little baby, about pyramiding, and the best kind of enclosures.
I hope all of this helps
this is about the best enclosures for sulcata tortoises
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Closed-Chambers#axzz1hkZxITMK

These are care sheets , one is for leopard tortoises but it works really well for sulcatas . Tom's how to raise hathcling sulcatas is the most important though
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies#axzz1i4Ds8pC6
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Leopard-Tortoise-Care-Sheet#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

This one is about hatchling failure syndrome and how to prevent it 
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Hatchling-Failure-Syndrome#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

These threads are about pyramiding
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding#axzz1i4Ds8pC6
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-End-Of-Pyramiding-II-The-Leopards#axzz1i4Ds8pC6

 

[lynnedit]

You have got a great structure there. You can tweak it as needed. Waterproof it with the liners suggested (I like pond liner), or covering the wire with plexiglass if needed.
All good suggestions about substrate, humid hide, etc.
Nice looking!

 

[bigred]

What do you mean by furniture?

Decorations, rocks, plants, a hide.

another tortoise

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[ripper7777777]

If the wire becomes to airy you can put thin lexan or other thin plastic, 030 or 060 would work fine and can be cut with an xacto, check your phone book or online for local plastic shops or sign shops. It's much cheaper at the plastic retailers than at Home Depot.

 

[LParkey]

What do you mean by furniture?

Decorations, rocks, plants, a hide.

Yes, finding rocks in the garden, she had a little hide house. Do you know if any house plants that are safe I could put in there?

 

[lynnedit]

Yes, spider plant, pothos, sedum (hens and chicks), christmas cactus, aloe vera.
Here is a helpful link:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

 

[LParkey]

I have some plexy glas I'm going to add to help with humidity. I've got all the lights and have been monitoring temp and it's keeping the right temp. The lid will hold her lights. Should I use 2 uvb lights for such a large area?
Will read all the threads. Thanx for all the input peeps! I honestly believe I would've lost my beloved tort if it hadn't been for finding this forum, so again THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!

 

[lynnedit]

You can use one UVB light, and if you need more light, you can just add a regular basking or incandescent(house) bulb partway down.
If you need heat (not light), you can add a CHE. This is nice, because it gives heat but not light, so can provide additional heat at night. You might need this anyway to keep night temps up.

 

[LParkey]

I am using a CHE on her at night. My question is does she need the CHE at night since my house stays at 75 degrees anyway? I have a basking bulb on her. Was just kind of concerned with such a large area if one uvb would be enough, or should I just move it around to wherever she's at in the tort table?

---

Yes, spider plant, pothos, sedum (hens and chicks), christmas cactus, aloe vera.
Here is a helpful link:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

thank you so much!