Photos of Our Outdoor Russian Tortoise Enclosure and Garden

[Oxalis]

Here's a photo of our new outdoor enclosure and garden for Steve. It's 8 feet x 12 feet. As a tip: I did find that the wood was much cheaper from the outdoor gardening section rather than the lumber section of the hardware store (they're fencing planks from Lowe's). As of now, we have the walls up and some of the dirt put in. I'll have to get a bit more dirt, and then I have a couple bags of manure that can go in when I start planting. I have a small list of plants that I know Steve loves, but feel free to add any suggestions! Cheers to a new growing season (at least here in Michigan)!



My amazing boyfriend put together the walls so he got me the best tortoise Mother's Day gift!!! I will post more photos as our garden grows!

 

[taza]

Looks nice, but are you sure you want to put a couple of bags of manure in there.

 

[Tom]

Off to a good start. Now you need an underground cave for getting out of the summer sun and heat, and lots of plants and bushes.

 

[wellington]

Looking good. Did you put some fencing or something on the bottom so he won't dig out?

 

[Oxalis]

Thanks! I plan to build him a little wooden house/hide for him to escape under!

Here in this part of Michigan we have very little topsoil and just under that a lot of clay, plus if you see the deck behind the enclosure, I have a nice lounge chair where I'll be relaxing and watching over my little dude!

 

[Oxalis]

The seeds are down and watered so hopefully some plants start to grow soon!! Only the mustard greens and kohlrabi are transplanted. Here's what I got:

Giant Caesar lettuce
Black seeded Simpson lettuce
Mustard greens
Kohlrabi
Catalogna Emerald endive
Wando pea
Earliana cabbage
Salad Slicer cucumber
Georgia collards
Sparkler radish
Broccoli Raab rapini
Catalogna chicory
Early Treviso radicchio
Blue kale
Purple Top White Globe turnip

 

[Jacqui]

Looking good! My only suggestion would be adding a cap (inward over hanging) along the top, especially corners so he can't climb out. Lucky tortoise is getting some kohlrabi! I love them. BE sure to show us how it looks once everything starts growing. Where will his water dish be?

 

[Oxalis]

This is after I got all the seeds and water dish in. All that is left now is to wait for some sprouts and build a little wooden house/hide for Steve! Once some greens come up, I may get some larger shrubs like hibiscus to provide him with more cover.

 

[dmmj]

Looks good, needs hides and plants, and please cap those corners, those russians can climb.

 

[Jacqui]

Looking better and better all the time! My Russians all love to dig under any of the cement pavers I put in to use as stepping stones, so I can never use them as a walkway. Last night, when I was trying to sleep, I keep thinking about this thread. I realized I did not make the comment that I had never thought to use the fence panel strips this way. Good thinking outside the box!

... now it's the wait for stuff to start to sprout and grow...

 

[Saleama]

Thanks! I plan to build him a little wooden house/hide for him to escape under!

Here in this part of Michigan we have very little topsoil and just under that a lot of clay, plus if you see the deck behind the enclosure, I have a nice lounge chair where I'll be relaxing and watching over my little dude!

Russians can dig right through clay. Mine always dig from the border so I sunk the fence in about 8 inches on one side and over a foot at the back. i also lined the entire bottom edge with 2 feet of coated wire fencing for good measure. Before you place your hide, consider putting your tort in first and seeing where he likes to sleep and put the hide there. I built a nice hide inplace and mine sleep right out in the open where they have always slept. The only thing they do with the hide is climb on top of it to get some extra sun. LOL

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm worried about your stepping stones. They're so tall and if he tries to climb and tips over backwards?

 

[Oxalis]

Thanks for the tips! I have a ton of lava rock I can always put under the base of the walls if needed. The walls are a few inches into the ground too. I'm going to dig the stepping stones in deeper when it finally stops raining (been raining here for the past 3 days). I might move them around too; I haven't decided yet, but they definitely won't be left up so high! I was thinking of using a terra cotta pot for a hide as well.

 

[Tom]

You will need something more significant for hides than that. A wooden structure or a pot on its side with the summer sun beating down on it will still be too hot. They need something thick enough that the sun doesn't heat up the inside when it hits the top. I prefer to go underground a little and then pile a few inches of dirt on top. If you dig a small depression, put three cinderblocks in a U shape, put a couple of 2x12' sections on top of the blocks and then put a few inches of dirt from the hole you dug over that, your tortoise will always have a cool retreat in the heat of summer. Make the door opening face North.

Adding some potted bushes or shrubs, or planting some, will help a lot too.

You've planted a whole lot of grocery store foods. Now you need to plant a whole lot of "natural" foods. Here are some suggestions:
Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[Oxalis]

Awesome list! Thanks so much, Tom! I did also put down that Testudo Seed Mix from Tortoise Supply. I'm definitely planning on getting lots of weeds and shrubs as the season progresses! Mallow was already on my list too!

 

[Oxalis]

I probably should've mentioned that Steve won't be staying outside for the entire summer, I'll just be taking him out on nice days and I'll be nearby to watch him. (We tend to have a lot of ups and downs in our weather!)

I have some plants growing, yey! This should be the Testudo Seed Mix from Tortoise Supply. Also, here's a photo of one of the tortoise sculptures next to the kohlrabi.

 

[Oxalis]

Here are some of the latest photos, now that some things have grown in!! Our mantids egg hatched too, so we have more babies than just our tortoise and fishies.



Steve has a ton of plants to hide under (and eat!) and most of them are from the Tortoise Supply Testudo Seed Mix—which he absolutely loves.

I'm pretty sure these photos are a week or two old and the plants have already grown more since I took the pictures!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Great pictures! He looks very happy.

 

[Oxalis]

Great pictures! He looks very happy.

Thanks!! I'm determined to spoil him all I can!

 

[terryo]

Your plants are filling in and everything looks great. Every time I go to Petco I see those poor Russians waiting for a home. Your's is so lucky to have you and that great outdoor garden.