Aesthetic Indoor Enclosures

[Alishabobwah]

Hey!

This is my first post. I've been reading this forum for some time now and finally gave in and created an account.

I'm hoping some of you could post pictures of your attractive indoor enclosures! I live in Hawaii so my tort (Waldo) gets to enjoy the outdoors most of the time but I am now creating a new (hopefully better looking) table for him for nighttime and rainy days. I would love to see some of the most creative and aesthetically pleasing homes people have created! My hope is to make mine a centerpiece to our home so that Waldo can be a bigger part of our lives.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome to you and your tortoise from south Florida. Also a tropical climate.
However, mine live outside 24/7.
Please post pictures of what you design.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @Alishabobwah and welcome to the forum!

Please read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread, and post pics of your tort.

What's the weather like back there? Please keep in mind that these cute cold-blooded animals are in need of: WARMTH and HUMIDITY.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hey Alisha, welcome to the Forum. Lots of options avalable, but im wondering what type of tortoise and what size.? How long have you been keeping tortoises? Keep the updates coming!

 

[stevenf625]

Pinterest has many pictures of enclosures. You need to create an account to be able to see them all

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/tortoise-enclosure/

 

[wellington]

Aloha and E komo mai
My advice would be to take advantage of your location. Tortoises should live outside whenever possible. A water proof hide that has a tortoise door your tort can go in and out of and that you can lock up at night is all that's needed. As long as it's warm when it's raining, it's fine for any tortoise to be able to come and go in it. If you get some cold nights, a simple small electric heater or a ceramic heat emitter proper placed in the hide should give enough heat. Tortoises don't do as well being placed in the center of an active house hold. Best is doing what's best for the tortoise, who really doesn't want to be more involved with your life. Hope you will reconsider.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Alisha!

We have a thread that's right down your alley:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/ideas-for-indoor-enclosures.65798/

 

[Yvonne G]

And if you decide to take the outdoor advice from above, here's this thread:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/ideas-for-outdoor-enclosures.65797/

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Alisha

 

[Beasty_Artemis]

C'mon guys!
She can make an indoor and an outdoor enclosure...
She is asking about making a table that is the centerpiece of her living room dudes!
I don't like it when people tell you online that there is only one way or the other.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

C'mon guys!
She can make an indoor and an outdoor enclosure...
She is asking about making a table that is the centerpiece of her living room dudes!
I don't like it when people tell you online that there is only one way or the other.

I notice you had no ideas but to jab at those that did !

 

[Alishabobwah]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the welcome. Thank you Beasty_Artemis for having my back.

I tried mentioning above but I might not have made it clear, he already has an outdoor enclosure with grass and a heated hide box but I want to ALSO have an indoor spot for him where he can join us on especially rainy weeks (last week there was hardly any direct sunlight because it was so rainy) and in the evenings when we want interact with him a little more.

I didn't really want to get into introducing my tortoise in this thread, I was hoping this thread could mostly be a fun place for people to post their impressive enclosures! But since you are asking...

Waldo is a 3-4 year old Sulcata. I'll attach a pic below...

Let me start by saying that I am now well aware that he's really small for his age, thanks to all the posts I've read on here. We have been following all of the wise advice published countless times on this site to improve his quality of life! Namely, increasing the humidity in his hut, taking full advantage of the outdoor weather by housing him primarily outside, improving his diet so the bulk of what he eats is grass, etc.

When we first got him I rented books about how to care well for his species but unfortunately they all pointed us towards the old school theories; meaning that besides soaking him daily (for not nearly long enough, I might add) we kept him in a dry, desert-like environment indoors. We used to live in Utah so he would only get outdoor time during the few months that were warm enough and only for small amounts of time since I needed to be there to supervise him in the open yard. He also didn't have a proper diet, I would grow grass for him but half of what he ate was Spring Mix. I feel SO much guilt about how long he has lived like that. I hope you all know that I've been earnestly trying to improve his life.

Anyway, I know most of you are used to new comers who don't have a clue what they are talking about and I will admit that I'm still learning. However, please keep in mind that I've spent hours upon hours reading around on this site already (especially stuff by Tom) so don't worry too much about setting me straight.

PS sorry I don't have a better picture, I currently don't have access to my files so I'm using a silly old one from several months ago.

 

[Alishabobwah]

Yvonne, thanks for the links, I've actually already seen both of those posts! I was hoping there were still more enclosures out there that could spark my imagination.

 

[Alex Z]

Welcome to the forums...best around and very informative...keep in mind tour tort one day will weigh 100pds...kamp kenan is a good source for info...find him on youtube..

 

[Alishabobwah]

Welcome to the forums...best around and very informative...keep in mind tour tort one day will weigh 100pds...kamp kenan is a good source for info...find him on youtube..

My husband can't wait for him to get big, I'm alright if he takes his time so we can get settled in a permanent home first with plenty of yard space to make a giant enclosure for him, haha.

Nice box! Thank you for sharing. I can't tell from the picture, is that clover you have growing? Can it grow indoors?

 

[Alex Z]

That is a pic I found from doing a search...we dont have a sulcata...we a russian, redfoot, and a eastern box turtle..

Its fake plants my fiance bought from Afloral.com

Ty..we do have grass growing in her enclosure..we bought that from carolinapetsupply