Building an outside enclosure!

[IIzDaFury]

I'm slowly but surely creating a better enviroment for my two russian tortoises! They're brilliant pets!

I'm planning on building an enclosure outside for them both, seperated obc! Since the wheather is becoming nicer,

but i've no idea where to start, i've looked online theres some rabit hutches i can use which are fairly decent in length but don't really look all that great, i'll also need to make sure they cannot burrow out!

I'm wondering what you've all done for your outside enclosures, i've hadalook around the forums some people have some really nice enclosures, i don't think i can build something that good but i'm willing to try!

I'm thinking on buying some bricks and building 2 pens in my back yard as part of my makeover for the backyard! Not sure yet, Any suggestions on good mertials to use or how to go about building an outside enclosure would be helpful


Are there any good tortoise enclosures for outside that you can just buy or have you all hand built them your selfS?

 

[Yvonne G]

Anything you buy would not be big enough.

Some of our members have bought the chain link dog runs and modified them for a tortoise. That works out pretty good.

If you put a board along the bottom so the tortoise can't see out it works well.

I bought the dog run and put it across the whole back yard instead of making it into a square. Here I'm in the process of building an enclosure. Not finished yet:

 

[IIzDaFury]

Awesome man thank you! I'll probably buy something similar!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My first outside pen idea worked out so well that i still use it. I've just added onto it.
I put down 18" cement pavers (I later found out that RF don't need them!) with slight spacing to roughly the size of the enclosure. I placed soil and mulch over the top of it and pounded fence post pickets into the ground along the borders. I then screwed outdoor fence picket lumber to it. two or three boards high. They come in 6' lengths. So 6, 12 18' and so on are very easy.
I still make new pens this way. Minus the cement pavers but with poured cement pools for soaking and drinking.
The original pen is now almost 500 square feet and has gained walls and a roof.
I am unaware of any enclosure or pen that is simpler, cheaper or lasts longer for the money.
I could also take it all down and make it disappear in an afternoon.

 

[IIzDaFury]

My first outside pen idea worked out so well that i still use it. I've just added onto it.
I put down 18" cement pavers (I later found out that RF don't need them!) with slight spacing to roughly the size of the enclosure. I placed soil and mulch over the top of it and pounded fence post pickets into the ground along the borders. I then screwed outdoor fence picket lumber to it. two or three boards high. They come in 6' lengths. So 6, 12 18' and so on are very easy.
I still make new pens this way. Minus the cement pavers but with poured cement pools for soaking and drinking.
The original pen is now almost 500 square feet and has gained walls and a roof.
I am unaware of any enclosure or pen that is simpler, cheaper or lasts longer for the money.
I could also take it all down and make it disappear in an afternoon.

Awesome thank you! I'm still deciding how i plan on building my enclosure, i've got a fair amount of costs to pay out for currently, i'm trying to save for my first car, get my driving tests done, redo my back yard and build this enclosure, so it's all going to happen slowly but surely! i've got time to plan my enclosure, but i want it to look good!

I'll definately look into your setup though it looks really good! Thank you for your response!

 

[madge1234]

Zeropilot, your enclosure is wonderful! A very nice setup indeed.

One way to get inexpensive (free even!) wood is to use pallet wood. It's tough and meant to be used outdoors. People are often giving these things away on Craigslist or other classified ads. A lot businesses have them laying around, and if you ask permission, they may give them to you. You'd probably want to clean/disinfect them before using them. There are lots of resources online explaining how to clean pallet wood. They also can be a pain to take apart, but free is free, right?

My Russian is a digger! I have rebar-type steaks in the ground every 6 inches aligning the walls so that she can't dig her way out. Rebar is also pretty cheap at big-box hardware stores.

Whatever you do, make sure they can't climb up and out or dig underneath.

Good luck with your enclosure!