creating climbing enrichment

Thad

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Mar 12, 2019
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Belguim
Hey guys,
I've recently bought a pancake tortoise. So far he is doing amazing but i'm noticing his table could use some improvements. When reading up on this kind of tortoise i learned that they are climbers. During my research i found a zoo who had them and went over to check them out, there i noticed that they are amazing climbers. Now a zoo level setup is a bit impossible for me but i want to try and provide as much as i can!

So i was wondering how i can build some "mountains" for him to climb and maybe even hide in.
I do have one important side note. His table is hanging from the wall above another tank so weight needs to be as little as possible (no giant boulders please)

Thanks for all the suggestions
 

ZEROPILOT

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Hey guys,
I've recently bought a pancake tortoise. So far he is doing amazing but i'm noticing his table could use some improvements. When reading up on this kind of tortoise i learned that they are climbers. During my research i found a zoo who had them and went over to check them out, there i noticed that they are amazing climbers. Now a zoo level setup is a bit impossible for me but i want to try and provide as much as i can!

So i was wondering how i can build some "mountains" for him to climb and maybe even hide in.
I do have one important side note. His table is hanging from the wall above another tank so weight needs to be as little as possible (no giant boulders please)

Thanks for all the suggestions
This would be new to me.
I always try to stop climbing. Because climbing equals falling.
Many tortoises climb.
But I have no experience with Pancakes
 

LaLaP

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Jun 25, 2018
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Portland, OR
My Russians love to climb and they have fantastic climbing opportunities in their outdoor enclosures (big boulders) and I have also been trying to create safe climbing spots indoors. It's not easy. My best attempts have been done with slabs of thick rough bark from a fallen tree. I prop those onto something like a rock or flower pot. The trick is not leaving a high spot they can fall from since that is a flipping hazard. I wish I had a photo of the one I built but I dismantled it. My guys tend to love these things for a couple months and then the thrill is gone and they walk around it.
I'd love to see photos of what you come up with!
 

SPILL

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Aug 20, 2018
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Illinois
These aren't great pics but hopefully you can see how I've made stacks out of slate rock. About 2/3 of the enclosure is rock from the bottom up. The other 1/3 they do have access to the dirt substrate underneath. Some areas have two layers of caves, others just one. There is a trio in there but you never really see all three at the same time.

Keep a good eye on them the first couple of days and if they flip make some adjustments to your stacks and they should be ok. The first day mine flipped but after adjusting that hasn't happened again for a couple years now. These guys seem to know how to fall. When they do dive from the top they look around for a minute before doing a little belly flop.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can get around the weight issue. Have fun with them, they may be my favorite I've ever kept.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/fun-food-and-boredom-solutions.175734/#post-1749595
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/a-couple-of-our-cavemen.175247/
 

Thad

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Mar 12, 2019
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Belguim
Thanks for those links! I saw stuff like that around the internet and it was my first idea to do that aswell.
Unfortunatly i am a bit worried about the weight, so i am trying to find an alternative... Currently i'm thinking of making something with expanding foam and styrofoam that i can coat with tile adhesive so that it becomes rocklike with alot less weight.

so far thats my best idea...
 

Thad

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Joined
Mar 12, 2019
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9
Location (City and/or State)
Belguim
As many of us i now have more than enough time to improve my habitats.

I started with using expanding foam on 2 sheets of styrofoam, and cut out a hole to put in a feeder plant so he had to climb to get some of his food.
I then cut some flat rocks out of the styrofoam and used some cheap silicone to adhere them to the expanding foam. I also left a hide underneath it.
20200401_153946.jpg20200401_182900.jpg20200401_182905.jpg
Unfortunatly i dont like the look of it... i might can this version and rebuild in a different way
 

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