idcowden
Member
Hi all,
Our spur thigh tortoises are now getting a little bigger (about 11-12 cm) and I am working out an outdoor enclosure for them. I am in the UK, Surrey, South East England - we generally get London temperatures.
This is an aerial view of the garden. The enclosure is going to be where the blue tarpaulin (at the moment I have a tortoise table outside which I have been using in better weather.
My idea is to build something along these lines:-
The edge of the garden is a brick wall. From there wooden walls going to the pond. Walls to go down 12" below the ground and about 12" above the ground.
Given the mountain climbing tendencies of these tortoises, I think a curved chickenwire fence around the bush and edging stones of the pond is required. Again, the bottom of this would be well below the ground.
The longer wall is 3.6m (11.8 feet in old money) and the shorter wall3.2m or (10.5 feet). The proposed distance between the two walls is 4.5 feet (140cm)
The cold frame is 90cm x 78cm (3ft x 2.5ft).
I'm planning to lift the cold frame on 2x4s with a nice entrance for the tortoises to get in and out. I'm also planning on constructing a mesh "lid" for the enclosure as the tortoises are still small enough to make a heron a nice snack.
I was thinking of using some guttering to create a little waterfall from the pond waterfall that the enclosure is adjacent to. This would land in a little shallow pond which would drain back into the main pond through the chickenwire fence. Obviously it has to be secure so the tortoises can't try water skiing their way into the pond.
FInally, I am planning to fit a heat lamp inside the cold frame to make it warm in colder weather, controlled by a thermostatic switch and probe.
This area of the garden gets sun from just after sunrise until early afternoon.
Obviously some shade plants (maybe honeysuckle) and some rocks etc to make a nice environment. I am presuming the base can be left as grass / soil?
Any advice, changes, ideas, would be welcome!
Our spur thigh tortoises are now getting a little bigger (about 11-12 cm) and I am working out an outdoor enclosure for them. I am in the UK, Surrey, South East England - we generally get London temperatures.
This is an aerial view of the garden. The enclosure is going to be where the blue tarpaulin (at the moment I have a tortoise table outside which I have been using in better weather.
My idea is to build something along these lines:-
The edge of the garden is a brick wall. From there wooden walls going to the pond. Walls to go down 12" below the ground and about 12" above the ground.
Given the mountain climbing tendencies of these tortoises, I think a curved chickenwire fence around the bush and edging stones of the pond is required. Again, the bottom of this would be well below the ground.
The longer wall is 3.6m (11.8 feet in old money) and the shorter wall3.2m or (10.5 feet). The proposed distance between the two walls is 4.5 feet (140cm)
The cold frame is 90cm x 78cm (3ft x 2.5ft).
I'm planning to lift the cold frame on 2x4s with a nice entrance for the tortoises to get in and out. I'm also planning on constructing a mesh "lid" for the enclosure as the tortoises are still small enough to make a heron a nice snack.
I was thinking of using some guttering to create a little waterfall from the pond waterfall that the enclosure is adjacent to. This would land in a little shallow pond which would drain back into the main pond through the chickenwire fence. Obviously it has to be secure so the tortoises can't try water skiing their way into the pond.
FInally, I am planning to fit a heat lamp inside the cold frame to make it warm in colder weather, controlled by a thermostatic switch and probe.
This area of the garden gets sun from just after sunrise until early afternoon.
Obviously some shade plants (maybe honeysuckle) and some rocks etc to make a nice environment. I am presuming the base can be left as grass / soil?
Any advice, changes, ideas, would be welcome!