Enclosure cover.

[Melly-n-shorty]

How big should my leopard tortoises be before they can go into a enclosure without a cover? I know they are to small now but I have no idea when they would be considered big enough. Dogs are not a worry. Mine are both under 5 lb, very old and without most of their teeth. I do however have a cat. There are also ground squirrels and birds in the area.

 

[ascott]

LOL...I so just visualized a near toothless dog gumming a tort...ewww and silly funny at the same time....LOL

Birds? what type of birds? Raptors or house finch? huge difference, right?

I have four CDTs that are outdoors all tortoise season and they are not covered....they are adult or near adult (10" up to 13"s) and they each have secure places to duck into in the event of an aerial attack

I also have two RFs that are roughly 6" each and I still keep them in covered runs when they are outdoors for their sunning and mucking about...and also the two tiniest RFs of course are under full lock down when they are out getting their sunbath and outdoor laps...

Here there are Ravens, Hawks, Falcons, Great Blue Herrons that migrate overhead, owls and some other critters that are always looking for a snack....

I also keep a few water troughs full of water on different places on the property so that the birds will go there instead of dropping into the tortoise yards for their water....here in the desert when ever there is water out it seems the birds put the word out and they all seek out water...understandable right?

I would not allow a tort out uncovered until they are at least 10"s+, but that again is based on the hazards around here....your hazards will vary in comparison with here...so know your local critters

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Cleo and flash won't even chew their favorite treats... They pretty much swallow everything whole so I get to make all their treats tiny. My husband gave them the ham bone last thanksgiving and they just looked at him like he was crazy. He took it back and cut off all the meat and they gobbled it up... They are spoiled.

Ha ha ha I had to start learning about weeds and plants... Now it looks like I get to learn about Arizona birds and wild life. I know that there are quail!?!?

 

[ascott]

and they just looked at him like he was crazy.

Laughed really hard reading this one....LOL...

I know that there are quail!?!?

Safe....LOL....they are actually a good alarm to other critters creeping in their space.....and absolutely beautiful....so they are a good one to have around....we have them here and I just adore those ones....

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Oh and doves... And red tail hawks... One tried to take flash a couple years back but ended with just his sweater, so I know them for sure. I see these blackish birds with long curved beaks a lot. I will have to take a picture... They are the ones I worry about most because they are into everything in our yard. And there is some sort of bird that lives in the cactus next door... Further research it is. Anyone one from arizona feel free to chime in...

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Laughed really hard reading this one....LOL...

Safe....LOL....they are actually a good alarm to other critters creeping in their space.....and absolutely beautiful....so they are a good one to have around....we have them here and I just adore those ones....

There is nothing more entertaining then a couple cantankerous old dogs.

Yea I love the quail. I actually keep our cat very well fed when they start hatching chicks. (then cut back the food when the pigeons have chicks) Are you located in California? I'm going to start snapping pics of our wild life critters I don't know about. Probably best to know what I need to watch for. 10" sounds reasonable tho. We are re landscaping our back yard keeping the tortoise in mind but i don't want to give them run of it to soon. It probably won't be ready for a year or two and I can limit them to supervised full backyard access until they are big enough. Thank you so much!