Getting two California Desert Tortoises... Enclosure pics

[erlindbl]

We will be adopting two California Desert Tortoises. Since I have a tremendous amount of Ivy in the back yard I needed to build an escape proof enclosure. We went up 16 inches on the sides and went down two feet with hardware cloth. Both Tortoises are juveniles and I can go higher if need be. Please look at the enclosure and let me know anything you might see that could be a problem I overlooked. The burrow is the only thing that is not finished because I want the earth to dry out completely before I add the plywood and rebuild the hill. We are getting them in a week. Unfortunately we did not have time to plant anything. We will need to feed them till we can get the correct plants planted. Thanks in advance. BTW total enclosure is about 600 square feet.

Thanks again

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi erlindbl:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Wow! You've really done a nice job of making a large and safe pen for your new tortoises. Its looking very good. Are you getting the tortoises from a club's adoption program?

Of course, you know, we need to see the tortoise pictures too.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Thats a nice looking enclosure so far, nice and large...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Neal]

Looks awesome.

 

[wrmitchell22]

Very nice enclosure, welcome to TFO!

 

[Laura]

how big are they? Do you have ravens in your area? racoons?
You can lock them up at night, but hard to do during the day..
Awsome area!

 

[Tom]

Holy cow! Enclosures don't get much better than that. Nice job. I'd love to see how the burrow comes together. I've been trying out some different designs with my animals here.

Do you know the sexes? Pairs can be problematic. If they are both male they will start to tear each other apart as soon as they hit maturity. If its male and female, the male will start seriously harassing the female as soon as he hits maturity. If they are both female, they might be okay, but still watch for subtle signs of bullying and make sure the "weaker" one gets enough food and whatnot. Just keep in mind that you might have to separate them.

 

[Yvonne G]

What Tom says is true, but sometimes they DO get along together. And your pen may be big enough that the fighting may not come into play here.

Most desert tortoises that come up for adoption are male. The females are very scarce. It may be a good idea for you to provide two feeding stations, out of sight of each other. If they don't have to compete for their food, maybe they'll get along together for a longer period of time.

 

[coreyc]

Awesome job so far cant wait to see it when you plant some stuff in it thay are going to love it

 

[SILVERSTAR]

NICE!!!!!! do you worry about neighbors???

 

[erlindbl]

My name is Eric

We are adopting the Tortoises from a California Desert Tortoise adoption center in Chino California. We live near there. My son filled out the adoption form and has been in contact with the lady in charge. When she heard the size of the enclosure she asked if we could take two as they have a pair they do not want to split up. I am totally new to this and have not spoken with her myself. I figure she knows what she is doing and they want to keep the two together for a reason. I have not seen the tortoises but my son has. He says they are about 8 to 10 inches so I am not worried about the birds. Not so sure about possible raccoon problems but the burrow will be deep enough I don't expect problems if they are in there at night. I need to see how they react to it and may have to build another. I am not worried about the neighbors and this section of the backyard is well away from where any other people would be and is completely fenced.

One question I have is related to water. I read on one website Desert Tortoises should not be allowed to sit in water. I did plan to have a small shallow pond. Any info on that would be appreciated as a lot of info on the internet is less than stellar. I will be asking the lady when I pick up the tortoises. Should have tortoises and pictures by next Saturday....

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Eric:

I have a waterer for my desert tortoises. I don't usually see them sitting in the water, they mostly lean over and submerge their heads in it while they drink. But the waterer is large enough that they can fit inside it if they want to. There's no reason they shouldn't be allowed to sit in the water. A good soak every so often is very refreshing and helps them get rid of any exterior bugs.

 

[dmmj]

All I can say is. my CDT, hates to soak, and hates to drink the nice clean fresh bowl of water I provide him, but let the hose run and let the muddy water pile up and he comes running.

 

[ascott]

Totally awesome ! I have only one question? At the lowest end of the enclosure/the run off end, I don't see how you account for rain down pour or potential flooding of the enclosure?

Wonderful slope too

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oh yeah....I have four male Ca Desert Tortoise (3 adults and 1 almost adult ) and two of them LOVE submerging in their water dishes and just lounge about, drinking, sunning and looking around....another one does the dip his head thing and the last prefers rain or sprinkler in the mud puddle But all have a water dish big enough for them to climb into...

 

[erlindbl]

Thanks for the info. As far as the drainage, this area used to be a garden. The soil is porous and the water just seeps into the ground no matter how hard it rains. If is did pour faster than the ground could absorb there is plenty of room between the boards for the water to drain out.

 

[ascott]

Very cool....hey did you get them yet? Pics ?

 

[DesertGrandma]

What a nice large enclosure. Can't wait to see pics of your new desert tortoises.

 

[erlindbl]

Turned out I got a full size male instead of the two juveniles. The female ended up having a respiratory problem and both had to be re-quarantined. The lady had this adult male and it worked out well. The burrow is finished. He cruised the pen, ate some grape leaves and grass found his burrow and went in and crashed. Here are some pics...

 

[dmmj]

Wow nice looking burrow