Glass enclosure or Wood?

[Vishnu2]

I currently have a wooden enclosure made. However, I saw this reptile enclosure that is glass with a wooden frame. It's beautiful. Are glass tanks that awful for a tortoise?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I love using glass enclosures.

 

[bigred]

No they are not awful, havent we been over this once or twice before
Just kidding ( I had to ) It depends on alot of different things

 

[Vishnu2]

No they are not awful, havent we been over this once or twice before
Just kidding ( I had to ) It depends on alot of different things

I looked this up on the forum and couldn't find one post regarding this. I am sure I missed a million post about it but I needed to ask.

 

[bigred]

No they are not awful, havent we been over this once or twice before
Just kidding ( I had to ) It depends on alot of different things

I looked this up on the forum and couldn't find one post regarding this. I am sure I missed a million post about it but I needed to ask.

I was just messing around, I prefer to use them for smaller torts such as hatchlings. I was just on craigslist looking around for a glass aquarium. You can get pretty good size aquariums ,,,,such as 100 to 150 gallon aquariums for about 100 to 150 dollars

 

[Vishnu2]

No they are not awful, havent we been over this once or twice before
Just kidding ( I had to ) It depends on alot of different things

I looked this up on the forum and couldn't find one post regarding this. I am sure I missed a million post about it but I needed to ask.

I was just messing around, I prefer to use them for smaller torts such as hatchlings. I was just on craigslist looking around for a glass aquarium. You can get pretty good size aquariums ,,,,such as 100 to 150 gallon aquariums for about 100 to 150

 

[Jacqui]

I like the glass tanks for hatchlings because you can see the animal better. So if I were to make my own, it would have large windows if not entire sides that are clear. I have not had an animal that had issues with the glass/clear sides once they got use to it.

 

[lisa127]

Both are fine I think. IMO wood is more insulating. But, glass holds the humidity better. So it's a trade off I guess.

 

[Fredandwilma]

Glass is not good for torts. They don't understand the concept of glass and get frustrated so wood is better for them

 

[gtc]

Glass is not good for torts. They don't understand the concept of glass and get frustrated so wood is better for them

My tort has never tried walking through glass. I think that glass may confuse some torts but not all. You can always add some barrier at (tort) eye level if your tort doesn't get it.

 

[Capri]

Im not sure if this will help or every petco is doing this right now but the one in Manchester, NH is currently having their $1 per gallon sale. Just bought a tank for more than half of the normal price for my Red Eared Slider

 

[DaveTheLeo]

My personal experience with this leads me to think wood is better, my tortoise seemed to walk into the glass alot making banging noises ( drove me mad) , the glass heats up too fast imo , i have a large wooden one that i built cost me a tenner to make and its quite large, for me the temperature seems easier to control and my tortoise seems more content this is all just my personal opinion

 

[milkandsam]

My tortoise is fine with glass. At the beginning he would try to walk into it, so I taped paper to the bottom of the tank and then took the papers away one by one and he hasn't had an issue since!

 

[kball]

My personal experience with this leads me to think wood is better, my tortoise seemed to walk into the glass alot making banging noises ( drove me mad) , the glass heats up too fast imo , i have a large wooden one that i built cost me a tenner to make and its quite large, for me the temperature seems easier to control and my tortoise seems more content this is all just my personal opinion

Now that's a good point my sulcata is in a glass enclosure (I'm working on a tort table) and he drives me crazy trying to get through the glass.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I used glass enclosures for babies. Modified aquariums to make closed chambers where the heat and humidity could be better controlled. I did put sight barriers at (tortoise) eye level and never once had a problem with my tortoise running into the glass. The best enclosures, indoor enclosures that is, that I have seen are a combination of wood and glass to make a closed chamber. I take that back. The absolute best are made of molded plastic, but these are way more expensive than I would like to spend. A sulcata for example, will out grow a 55 gallon aquarium in about 6 - 8 months. So their usefulness is short lived. Here are some examples of good closed chamber type enclosure that are inexpensive and yet very functional.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[yillt]

I use wood. I think glass would work but my tort is crazy and would probably barge right through.

 

[Yvonne G]

Once my tortoises are big enough to graduate, they go outside, but while they're small and indoors, I much prefer the large plastic tubs.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I have a plexiglass front on several wooden habitats. Lighter than glass and easier to build with. I put large house plants in front so the crew feels screened, but I can see and enjoy them.

 

[naturalman91]

i use a mix of both glass and wood and i love my enclosure that's a old photo it looks a little different now

 

[Tom]

Either is fine. Both can work well.

Many of us have used glass tanks for decades. They are actually GOOD for the very reasons their critics think they are bad. I find that amusing for some reason.