Hi,
I have one adult Burmese tortoise and some young ones that will also grow and eventually be outside. I am in Northern California outside of Sacramento. The winter can dip into the high 20’s/low 30s and the summer can exceed 100 degrees. We live in a rural area on five acres in the foothills so we have skunk, raccoons, fox, etc. We also have two dogs that roam our property freely. I am hoping you will let me know what your thoughts are about this enclosure I am planning. I will have a heated night house to close them in. We have a big cement pad just off the side door of the house. I am planning on getting a welded wire dog enclosure 10’x10’ with a wire top. Something like the one in the picture. I will put this on the cement pad, I will put stall mats on the cement pad. I will put a site barrier of probably wood around the inside perimeter so that the turtles can’t see out and can’t get their heads or feet stuck in the wire panels.
Should I use a Micro Bark substrate or some sort of dirt? I will plant lots of edible greens in pots and in garden boxes on the inside perimeter in hopes it feels naturalized to the tortoises.
How deep should the substrate be?
Should I have a rain proof cover on the top or let the rain fall through into the pen? A few feet of the pen will be covered by the overhang on our roof. In the summer if It seems to need shade I can put up shade cloths.
Any other ideas and suggestions are very appreciated. I would like to do this right from the start. So what are your thoughts?
Thank you,
Claudia
I have one adult Burmese tortoise and some young ones that will also grow and eventually be outside. I am in Northern California outside of Sacramento. The winter can dip into the high 20’s/low 30s and the summer can exceed 100 degrees. We live in a rural area on five acres in the foothills so we have skunk, raccoons, fox, etc. We also have two dogs that roam our property freely. I am hoping you will let me know what your thoughts are about this enclosure I am planning. I will have a heated night house to close them in. We have a big cement pad just off the side door of the house. I am planning on getting a welded wire dog enclosure 10’x10’ with a wire top. Something like the one in the picture. I will put this on the cement pad, I will put stall mats on the cement pad. I will put a site barrier of probably wood around the inside perimeter so that the turtles can’t see out and can’t get their heads or feet stuck in the wire panels.
Should I use a Micro Bark substrate or some sort of dirt? I will plant lots of edible greens in pots and in garden boxes on the inside perimeter in hopes it feels naturalized to the tortoises.
How deep should the substrate be?
Should I have a rain proof cover on the top or let the rain fall through into the pen? A few feet of the pen will be covered by the overhang on our roof. In the summer if It seems to need shade I can put up shade cloths.
Any other ideas and suggestions are very appreciated. I would like to do this right from the start. So what are your thoughts?
Thank you,
Claudia