How deep do I need to bury chicken wire?

[StephjShank]

I'm working on setting up my new sulcata's outdoor enclosure, which will be shared with three mini goats. So far they have gotten along well, basically just avoiding each other.

My question is, the SO just went to homedepot and got 2ft of chicken wire. He read that he needs to bury it 18in all around the sides. Is this good enough?

 

[Yvonne G]

I doubt chicken wire will do much good. It's much too flimsy to withstand the power behind a sulcata's digging. If you lay poles or cement stepping stones along the inside edge of the fence, they probably won't try to dig out. Most of the digging sulcatas do is burrow-making. They love to dig deep and make a cave. Just make sure they can't see daylight along the bottom of the fence anyplace and it should be ok. What kind of fence is it, anyway?

 

[StephjShank]

I'm sorry, I was still asleep this morning when the SO asked me to double check. The fence is a cattle fence that's extremely strong.. I'm digging under the fence 2 feet and putting chicken wire straight down (like a wall) to prevent dogging out, and connecting it to the wood on the cattle fence. He wanted to make sure 2 feet was deep enough to go around the perimeter of the yard!

 

[tortdad]

Take a picture for us. If he can see out of the fence, even a crack, he will bulldoze his way out. Chicken wire will not stop him

 

[StephjShank]

Take a picture for us. If he can see out of the fence, even a crack, he will bulldoze his way out. Chicken wire will not stop him

So the gap between the ground and the wood is about an inch. I dug down a foot and a half under it and added chicken wire as a fencing underground so if he/she does decide to dig out, there will be a barrier. I don't know if they makes it anymore clear. This is the finished product. (Its also to keep the dog from digging in, which he regularly did with the goats! So far its kept him out )

 

[Yvonne G]

My answer stands. No matter how deep you bury the chicken wire, it is not strong enough to withstand a VERY STRONG sulcata digging at it. And because the tortoise can see through the fence, he definitely WILL try digging there. I've seen little Russian tortoises dig at chicken wire and enlarge it enough to squeeze through. If a Russian can bend and tear chicken wire, imagine what a sulcata can do to it.