I made the leap....

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I am leaving Carl outside alone in a little make shift enclosure for a few hours today. The idea of leaving my baby outside alone is making me so nervous!! I have been checking up on him every five minutes.

How do you people do this!? Lol.

Now for a relevant question, how does one build a more permanent outdoor enclosure? It would have to be pretty secure, since I have dogs. I would also prefer something that easily movable since I still live with my mother and she wouldn't appreciate me tearing up her yard for my tortoise (which I just don't understand at all )

 

[Jacqui]

It's a part of life, is how I look at it. It's like having a child, at first you don't trust them out of your sight, but with time you slowly let them extend the boundaries of their world and the time away from you, until the day they take flight on the wings you helped them to learn to fly with. In this case, the baby is a tortoise. You will slowly bit by bit, get use to him being alone and feel secure in leaving them alone outside. Helps if you have confidence in your enclosure.

 

[alben909]

Ill tell you how I got over it with my tortoises.
1. Realize that tortoise are wild animals even though they don't seem like it.
2. Build a secure outdide enclosure so he cant get out and predators cant get in. (I used a little kiddies pool at first and then put them into a large enclosure.)
3. Check on him every 10-20 minutes for peace of mind.
4. Start reducing check time to 45-60 minutes.
5. Keep him outside all night long.

(If your still not comfortable, keep him inside till he gets older)

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

With the kiddy pool, could I put a wire mesh or something on top of it to keep anything out and to keep Carl in?

 

[alben909]

I put chicken wire to keep birds and critters out. Make sure the cut of chicken wire is a little bigger than the pool. I put 4 holes in the back of the pool and zip tied the wire to the pool so I could just fold the wire over to get Sheldon out. But for all means, remember your tort will need a bigger home later on. This was just a one month outdoor setup when I used it. If you really want to make a permanent setup, there are many ways to. My 18 year old friend bought a chicken coop and modified it to be a beautiful tortoise enclosure. If your not ready to put him outside, don't do it. But for know I would just buy him a kiddie pool, fill it with half dirt half playsand (playsand is optional), plant a couple plants, make it look nice, and your off. Good luck!!! If you need more help just ask

 

[Laurie]

Also remember chicken wire will not keep your dog out.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Yeah it should work for at least this summer, since he's still just a little hatchling, but eventually I will have to get him something more fancy We actually have an area in the yard that is sectioned off for a garden that is currently just growing weeds. I may be able to talk my mom into temporarily modifying it to fit mine and Carl's needs.

I wouldn't mind him being outdoors, it just worries me because I don't really have any sort of safe place for him to be alone outdoors yet.

 

[alben909]

Well I hope you find what you are looking for. Carl is lucky he has such a great mom

 

[Tom]

I love kiddie pools and often use them, but I don't like them for summer days with temps climbing into the 90's or higher. I often use slumpstone blocks and make 4x8' enclosures for them. I make a frame out of 2x4's and attach welded wire to that so nothing can get in. Then just add some plants or start some seed mix, make sure there is adequate shade and maybe even dig a little cave out for him to get underground a bit since its much cooler under there. Just tell Mom that its easy to fill in the hole if she notices it...

You can also just build an enclosure out of 2x12s and add the same top on hinges to it. Like this:

You can add a simple latch with a lock or quick-clip to keep the dogs out, and put it half under a tree somewhere for more shade. Mine does not have enough shade for all day, but I only use these for hatchlings and only when the temps are not too high outside.

 

[Lilithlee]

I love kiddie pools and often use them, but I don't like them for summer days with temps climbing into the 90's or higher. I often use slumpstone blocks and make 4x8' enclosures for them. I make a frame out of 2x4's and attach welded wire to that so nothing can get in. Then just add some plants or start some seed mix, make sure there is adequate shade and maybe even dig a little cave out for him to get underground a bit since its much cooler under there. Just tell Mom that its easy to fill in the hole if she notices it...

You can also just build an enclosure out of 2x12s and add the same top on hinges to it. Like this:

You can add a simple latch with a lock or quick-clip to keep the dogs out, and put it half under a tree somewhere for more shade. Mine does not have enough shade for all day, but I only use these for hatchlings and only when the temps are not too high outside.

I can't tell from the picture, but is there a bottom to that or did you just lay it down on flat earth?