Lucy!

[JClarke]

I never even thought of building hills and what not! Thank you! Ill definitely have fun designing that over winter break

My husband built the enclosure and is very concerned about wood rot, especially in her den (we keep the substrate a bit more damp in there) Also, we are worried urine will damage the wood. Is there a safe sealer/way to protect the bottom of the enclosure?

Lastly, I read soil is okay for enclosures and may be cheaper than filling the entire table with coco coir? I would keep the top layer the coir as I already purchase it in bulk for our herd of crested geckos.

 

[leigti]

You can place a shower curtain on the bottom and up the sides if you want to. I used Thompson's water seal but I had to let it dry for about a week. I have heard that people use paint dry lock, or something called kilz. if you use soil make sure it does not have any perlite, fertilizers, Manure etc. you can mix it with the coir. For my indoor enclosure I use coconut Coir and orchid bark mix together. But there are many options, just don't use sand. it can cause impaction.

 

[Sclarke]

Hello, this is Steve, Janelles husband. I have plastic sheeting that I use as a moisture barrier at work. I assume this would be OK instead of a shower curtain.

 

[leigti]

Yes, that would work fine. Russians love to dig so she could dig a hole through it or climb up the walls using it as a ladder. I put ceramic tiles on top of mine. But just on the bottom not at the sides. But you could put one row or two of ceramic tiles up the side if you would like to. The substrate is never purely wet, just damp but after a while it can soak through wood. you should have at least 4 to 6 inches of substrate in there for her to dig in.

 

[JClarke]

Thank you for all the great advice! Steve and I will do some remodeling tomorrow

 

[Tom]

I swapped it for a small terracotta dish.

That looks much better. I will sleep easier tonight. Thank you.

I would go with the next size bigger, whenever you have time to get around to it. Its not urgent. I also dump mine into the substrate and refill once or twice a day. In that pic your substrate looks very dry, and a little bit of dampness will help to create some moderate humidity, which is good.

Overall I think you've done a fantastic job of making a great enclosure for your tortoise.

I just feed pieces of cactus pad to single tortoises. A whole pad would last a week.

 

[JClarke]

My husband and I spent the night updating a few things in Lucy's table. We purchased some soil to make a hill in the back left corner and to give the whole table a little more depth. I can feel the difference in humidity already.

We placed a large tile under her water dish and food dish to try and keep substrate out.

I read that cuttlefish bones are safe way to keep beaks trim, is this true? I purchased one, but wanted to wait to offer it to her.

 

[tortdad]

My husband and I spent the night updating a few things in Lucy's table. We purchased some soil to make a hill in the back left corner and to give the whole table a little more depth. I can feel the difference in humidity already.

We placed a large tile under her water dish and food dish to try and keep substrate out.

I read that cuttlefish bones are safe way to keep beaks trim, is this true? I purchased one, but wanted to wait to offer it to her.

Cuttle fish bones are great. Put it in and leave it there. She may go months without touching it then go crazy. Your tort will eat it when it feels the need for more calcium.