Living in an apartment I have limited space, of course. My tortoises each have enclosures that are about 8 sq. ft. Not too bad, but it could be better. A couple weeks ago I thought, hey, I might not be able to get them bigger permanent enclosures right now, but what if I could build them something big that could be set up and taken down easily? Originally I called it a Playpen, but I liked the word Corral better.
This is what I came up with so far. I have since added cardboard walls that keep them from seeing out and from putting holes in the plastic sheeting. I used cardboard because it can be folded up and stored away easily. The whole thing isn't very pretty, but so far it is working pretty well.
As you can see the corners are 4"x"x16". I bought one 8' section and cut it into 6 pieces ($5). The dowels are 1/2" and cost me $1 a piece - I used 13 total. The plastic sheeting was $8 and is the kind used for covering windows in the winter (here in the cold climate zones) and whatnot.
The 6 posts and the plastic are permanently together and fold up into a fairly neat package. The dowels slide in and out. With the dowels on the inside and the plastic on the outside, it is actually pretty sturdy.
The lamp in the pic was used temporarily the first day - last weekend. I set it up again this weekend but brought out one of their MVBs on a stand.
I am very open to suggestions for improvement. Or maybe someone has done the exact same thing, only with a superior design? My main concern at this point is that the plastic is a bit slippery, though they do pretty well. The plastic is easy to clean, which was part of the plan, and obviously with it being temporary I can't put down real substrate, but I was thinking about some outdoor carpeting or something to roll out each time.
Calypso tried to go under Archimedes' log hide...
The "furniture" was basically just stuff I had lying around. Extra fake plants, a shoebox, etc.
This is what I came up with so far. I have since added cardboard walls that keep them from seeing out and from putting holes in the plastic sheeting. I used cardboard because it can be folded up and stored away easily. The whole thing isn't very pretty, but so far it is working pretty well.
As you can see the corners are 4"x"x16". I bought one 8' section and cut it into 6 pieces ($5). The dowels are 1/2" and cost me $1 a piece - I used 13 total. The plastic sheeting was $8 and is the kind used for covering windows in the winter (here in the cold climate zones) and whatnot.
The 6 posts and the plastic are permanently together and fold up into a fairly neat package. The dowels slide in and out. With the dowels on the inside and the plastic on the outside, it is actually pretty sturdy.
The lamp in the pic was used temporarily the first day - last weekend. I set it up again this weekend but brought out one of their MVBs on a stand.
I am very open to suggestions for improvement. Or maybe someone has done the exact same thing, only with a superior design? My main concern at this point is that the plastic is a bit slippery, though they do pretty well. The plastic is easy to clean, which was part of the plan, and obviously with it being temporary I can't put down real substrate, but I was thinking about some outdoor carpeting or something to roll out each time.
Calypso tried to go under Archimedes' log hide...
The "furniture" was basically just stuff I had lying around. Extra fake plants, a shoebox, etc.
