New enclosure build

[Repti82]

so we live in mid PA and we would like to get a tortoise or a pair. and we plan on keeping them indoors year round in a homemade enclosure. and i was wondering. before i start building the enclosure what is a good size and what are good plants and such for it? will it work if i build a giant box and put soil and plant grass and plants in it? how high do the sides need to be and what kinds of plants/grasses are good for them? i was thinking of planting grass so they could graze. any advise is much appreciated

 

[tortioselove101]

Well first of all what kind of tortoise do you plan on buying??

 

[zoopkamol]

few main questions before anyone can help ya

what breed you thinking?
how much room do you have for said enclosure?

Can answer size question a bit.....big as you can make is the size you should make.
walls should be 2 times the max length of tortoise at adult size...so depends on species

 

[Repti82]

few main questions before anyone can help ya

what breed you thinking?
how much room do you have for said enclosure?

Can answer size question a bit.....big as you can make is the size you should make.
walls should be 2 times the max length of tortoise at adult size...so depends on species

most likely a Hermann's. and a baby one but we want to.

we were thinking a 3ft X 4ft cage build up with soil in it and planting some grass and plants in it so it was more like there natural habitat in the meadows. in our research we learned that they come from large grassy meadows so we wanted to recreate that atmosphere.

we need to know is 3ft x 4ft big enough and what kind of grass should we plant and also what are some good ground cover plants that they love eating and grow kinda quickly so we can plant some in like the corners and such. i kinda already have a pic in my head but we need opinions. we have never had a Hermann before!

 

[Yvonne G]

Well first of all what kind of tortoise do you plan on buying??

Hi tortioselove101:

Won't you take a few moments to start a new thread in the "Introductions" section and tell us a bit about yourself?

 

[Laurie]

Is there any reason you plan on keeping them indoors year round? Tortoises do best outside, even if it's only a few months during the summer. You will need a secure outdoor enclosure in addition to your indoor one.

 

[Repti82]

Well the problem is we live in an apartment. We will have a deck come next summer but its small. We take all of our animals but the birds outside a lot. So they will get out. But we can't make them a place to stay out there sadly

But even so we want to give them the best of care. We have a plan for a 3ftX4ft cage with about a foot deep of soil planted with a seed mix that will make it like a meadow. We wanna put a hide hole in one corner and plants along the walls. We want to know if its a good idea what to improve and what plants we should plant that they will forage on. If anyone could help that would be great.
It will be two hermann's
Will that be big enough and which plants are best to plant are what we need to know.

Thank you