oceansdawn99
New Member
Hi everyone,
I was gifted a Russian tortoise named Bramble recently, and unfortunately I didn’t learn beforehand that her 40 gallon tank is too small. I’ve been researching options, and since I currently live in an apartment, I don’t have a ton of space, nor can I make an outdoor enclosure. She still seems pretty young (4.5 inch long shell) so I’m not sure she needs the minimum 8 x 4 enclosure recommended in this forum for adults, and I’m planning to move into a house by the time she’s old enough. I’m still in a living situation where I’m probably going to move apartments every couple of years or so (I’m in college), so whatever enclosure I make needs to be decently mobile. I was thinking that I use a playpen, that they typically sell for dogs and babies, and I can set that up in my apartment with a substrate carpet, lamps, dig box, the appropriate herbs, foods, etc, water, and decorations, and have her roam there for a couple of hours daily. I can put it away after and re-set it up the next day. That way, I can have a 5x4 playpen, instead of the 3x3 tortoise table I was thinking originally (the biggest size I can accommodate right now). I know technically tortoises aren’t supposed to roam on the floor, but I’ll have the lamps and the substrate carpet. I know it’s not an ideal situation, but it‘s the best I can do right now Do you think the temporary 5x4 playpen, or a permanent but smaller 3x3 enclosure is better?
I was gifted a Russian tortoise named Bramble recently, and unfortunately I didn’t learn beforehand that her 40 gallon tank is too small. I’ve been researching options, and since I currently live in an apartment, I don’t have a ton of space, nor can I make an outdoor enclosure. She still seems pretty young (4.5 inch long shell) so I’m not sure she needs the minimum 8 x 4 enclosure recommended in this forum for adults, and I’m planning to move into a house by the time she’s old enough. I’m still in a living situation where I’m probably going to move apartments every couple of years or so (I’m in college), so whatever enclosure I make needs to be decently mobile. I was thinking that I use a playpen, that they typically sell for dogs and babies, and I can set that up in my apartment with a substrate carpet, lamps, dig box, the appropriate herbs, foods, etc, water, and decorations, and have her roam there for a couple of hours daily. I can put it away after and re-set it up the next day. That way, I can have a 5x4 playpen, instead of the 3x3 tortoise table I was thinking originally (the biggest size I can accommodate right now). I know technically tortoises aren’t supposed to roam on the floor, but I’ll have the lamps and the substrate carpet. I know it’s not an ideal situation, but it‘s the best I can do right now Do you think the temporary 5x4 playpen, or a permanent but smaller 3x3 enclosure is better?