Outdoor enclosure advice

[mdane]

I own three Eastern boxes. They currently live outside in a small enclosure I made (~6'x4') that gets about 8 hours of sunlight per day (8am-3pm) due to where the enclosure is placed (I'm still growing plants to serve as cover). I'm considering a re-design and would like some advice:

• What size should the enclosure be for three boxes (female adults)? I can increase the size if needed. Is there a minimum side length? One of the sides may be be restricted to 4', but the adjacent dimension can go up to ~8-9' if needed.
• What plants can be added in? I have a backyard with a lot of weeds, so I can use some of those as well.
• Is a heating lamp necessary for an outdoor enclosure? I'm slightly concerned about igniting dry matter within the enclosure.
• Should all three turtles have a centralized housing (i.e. one large closed-off section for the turtles to retreat to hide, sleep etc.)? From my understanding tortoises have this kind of setup, but I don't know if the same can be applied to box turtles.

 

[ColleenT]

My outdoor enclosure is 6.5 X 16 ft. they do need a lot of room, so they don't become aggressive with each other.

 

[Maggie3fan]

My box turtles spend the day outside but have to come back in at night...I fill up the pond...where that fence plank is...and they swim and bask on the wood and nap in the grass...

 

[mdane]

Quite the nice setup the two of you have. @ColleenT , how many turtles live in that enclosure? While it would be nice to provide mine that much room, I'm not sure if I can allocate that much space.

 

[janevicki]

My outdoor enclosure is 6.5 X 16 ft. they do need a lot of room, so they don't become aggressive with each other.

It's beautiful, I want to live here too!

 

[janevicki]

Mdane, for me, everything is a work in progress. I just keep working on the turtle and tortoise areas. Can you post some pictures of your Boxie yard and let the boxie people help you out with some advise? Also you may have plants in your yard that you already have and plant them for cover for your turts. Add some grassy areas with grass that is existing weeds in the rest of your garden. You said in your other post that you have ample sun, and they turtles have burrows. I think you are doing great!

 

[ColleenT]

Quite the nice setup the two of you have. @ColleenT , how many turtles live in that enclosure? While it would be nice to provide mine that much room, I'm not sure if I can allocate that much space.

I have 4 in there right now. that is my maximum. i would not feel safe with any more than the 4 i have. I live in PA and my 4 are Three-toed box turtles which are native to warmer states, but not here. I have had luck allowing them to hibernate all winter outside, and we need NO heat lamps or other heat source. There is a water tub ( a large cat box) and rocks in that so they can get out. The den in the far end has loose dirt dug down to about 3 ftt. the den over it is so they can hibernate and have a safe place. they don't always go in there, but they do like it.

Oh- Hostas, Ferns, Pachysandra, Strawberry plants, Lamium, grass clumps (i guess they are balls of grass? Idk what they are called) they like a very full area, bc they prefer to be hidden from Hawks, etc..

 

[mdane]

I have 4 in there right now. that is my maximum. i would not feel safe with any more than the 4 i have.

Punched in some numbers and it looks like for three turtles I'd be looking at a 80 ft^2 minimum area for three turtles. I've also thought out a location that would be ideal for the turtles and give a lot of space for the turtles (looking at a 9' x 9' area). What was the intention of building the enclosure from one side of your house or garage? I'm debating whether to do the same or spend a bit more to build up all four sides of the enclosure (it's a bit tricky for me because I have a lot of things attached to the side of my house/garage that I don't want to obstruct with the enclosure (circuit breaker box, outlets, sprinkler control module, etc.)

 

[Crush da Baum]

My outdoor enclosure is 32 by 10 feet. My torts love it!

 

[MichaelL]

My outdoor enclosure is 32 by 10 feet. My torts love it!

Ooh I have to see pics! You should make a thread on it, I love new ideas!!!

 

[Crush da Baum]

Ooh I have to see pics! You should make a thread on it, I love new ideas!!!

I will do that! It is new and I planted a ton of the Broadleaf testudo mix so it will look so much better when they are done growing. I have a couple of spider plants in their enclosure and I am getting some hibiscus and spineless cactus soon so it will look awesome!

 

[MichaelL]

I will do that! It is new and I planted a ton of the Broadleaf testudo mix so it will look so much better when they are done growing. I have a couple of spider plants in their enclosure and I am getting some hibiscus and spineless cactus soon so it will look awesome!

Wow! So cool!!

 

[ColleenT]

Punched in some numbers and it looks like for three turtles I'd be looking at a 80 ft^2 minimum area for three turtles. I've also thought out a location that would be ideal for the turtles and give a lot of space for the turtles (looking at a 9' x 9' area). What was the intention of building the enclosure from one side of your house or garage? I'm debating whether to do the same or spend a bit more to build up all four sides of the enclosure (it's a bit tricky for me because I have a lot of things attached to the side of my house/garage that I don't want to obstruct with the enclosure (circuit breaker box, outlets, sprinkler control module, etc.)

Well, we really didn't have a lot of room anywhere else, and the back side of our garage was a nice break from the weather, and it saved us from having to build a 4th side of the enclosure.

here is a link to when we first built the enclosure you can see it better without all the plants. https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/can-you-guess-what-this-is.139158/ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/boxie-outdoor-enclosure-done.140139/

 

[mdane]

here is a link to when we first built the enclosure you can see it better without all the plants. https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/can-you-guess-what-this-is.139158/ https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/boxie-outdoor-enclosure-done.140139/

Wow, that's sick! I do have another question (Sorry! I'm just trying to get it right in one go so I don't have to keep relocating the turtles to new enclosures): how much sunlight does your enclosure get per day? My current enclosure is built against the garage, similar to yours, but it's located such that the area becomes shaded in the afternoon (~8 hours of sun per day). I'm a bit unsure how well an enclosure in full sun would do, especially in California where it would most likely kill off any cover plants that I would place inside.

 

[Relic]

I've always subscribed to the old: "bigger is better in all things." I've always made large pens, and later enlarged them even more. And I've pretty much let nature take over to a large degree and let whatever's planted in there run wild to a large degree. But there are some drawbacks to large, overgrown enclosures. If you needed to find a specific turtle or tortoise, unless it's a big one, you could spend hours searching. And with nesting box turtles inside the pen, there is always the risk of stepping on babies/juveniles if you are not exceedingly careful in choosing your steps. Scattering some stepping stones around helps. A large pen also gives you the option of sub-dividing to create a mini-pen for separate species, which I've done to keep my yellowfoot segregated from my box turtles.

Here's mine:

View attachment 2020 Turtle pen.jpeg

 

[LasTortugasNinja]

I build as big as my wife will let me. When the eyebrow starts twitching, I go the next size down. LOL

 

[ColleenT]

Wow, that's sick! I do have another question (Sorry! I'm just trying to get it right in one go so I don't have to keep relocating the turtles to new enclosures): how much sunlight does your enclosure get per day? My current enclosure is built against the garage, similar to yours, but it's located such that the area becomes shaded in the afternoon (~8 hours of sun per day). I'm a bit unsure how well an enclosure in full sun would do, especially in California where it would most likely kill off any cover plants that I would place inside.

No problem. i don't get a ton of sun. But it is enough for the plants to thrive. you could always put a sheet of plywood on top of part of it.

 

[mdane]

Yeah, I definitely need more plants, because it's pretty much just dirt (explains why I only see them in the morning and never after). One cause could be the soil quality, which is pretty low where I plan on building the enclosure, though that is something that can be fixed by mixing in mulch/compost.

My final dimensions are 8' x 12' x 16", which should be decent for my box turtles. I'll be designing the structure in CAD for the next few days and I'll come back to this forum with whatever I come up with.

 

[ColleenT]

Yes, i added a lot of soil to the original build, and then Every year i add a couple bags. It seems to erode or somehow wash away when it rains, even tho it is in a large enclosure.