Outdoor enclosure building advice for a very non-handy owner.

[Lindsey311]

I have two two year old boy yellow footed tortoises and am lucky enough to live in Florida where the weather is perfect for them outside. Currently they are housed in a plastic kiddy-pool but they need more space and I want to build them an outdoor home. I am not handy and have never taken on a project like this but I do have a lot of time and helpers. Advice? Tips? Where do I start? Recommended products/materials? Thank you!

 

[Jacqui]

Are you wanting to use bricks/blocks or wood or wire for your sides? Wanting a lid or not?

 

[Yvonne G]

When I first started building pens, I didn't think I was handy either, so I bought cinder blocks. Whenever I went to the home improvement store they all whispered behind their hands to each other, "Here comes the cinder block lady." I must've bought a million of them over time.

Anyway...it doesn't take an engineer or a construction worker to pile up cinder blocks, and you end up with a pretty darned nice-looking pen. Just be careful to start with a level surface and start stacking. Tom likes to stagger stack, but I just stack them right on top of each other. For a YF you probably don't need more than two high. You can make it as big as you can afford blocks.

 

[Lindsey311]

I'm open for any suggestions on materials, cinder blocks sound good! And yes we definitely need a lid but not sure how to make one. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Tom]

I like the slumpstone blocks. They cost more, but they look nice.

They sell 1/2 blocks. I will usually start a row with a full block, and then start the next row on top of it with a half block. This is the staggering that Yvonne spoke of. It makes them harder to tip over. Maybe not a concern with a small YF, but definitely a concern with the bigger sulcatas and SA leopards that I keep. Here are some examples showing it:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/daisys-new-enclosure.28662/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/enclosure-expansion.38788/