Outdoor enclosures and "flooring"/escape prevention

Wenzer

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I have been reading about the construction of outdoor enclosures from various people and websites so I can get more inspiration for mine :) but in the process, I've gotten a bit confused about something:

Many people note how much tortoises enjoy burrowing and digging, and in their builds they implemented some way of escape prevention by doing things like adding a "floor" of hardware screen (which is then buried a little ways into the ground, or set on top of the ground, and buried in substrate), or by building the walls of the enclosure in a way that they extend pretty far down into the ground so that even if the tortoise digs, it should take a whole lot of digging before they could even try to escape (at which point, the owner should have been able to notice the jail break scheming ? I hope at least!).

There's also a lot of enclosures people have made which seem to just be walls that sit on top of the ground, that do not appear to have these kinds of preventative measures. Then again, I was looking at different enclosures made by different people for all kinds of tortoise species, not just the small ones and not just Russians.

So my question is, are russian tortoises avid diggers/burrowers to the point where they could very well dig themselves out of an enclosure if there is no "floor" or embedded fencing to keep them in? I figure it's something I might as well add, but I just wondered what others thought of it.

My little girl does love to burrow in the corners of the indoor enclosure (though I think its more of a restlessness from not enough space rather than recreational digging, so to speak. Lol). If anything, I'm sure adding more substrate on top of the ground would also give it more difficulty to tunnel under and out of.

On a side note, there is a possibility (trying not to get my hopes up but thats difficult ?) that I could be moving, to a much nicer (and larger!) house!! It's a long story, but basically, I rent my current house and it's really not an adequate situation. My neighbor, and at this point, close friend, wants to work with me on buying a house that is directly across the street from our houses, finishing the renovations and then renting it to me, or rent-to-own, I'm not 100% sure what he wants.

He has the financial capability to do so, and he's retired with lots of free time, and he has done all the renovations on his own house himself, so he seems to know what he is doing... it is extremely generous of him to offer this kind of thing to me, so I'm not going to guarantee anything, because it is entirely up to him. But it would be an incredible step up in my life to be able to cooperate with him to do this! So basically, I'm extremely excited, but trying not to make myself too hopeful just in case it doesn't work out.

But anyways, I mentioned this because there is that possibility I may move houses, so right now my plans for an outdoor enclosure are bit all over the place; things I had previously wanted to do are being put on hold because if I do move, I need to make sure the enclosure and all of its parts are easy to take down/remove and won't leave, for example, a huge patch of bare earth in the yard lol... my landlord wouldn't be too happy with that, I'm sure...
 

KarenSoCal

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Usually, when tortoises dig a burrow, they stop digging underground. They don't want a back door, so they don't swing upward to the surface again. So that's in your favor.

Now if your fence just sits on the ground with no barrier, he will start to dig, probably in a corner. When he gets just below fence level, there's a good chance he will be able to see outside the fence, and out he'll go. Definitely not in your favor.

When we built the enclosure for my desert tortoise, we tacked metal lath to the bottom board and went straight down 12" into the ground. Chug started many holes in the corners, and was always stopped by the mesh. This is installing it:
20170802_091743.jpg20170802_091733.jpg

You certainly don't want to do this and then have to move it. I have no suggestions for that other than just do a perimeter and stay out with her, or keep checking every hour or two for digging.
 

Wenzer

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Usually, when tortoises dig a burrow, they stop digging underground. They don't want a back door, so they don't swing upward to the surface again. So that's in your favor.

Now if your fence just sits on the ground with no barrier, he will start to dig, probably in a corner. When he gets just below fence level, there's a good chance he will be able to see outside the fence, and out he'll go. Definitely not in your favor.

When we built the enclosure for my desert tortoise, we tacked metal lath to the bottom board and went straight down 12" into the ground. Chug started many holes in the corners, and was always stopped by the mesh. This is installing it:
View attachment 298780View attachment 298781

You certainly don't want to do this and then have to move it. I have no suggestions for that other than just do a perimeter and stay out with her, or keep checking every hour or two for digging.
I see, thank you!

I think for the time being, I'm going to set up a perimeter for her, like you mentioned. I'll sit outside with her as well to keep an eye on things.
 

KarenSoCal

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I see, thank you!

I think for the time being, I'm going to set up a perimeter for her, like you mentioned. I'll sit outside with her as well to keep an eye on things.
Here's a simple 8x8.

 

Wenzer

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Here's a simple 8x8.

Thank you for this!!
Tomorrow I will be shopping for a few more supplies so that I can start building.
 

Wenzer

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Here's a simple 8x8.


Oh, I forgot to ask about something mentioned in that thread: one person suggested lining the inner perimeter of the box with pavers to try and dissuade torts from tunneling under the sides. Do you think that would be enough of a prevention measure for me to be able to leave her out there for extended periods of time (with steps taken to ensure safety against predators and such)? I thought about doing that, or taking a large length of chicken wire/hardware cloth and stapling it to the wood frame so that it is essentially attached as a "floor" to the cage. If I go that route, I'd also add substrate on top of the "floor" so she can still dig and burrow to her little hearts content. I just wasn't sure if using screen across the entire bottom would be overkill though...? I can't really imagine her going crazy and trying to dig around the pavers (for example), all the way down and across, for any reason really lol.
 

KarenSoCal

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I think the pavers should work. Just keep a close eye on her to see if she digs. You can also put a hide in the enclosure with dirt in it. That gives a place to dig in to sleep.

I agree on the wire cloth all the way across...overkill. But if you like, you could use a strip of metal mesh, maybe even chicken wire, instead of pavers. Staple or tack it to the bottom of the fence. Put a good layer of dirt under it, and plant grass seed. The grass grows up through the wire and covers it up.
 
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