Outdoor playpen

[wpk]

Here's the outdoor setup I made for my russian. I made it from 8 sections of garden edging fencing. The black wrought-iron looking fencing is from my first attempt but she could see out of it and spent all her time trying to squeeze through them. I'm using it now to reinforce the joinups in the wooden fencing (also held together with wire). I was at first worried that it wouldn't be high enough but Ivy doesn't seem to be able to climb it, although she keeps trying. She can poke her head over the low bits and look around. I do intend to put a few more things in there to climb over/hide behind.

Today was also the first time I saw her eat anything since I bought her a little over a week ago. She took a few bites of crabgrass and clover. Also ate about half of this little plant, though I don't know what it is.

She had a good 2.5 hour romp in there until it started raining on us. Definitely planning to get out there every day I don't work weather-permitting.

 

[Yvonne G]

Nice! and what a cute little guy/gal your Russian is!

 

[tortoisenerd]

What else are you trying to feed that she hasn't wanted in the week since you got her? Very cool! Torts will keep trying to get out if they think they can, so in the long term you may just want to get one taller fence and dig it down a foot or so (they can dig out too!). Last thing you want to deal with is an escaped tort...lots of stories on this forum about that. Do you have predators in your area or do you watch her when shes out? Personally I would keep her in one enclosure with lots of hides until she starts eating regularly, and not try to introduce an outdoor play pen and such. Make sure you identify all the plants in the enclosure to make sure they are safe, and ensure everything is chemical free (no pesticides or fertilizers applied for at least 3-6 months). I think that'll be great with more hides and a water dish! You could even scatter some weed and green seeds for more variety. Lucky tort.

 

[wpk]

In her indoor pen I've offered her endive lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion greens, wild grape leaves, and broad leaf plantain. No chemicals from anything coming from my yard, I'm too lazy to fertilize. She hasn't shown any interest in any of it, and though I've found it strewn around her enclosure I don't see evidence that she's been eating it. From the dish at petsmart the few times I've been there, it seems like a bag salad mix was all she ate before coming home. I was hoping the exercise and natural sunlight would stimulate her appetite.

Edit: I'm not too worried about predators since I plan to be out in the yard with her when she's out there. Hopefully this forestalls escapes also.