Outside habitat questions

[jeffstort]

I have a baby box turtle that I decided to make a outside habitat for, I made it so that the sides are really high and there is a big plant for shade. My question is if he is still getting uvb from being in the shade or is it useless? I can easily change the habitat up but I want to know because I don't want and animals to be able to see him and eat him. Thank you for reading

 

[Tom]

Make something bigger and put a wire lid on it.

The tall sides are not a problem with a much bigger foot print.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Good plant choice! Tortoises are able to eat hyacinths if they get hungry. UVB is different from heat emissions, and it doesn't matter if in the shade or not, he'll still absorb some UVB. I'd keep the plant, though, because he might get hot from the sun in the daytime. Looks a little small... You should make that a little bit bigger so he has room to roam around.
Yes, Tom is right, you should have a wire lid (or mesh, so the air can circulate) so wild animals don't bother your tortoise.

 

[naturalman91]

he'll still get UVB ray's in the shade but that enclosure needs to be bigger with a wire top mesh scatters uvbs making them useless you need something the uvbs can pass through

 

[Tom]

he'll still get UVB ray's in the shade but that enclosure needs to be bigger with a wire top mesh scatters uvbs making them useless you need something the uvbs can pass through

1x1" or 1x2" wire mesh does not "scatter" UV. It may block a tiny percentage, but that won't matter one bit this time of year with our high UV levels. My UV meter registers no different wether under my welded wire or not, unless the tiny shadow of the wire covers the light sensor. Even then it hardly makes a dent.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Many animals identify their prey by smell, so it's not enough to keep him out of sight. Cover the pen securely, as others have said.

 

[Kathy Coles]

As others have said, your tort looks tasty to birds.

 

[Flipper]

You can get a concrete mixer tub at Home Depot for about $10 and they also sell hardware cloth to protect your baby

 

[Jacqui]

Might want to bury his water dish a bit more, if it is on the surface like it appears to me. Is he out in this all the time or only when your there too?