Pearly's RF outdoor enclosure in Texas

[NDevon]

@NDevon, I think you were interested in following the progress of my work

I am! Not been on here for quite a while, my son has been poorly and had to give him all of my time, not managed to get my enclosure expansion done or anything that I wanted so it's been frustrating.

I love what you are doing with this Pearly, I'm going to do a small outdoor enclosure I can put my littluns in for a few hours a day when the weather is good so I'm going to read as much as I can for inspiration.

I'm a little unsure how warm it needs to be outside and how long they can be out for, and how that changes with age. Are there any rules? I know @Anyfoot has had his herd out roaming, but they are all a lot bigger and older than mine. I'm not going to put heaters into an outside enclosure, this is just something small to last me a couple of summers, so it doesn't need to be as well made as some of the stuff you guys build.

So what else have you got planned for your enclosure Pearly? More plants? What will you do for water?

 

[Pearly]

I am! Not been on here for quite a while, my son has been poorly and had to give him all of my time, not managed to get my enclosure expansion done or anything that I wanted so it's been frustrating.

I love what you are doing with this Pearly, I'm going to do a small outdoor enclosure I can put my littluns in for a few hours a day when the weather is good so I'm going to read as much as I can for inspiration.

I'm a little unsure how warm it needs to be outside and how long they can be out for, and how that changes with age. Are there any rules? I know @Anyfoot has had his herd out roaming, but they are all a lot bigger and older than mine. I'm not going to put heaters into an outside enclosure, this is just something small to last me a couple of summers, so it doesn't need to be as well made as some of the stuff you guys build.

So what else have you got planned for your enclosure Pearly? More plants? What will you do for water?

I hate to hear your boy was feeling poorly. Hope all's well with him now. I haven't made much progress here. El Niño is bringing us much needed rain this spring but that also means that weeds grow right back almost as soon as I pull them out and the ground is too soggy to work in it most days. It's a good question about the temp. I've been sticking to the safe side (80F and up). We've had cooler days (high 60's and 70's) and when it's not windy I bring them out just to stretch their muscles for about 1/2 hr per day. I know there are very seasoned tort keepers whose sulcatas live in heated houses and get out walking in snow in our winters up North here in the US (gets cold there!!!) but those are adult animals. I'd never do that with a small baby. Of course there is an overprotective motherly instinct in me, I tend to "anticipate" and take care of things pre-emptively... so on safe temps topic we better tap into some more reliable respurces (gotta dig through Tortoise Library or Turtletary, loads of great info on RF torts)

 

[Pearly]

I am! Not been on here for quite a while, my son has been poorly and had to give him all of my time, not managed to get my enclosure expansion done or anything that I wanted so it's been frustrating.

I love what you are doing with this Pearly, I'm going to do a small outdoor enclosure I can put my littluns in for a few hours a day when the weather is good so I'm going to read as much as I can for inspiration.

I'm a little unsure how warm it needs to be outside and how long they can be out for, and how that changes with age. Are there any rules? I know @Anyfoot has had his herd out roaming, but they are all a lot bigger and older than mine. I'm not going to put heaters into an outside enclosure, this is just something small to last me a couple of summers, so it doesn't need to be as well made as some of the stuff you guys build.

So what else have you got planned for your enclosure Pearly? More plants? What will you do for water?

To answer your last questions, yes! Definitely more plants!!!! I've got some hardy hibiscus, and bunch of other tort friendly plants. Just waiting for things to dry up a bit so I can start digging in there and leveling those edging stones. As for water... That's a tough one. I live in a Mosquito-land! Hate them! Darn skeeters! Would like to do something with preferably moving water waterfall maybe? with little pump, water flowing into a shallow wading pool?.... Not sure yet. Until I figure it out I'll just have couple of regular water dishes that I know will be a pain to keep clean and fresh.... That's yet another reason for my obsession with plants. I'm hoping that with the right ground cover things have a chance to stay relatively clean.... I like it clean... Another potential issue to consider proactively will be fire ants! Central Texas is a Fire Ant country as well as mosquito! Uggghhhh!!!

 

[Pearly]

got this one and 3 of the hardy variety of hibiscus.
this really cool looking fern
got tons of low, tall growing and creeping Mexican Petunia
got TONS of assorted Wandering Jew (my babies do graze of it at times)
bunch of sages and salvias but those I have yet to check out for tort compatibility
Plus tons of herbs, all in small 4 inch pots, so will be a while before they fill in. I just don't like to spend money on big plants knowing I can get them for a fraction of that price and just let them grow in my garden

 

[Pearly]

yes! It's Iceplant-sedum! Also have TONS of it!!! And MANY MANY MANY MORE PLANTS I should start my own nursery busines, hahaha!

 

[Pearly]

Forgot to mention couple of roses, some begonias, different typem of geraniums, lemon grass and other mosquito rebeliant herbs... And... some others.... Just can't wait to clear the area of All the weeds (not the kind I want in there) and start planting

 

[Anyfoot]

Forgot to mention couple of roses, some begonias, different typem of geraniums, lemon grass and other mosquito rebeliant herbs... And... some others.... Just can't wait to clear the area of All the weeds (not the kind I want in there) and start planting

'Clear the area of all the weeds' are you mad. Clear the area of flowers to make way for weeds you mean.
Your gardens always looks nice.

 

[Pearly]

'Clear the area of all the weeds' are you mad. Clear the area of flowers to make way for weeds you mean.
Your gardens always looks nice.

Hahah! Most of the weeds are Nutsedge grass! I hate it! It does lousy job in covering dirt and it's hard to pull with those deep underground bulbs and root runners. Believe me, I'm planting the GOOD WEEDS in there! Got some Crainsbill and Speedwell, clover seeds and few others. Even found mallow in one natural nursery. I'll be posting pics of the progress

 

[Kori5]

I missed your thread! How are the preparations going? Are they out yet? . Their enclosure looks stunning. I'm interested about the plant thing. Since you bought them in the store/nursery when will the be safe for your torts? Because I have the same problem, his place is plain looking as I'm afraid to put anything new in.

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Beautiful stuff.

Just so you know, your Ming fern is Asparagus macowanii - people call them Asparagus 'ferns', but they're not really ferns at all. They are a flowering plant that produces a berry that is toxic to cats and dogs. I would assume the berry is harmful to tortoises too, just to be safe.

The tortoise table advises caution for one of the other Asparagus species http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp?catID=29

 

[Pearly]

I missed your thread! How are the preparations going? Are they out yet? . Their enclosure looks stunning. I'm interested about the plant thing. Since you bought them in the store/nursery when will the be safe for your torts? Because I have the same problem, his place is plain looking as I'm afraid to put anything new in.

Hi there! Not out yet! Still only supervised outings we've been getting so much rain lately like never in past at least decade if not more. Seems that whenever I could dedicate couple of hrs to "getting all dirty" out there- it pours down! I have 1/2 of the area's soil turned and all bad weeds pulled. It's ready for planting. The edging stones will need to be reset in some places and leveled and then I'll have to see if my little Houdini can find some weak spot to get out because if he can, he WILL. I almost lost him twice in last few weeks! During supervised outing!!!! He is very determined. In a way I'm not really pushing for the completion, just to give it time and make sure the fire ants don't come back. So far so good though after my Orange Oil and horticultural Molasses treatment. I'll have to clear my phone as well to free up room for the updated pics and will definitely keep the updates coming. Thanks for checking in

 

[Pearly]

Beautiful stuff.

Just so you know, your Ming fern is Asparagus macowanii - people call them Asparagus 'ferns', but they're not really ferns at all. They are a flowering plant that produces a berry that is toxic to cats and dogs. I would assume the berry is harmful to tortoises too, just to be safe.

The tortoise table advises caution for one of the other Asparagus species http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp?catID=29

Thank you. I knew it was from asparagus family. Didn't know about the berries. Thank you for pointing it out.

 

[NDevon]

To answer your last questions, yes! Definitely more plants!!!! I've got some hardy hibiscus, and bunch of other tort friendly plants. Just waiting for things to dry up a bit so I can start digging in there and leveling those edging stones. As for water... That's a tough one. I live in a Mosquito-land! Hate them! Darn skeeters! Would like to do something with preferably moving water waterfall maybe? with little pump, water flowing into a shallow wading pool?.... Not sure yet. Until I figure it out I'll just have couple of regular water dishes that I know will be a pain to keep clean and fresh.... That's yet another reason for my obsession with plants. I'm hoping that with the right ground cover things have a chance to stay relatively clean.... I like it clean... Another potential issue to consider proactively will be fire ants! Central Texas is a Fire Ant country as well as mosquito! Uggghhhh!!!

Wow just seen all the plant pics, nice variety! Moving water would be nice, I want to do the same, just got to be careful with the depth I guess. I thought if I made it deep enough to allow for their growth and then I could just put small stones in the bottom to make it shallower. It's easy to scoop stones out later, it's harder to make the whole thing deeper.

How high would everyone say the walls should be for Redfoots? I was thinking about 10-12". There will be a removable cover on top so they won't be able to escape, I'm just thinking of times when I'm out here and don't put the cover on. Also thinking it won't feel so nice for them if the cover is just a few inches from their shells. I'll update my outdoor thread with some starting pics later, I think I've decided where it's going to be built now

 

[Kori5]

I have 35 cm walls for my adult Hermanni. He also has a mesh on top to keep him safe. I think it should be there all the time, even if you're there because in a minute a hawk can come and take him.

 

[Kori5]

Hi there! Not out yet! Still only supervised outings we've been getting so much rain lately like never in past at least decade if not more. Seems that whenever I could dedicate couple of hrs to "getting all dirty" out there- it pours down! I have 1/2 of the area's soil turned and all bad weeds pulled. It's ready for planting. The edging stones will need to be reset in some places and leveled and then I'll have to see if my little Houdini can find some weak spot to get out because if he can, he WILL. I almost lost him twice in last few weeks! During supervised outing!!!! He is very determined. In a way I'm not really pushing for the completion, just to give it time and make sure the fire ants don't come back. So far so good though after my Orange Oil and horticultural Molasses treatment. I'll have to clear my phone as well to free up room for the updated pics and will definitely keep the updates coming. Thanks for checking in

Talking about weather, same here! We had an incredibly rainy spring and then, last week temperatures reached 33 C. It even came to a point where it is too hot too keep him out (as this summer we improvised an balcony enclosure). Finally the weather stabilised so he'll be able to spend days out. Don't worry about yours as they are still babies and benefit even from an hour two on the sun . You made a great job, it looks very natural.

 

[Pearly]

Hey Guys, for the walls I'm making it 2 cinderblocks high for now. 1 layer would suffice at this time as the babies are still small but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'll have to go put there with my measuring tape. Will let you know later the exact height

 

[Pearly]

Hey guys! I got a woodpecker in my backyard!!!! He's been there for 3 days now, still too fast for me to get a picture, but I will. Man! He's really loud!!! Love it!!!

 

[JoesMum]

Hey guys! I got a woodpecker in my backyard!!!! He's been there for 3 days now, still too fast for me to get a picture, but I will. Man! He's really loud!!! Love it!!!

I love woodpeckers

We have them too - Great Spotted Woodpecker. They come in to my bird feeders. Last year they brought their youngster in too

I can't get a photo either, but our looks like this one


Just occasionally we get a Green Woodpecker as well. We call it the Lawnpecker as it likes eating ants it finds in nests in the grass

 

[Pearly]

Hey Guys, for the walls I'm making it 2 cinderblocks high for now. 1 layer would suffice at this time as the babies are still small but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'll have to go put there with my measuring tape. Will let you know later the exact height

something like this, only leveled and will likely have some trailing herb coming out of those holes. here you can see that horrible nutsedge grass (hate it!!!!) and how tall that little wall will be in comparison to those 4inch pots those plants are in.

 

[Pearly]

I love woodpeckers

We have them too - Great Spotted Woodpecker. They come in to my bird feeders. Last year they brought their youngster in too

I can't get a photo either, but our looks like this one
View attachment 175645

Just occasionally we get a Green Woodpecker as well. We call it the Lawnpecker as it likes eating ants it finds in nests in the grass
View attachment 175647

Mine is more like that first picture. I didn't take a good look but saw red on his head and white/gray spots. Love my birds! I'm so excited to have the tortoise garden there. If I can just get rid of mosquitos perhaps me and family can actually start spending time there