Raised Flower Bed Enclosure

[liz3194]

I have an African Sulcata torise (King Koopa) and he's a little over a year and is also my classroom pet. He has, in my opinion, outgrown his current inside enclosure (just an old 40-50 gallon tank we turning into a little habitat for him) with heat source. I want to make a new one for my class as I would love to keep him in the classroom with me a few more years until he's too big to be in the classroom. I was thinking of a raised flower bed turned oasis for him with part of it grass and part of it dirt (so he can dig), have some plants and a hut, heat source, and hopefully a filtered water source if possible. This would be in a classroom so it would be on a table or counter. Does anyone have any ideas how to pull this off for a classroom or pictures of raised flower bed enclosures for their tortises to help inspire Koopa's new enclosure?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have used pallet collars to build Edward's enclosure. They are also sold as raised planters here and I picked them because they are easy to connect to one another. This definetly isn't the chepest I have seen, but I used a product similar to this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08B3WMFMV/?tag= You might need more than 3 depending on the size of your tortoise.

 

[wellington]

Tortoises, specially a sulcata should not be class room pets.
He also should be in a closed chamber, high humidity enclosure. This would have prevented the pyramiding.
That said, you have maybe one more year to keep him inside, which should not be without outside visits, if he is taken care of properly. Heat, lights, humidity, proper space diet, soakings, etc.
Any prefabbed enclosures are likely to small for what he needs to grow properly and the enclosure he is in now is way too small.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Tortoises, specially a sulcata should not be class room pets.
He also should be in a closed chamber, high humidity enclosure. This would have prevented the pyramiding.
That said, you have maybe one more year to keep him inside, which should not be without outside visits, if he is taken care of properly. Heat, lights, humidity, proper space diet, soakings, etc.
Any prefabbed enclosures are likely to small for what he needs to grow properly and the enclosure he is in now is way too small.

Thankfully OP came to the right place to upgrade the tortoises enclosure. I can't comment on how long the tortoise can be kept indoors, it really depends on the tortoise. I really hope that an outdoor enclosure is already being planned.

 

[wellington]

Tortoises, specially a sulcata should not be class room pets.
He also should be in a closed chamber, high humidity enclosure. This would have prevented the pyramiding.
That said, you have maybe one more year to keep him inside, which should not be without outside visits, if he is taken care of properly. Heat, lights, humidity, proper space diet, soakings, etc.
Any prefabbed enclosures are likely to small for what he needs to grow properly and the enclosure he is in now is way too small.

I should say any raised garden beds are usually to small. A pop up green house can be used inside with a tarp for a floor and they come in 3x9 and 3x12 feet sizes. This is a size that you would need. They are inexpensive, under a 100 bucks if you search different places. Sometimes Amazon has them at a good price.

 

[liz3194]

Tortoises, specially a sulcata should not be class room pets.
He also should be in a closed chamber, high humidity enclosure. This would have prevented the pyramiding.
That said, you have maybe one more year to keep him inside, which should not be without outside visits, if he is taken care of properly. Heat, lights, humidity, proper space diet, soakings, etc.
Any prefabbed enclosures are likely to small for what he needs to grow properly and the enclosure he is in now is way too small.

Thank you. He is my first tortise and the pyramiding started after I got him when we were first learning. We are still learning new things about him. He gets daily soaking and has misters in his tank to help with humidity in his tank. And I agree that his tank is to small for him now that's why I want to upgrade. I understand I can only have him for another year indoors. I'm still learning with Koopa and am trying. Thank you for the advice!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I should say any raised garden beds are usually to small. A pop up green house can be used inside with a tarp for a floor and they come in 3x9 and 3x12 feet sizes. This is a size that you would need. They are inexpensive, under a 100 bucks if you search different places. Sometimes Amazon has them at a good price.

Yes, this is why I recommend pallet collars that can be connected together, this type of enclousure obviously needs to be covered. Wellingtons greenhouse idea is also great. Anyway, you got to be ready to modify/build stuff yourself to make it work.

 

[liz3194]

I should say any raised garden beds are usually to small. A pop up green house can be used inside with a tarp for a floor and they come in 3x9 and 3x12 feet sizes. This is a size that you would need. They are inexpensive, under a 100 bucks if you search different places. Sometimes Amazon has them at a good price.

Thank you! I will look into those as well!

 

[liz3194]

Thank you!

 

[liz3194]

Thankfully OP came to the right place to upgrade the tortoises enclosure. I can't comment on how long the tortoise can be kept indoors, it really depends on the tortoise. I really hope that an outdoor enclosure is already being planned.

It is! I have plans for his outdoor already. I just didn't know how to go about his indoor because I obviously have to build one this time.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I suggest you run through your tortoise purchases and any questions you have through this forum!

Here is an introduction to this forum and doing research:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

This thread has great advice on sulcata enclousures:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[LAINHART]

Thank you. He is my first tortise and the pyramiding started after I got him when we were first learning. We are still learning new things about him. He gets daily soaking and has misters in his tank to help with humidity in his tank. And I agree that his tank is to small for him now that's why I want to upgrade. I understand I can only have him for another year indoors. I'm still learning with Koopa and am trying. Thank you for the advice!

Your love for Koopa shines thru. 🥰 Just move forward now and heed everyone’s advice. They alll have experience.

 

[wellington]

Are you able to go big enough? Or how big can you go?
A sheet of Plywood is 4x8 and if you screwed a ledge around it with 2x4's and the greenhouse attached on top within that lip, might work. However, it may be heavy.