Should I...

[Seiryu]

Should I find a spot in my yard, pull out all the grass/weeds. And then replant my Carolina seed mix for Thor's temporary outdoor enclosure (3x6 ft) in that spot? Or should I just put a bottom on the 3x6 enclosure and plant them in there?

I'm worried about a couple things if I just grow it in the ground.

1. Worried about the other grass/weeds taking over anyways even if I pulled them well. I don't think you can ever get everything.

2. The plan is to have him out every day, with or without me (It will have a hardware cloth lid). He will be back inside for night time, but eventually over time, animals could sneak in from underground and eat and poop in there, which would be bad.

I'm thinking just adding a bottom to it, but of course growing in the ground leaves far more room for roots too. So it's really a toss up.

Edit: Forgot to add. Thor isn't a year old and my grass around the yard is too thick/tough for him. The weeds are OK though. Hence why I wanted to pull the stuff up first.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I am not a Sulcata expert, but from reading lots of posts on this forum I think you may be better off with a "portable" garden for Thor.

Webskipper bought a couple of dichondra "blocks", and once his Greeks have consumed most of the plants, he switches them out so one can recover while they maul the other.

 

[chadk]

For a hatchling, you sure do want to be careful.

That said, for my little sullie who is about 4" (stunted, should be much bigger), in the late spring, I put him outside in a pen on natural grass, weeds, dirt. I give him places to dig and a a few good hide areas. I keep the border clear for him to march the perimiter. Having it clear also lets me see if he has been digging at all (had hasn't). I'm not too concerned with natural bugs, exposure to other animal poo, and that kind of thing. I do keep a wire lid on for him to protect from predators, as he's still pretty small, but other than that, I don't worry too much.

Can you just mow the grass down real tight in that area? I know others who use brick or concrete type walls and build them a few layers tall, then just pour top soil in to fill the enclosure up to about 6 inches of fresh dirt. A little tort is going to have a tough time digging all that way down, then through the old soil, then under the bricks and out...

 

[Tom]

Either way should be fine. I just put mine wherever on the dirt and don't worry about it, assuming your weeds are all identified and non-toxic. Also, if you do decide to put a bottom on it, why not just use the whole sheet of plywood and not cut it. 4x8 is better than 3x6. I find cinder blocks or slumpstone easier to work with. You can move it or enlarge it very easily and its not too hard to build a screen cover over the top of it. I like Chad's idea of adding dirt into something like this.