Correct Identification

[vikki]

Hooray I got it right

[Suze65]

Oh yes a little boy horsefield

[Darren.stanley]

Thanks guys

I guess he needs measuring now and wieghing'

Will my little geofrey be ok outside in the summer ?

[Jan W]

Hello Darren
So pleased you have managed to post your pictures and identified him (?her). What an expression. I have 2 horsfields, 1 male and 1 female and very different in every way. The female is bigger than male, eats more, but he will spend much time under the heat lamp or in the sun when he is out, whereas she likes the shade.

I know you had lots of other questions so you may wish to post again.

As it is too cold to go outside at the moment you will perhaps need to think about his indoor home first. Warmth, light, access to water and food. Also the substrate. I used a mix of top soil and sand for a few years and although advised 50/50 found a bit too sandy so adjusted. From joining this forum I have started using coir and that is working very well in their inside home.

Look forward to hearing more.
Jan

[Jan W]

Originally Posted by Darren.stanley

Thanks guys

I guess he needs measuring now and wieghing'

Will my little geofrey be ok outside in the summer ?

I had my two out in the summer at 2 years old, but I did bring them in if cold and most nights. Although some of the night time worries were more about their safety from predators, even though we had built fort Knox. I am obsessed with protecting against rats.

I'm a bit of a fusspot so I am sure you will get some real expert advice on this.

[Darren.stanley]

Thanks guys' Your all so help full.
My plans for summer would be an area of around 10ft by 3ft with raised walls complete with clear roof. I intend for him to have a nice home with heat bulb as well just incase he needs a warm. this would be on a timer or thermostat.

So when i say hes going outside he will be toastie warm when he wants to be.
Has anyone else done this would love to see some ideas ?

[Gordon]

You will need somewhere near half of it with a mesh roof so he is exposed to natural sunlight so he can get some uva and uvb as it won't go through plastic sheeting although there is some that so say dose but you can't beat the real thing so all you need to do is on the enclosed end is totally close it off and just put a pop hole in for him to get to outside area.
Also horsfields are the mole of the torts they really can dig so my advice is to dig out the area and attach some mesh to the bottom of your pen then put it back in the hole and fill in and decorate.

[Jan W]

I have been dismantling my outside housing as my 2 are going to have a palace! Mainly because their outside house did not have an electricity supply. However, we are about to re-do it in case we have hatchlings - for later of course. If not I would like to give a home to a rescue tort.

It is 10' long x 4' wide, height up to my knees and we dug down and put down a mesh layer. It did not work as well as we expected as Beatrice dug it up in one area. However, she did not dig down any further, just moved all the substrate and lay underneath it! We put down 50/50 dried play sand and top soil. Added in big stones to the middle section to climb over with water bowl in the middle. Plus plants in pots, as anything I planted seemed to die but these provided shade. The frame is wood, with a wooden surround 4" high (not enough) and firm wire. However, we will put round some rigid plastic next time as most torts seem to climb and currently they could climb up the wire. My 2 didn't do this thank goodness. It is open at the top, but we made a plastic mesh covering tacked to wood so it could hang over the whole area so cats, rats and hawks could not get in, but sunshine could The hide is about 2' long at one end and we used an old kitchen cabinet, so the door is the roof so we could get in easily. I put some small towels in here, as they liked to snuggle in between them. Although I plan to use coir and the towels next.

I have some old conservatory roofing, so I put this on the top if it was raining.

Outside the pen I had a sun brolly. Yes I really did, so that when it became really hot I could proved additional shade. I checked temperatures frequently. I was amazed at how hot it can be when you are checking in the sun rather than the shade. I learnt they do not like it too hot.

What I found amazing, was that in spite of this space it still didn't seem enough and I frequently let them out when I was present to wander in the vegetable beds whilst I was gardening, or just let them roam around the lawn and hide under bushes. They move so fast and I'm sure they would have cleared off given half a chance.

This year they will have their new home as I would like them to stay in their home night and day, any weather. I am using an outbuilding heat lamps/light will be inside but they will have access to what is more of a small garden. 6' high fencing, 18" into the ground.

So, far from perfect, but I hope this gives you an idea. I will try some photos.

You probably need to think:
Protection from other animals
Digging/climbing tort - safety
Keeping dry when needed
Warmth & light
Shade
Water available
Interest
Weeds - I did try growing in trays

I hope this may help in some way and I'm sure there may be some comments on my set up that will help you further. I am still learning, but getting there!

Jan

[Jan W]

Some photos. Keep in mind it is in the stage of being re-done. The stones for example were under the membrane, until Beatrice got underneath! We have a high water table, so had done this for absorption. They will be taken out and we will raise up with more substrate. It would be great if someone posted the perfect pen, but at least this gives you an idea and from my previous post have a look at what we are changing.


(NB 3' wide and not 4')
As you can see, very home made! We tried 2 types of membrane, but she still pulled it away.


The hide, without roof on (that was a kitchen door cupboard)



Conservatory roofing used for shade at times and have lots of it for rain protection



This is the plastic mesh I referred to that we tacked onto wood so that it kept it taut and we could hang over the top and sides and let it sit on the floor.

The other problem was full sun. So bottom faced east, so good that the sun shone into their hide in the morning. Problem was their hide caught the sun when it was in the west - ok most of the time, but it was hot in there when we had extreme heat, hence the sun brolly. Although there were plants in there I did need to put in additional shade. Hope makes sense!

Hope this helps!

[vikki]

Here is a picture of mine - the shed section isn't quite finished as i am hoping to put a window in to utilise the suns heat as well as having a heat lamp on thermostat. It is 11' x 4' in total



I definitely dont think mine is perfect and is still a work in progress. There are some amazing enclosures out there so have a look at as many different pictures as you can then adapt what you like to suit your needs