Outdoor enclosure

[Watermelon]

Hi guys, here is the outdoor enclosure my Dad and I have been building this summer. We're almost there! The enclosure is 10ft by 10ft, as you can see there is a little concrete ramp to the right of the greenhouse. We haven't cut a door way yet into the greenhouse. The table for inside the greenhouse is almost finished. It is 2.5ft by 5 ft and made out of 3/4 inch WBP plywood. I'll post a photo of it later in the week. The wiring etc is coming along fine too, thanks for the advice a while back to the members who helped. I've got all the accessories for the enclosure etc. I still need to add some more topsoil into the enclosure too.




As you can see there is a gap between the greenhouse and the fence... Looks like an ideal escape route but it will be boarded off!

I do have some questions. Do you thinks its a good idea to turf it all or should I leave it bare and scatter some weed seeds etc? My dad asked about a section of it being graveled but I'm paranoid about the tortoises eating a stone! I also think I'm going to get some broken up slate to put around the water bath.

Thanks xx

[Rowan]

That is seriously awesome Sophie! You and your Dad have done a great job.....

I think a mixture of ground is good, some turf, some weeds, some slate and some just earth. That's what I've tried to do and mine seek out different surfaces.

Looking forward to updates.

Oh and again I'm suffering with E.E. (Enclosure Envy)

[Daryn]

Looks great, dont think I would bother with turf just churn lots of different stones and gravel in the top soil to give it good drainage, big rocks a gravel area sounds good too and lots of weeds would be the way I would go. But everyone to there own Im sure looking at what you have done already you will make a great job anyway, Look forward to the pics when the torts are in, well done.

[Easter Bunny]

Great enclosure! I would have a stone and gravel area too x

[TillyTortoise]

Looks fab Sophie, well done

[Ozric Jonathan]

I always remove grasses from my enclosures since it gets wet and soggy. I like to have some areas of weedblock covered with stones or some plum slate. The bits are too big to eat!

Sophie what's that material you have used for the boundary?

[burnt toast]

Looks great Sophie. I had no grass in my enclosures then when I was being considered as a prospective new owner to some very old hermans their owner really didnt like my enclosures, she had once had a tort die impacted by stones She reckoned hers like to graze grass. So in the end they had a different enclosure (with a mixture, including a lawn!)

I actually followed a tortoise trust article when I did my stoney enclosures. I do have two females who are obsessed with eating the stones but the others dont seem to bother with them.

You could always keep to bigger stones/slate & I would have a selection of substrates, they do like bare earth & obviously they can eat/hide in weeds & a few bushes they can hide under & dont keep it all one level - add a fake hill & sight breakers.

[lynnedit]

Wow, that is amazing.
I also have gravel in mine in one area, with some drought tolerant plants like rosemary, rockrose, etc. They do like wriggling into them on a warm day. There is a lot of gravel in their native environments, very good for drainage. One of my torts likes to eat gravel, but now that there is a lot around, she doesn't overdo, at least that I know of.

Also dirt areas with tort friendly plants and an area seeded with weeds.
Since I have Horsfields who don't eat grass, I did not plant sod, but did plant some clumping grasses.
Make sure one corner is shady.

Very, very nice! Sounds like your Dad is a tort lover as well.

[Watermelon]

Thanks everyone!

I read somewhere when the grass is damp it contribute towards shell rot? Something like that....

I've got some big pieces of slate to put in, think I may get some big pieces of gravel (if you can) for the drainage too. I have some lavender plants and a big ice plant sedum! I will need to protect that some how otherwise it wont survive long! I need to get some more plants for them to hide in....

Ozric they are just paving slabs! Very very old paving slabs they are over 50 years old, my Dad and I got them up and jet washed them... They look so much better now there is actually colour to them now! We have a big garden and we are doing a lot of work on it but trying to minimize costs so we are trying to recycle things where we can. For example the concrete paths and concrete bases for the shed and greenhouse is full of sledge hammered old concrete pieces/paving that we didnt want anymore to save money on skips. Then we put the concrete mixture on top.

Below is the table for the greenhouse! Dad built it It will be my job over the weekend to sand it down and varnish it! It is about 2.5ft by 5ft long made out of 2/4 inch wbp plywood as it is durable. It needs to be raised off the floor a little bit as there is the greenhouse base in the way!

Our next job is to finish the wiring and to also make a secure lid for the outdoor enclosure. Made out of wood and mesh I think its going to be.





xx

[Watermelon]

More on the paving slabs....

They are pretty big, they are cemented in the ground well over a foot down in the soil. x