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Old 02-08-2012, 05:57 PM   #1
Daryn
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Default My tort house and warming area

Thought I would share some info on my new tort house,Ive already posted this on another forum so it saves me doing it all over again lol.
As you can see the pond gets alot of sun in different areas at different times of the day, but also because of its location in the garden it is also protected from the wind. Infact it gets that much sun that its hard to keep the algae down as you can see



I drained the pond out and going to adapt it for my tortoise house and warming area, seems silly to pull it all down really as the sides are double skinned with thick decking boards.



There will be a lockable hatch on the side of the enclosure so the tort can come and go when she wants except at night.
Ill probs also lock her in the enclosure when I go out and depending on the weather take part of the poly carbonate roof away to allow uv to get in etc, this is all going to be trial and error TBH, I think I will probs be like everyone else, frightened to go out and leave her out incase of thieves or predators



So the plan upto now is to get rid of the pond liner and clean everything first of all next..........
I have some old block paving left over from when I done my drive so will use this at one end of the enclosure to sit the tort house on and think it will be a good basking area and hopefully help to warm the area up once I cover the lot with a poly carbonate cover.
The rest of the area is to be filled with a sand topsoil and gravel mix with rocks etc and make it as uneven as possible with little areas to explore, not bothered about making this a feature in the garden I just want it to be functional and serve its purpose as well as be secure, I will secure it with a thick lockable mesh lid for security at night.

Our garden area is going to be a tort roaming exploring area, yes the whole garden is gonna be used for the tort to do what she wants to do.



The majority of it is escape proof with the decking hard up against the fence but I do have two part's I'm not happy with which need attention.






This section of fencing needs to be more escape proofed, there is a weed suppressing cloth down which I think would be hard for her to claw through but not taking any chances.



One side looks ok as the neighbours fence goes down further than ours but again I will still make sure, prevention is better than the cure.




You can see here where Ive pulled the bark back, I couldn't get the hand planter to go through the weed suppressing membrane so that's good, I think I may just need to put more wood down the bottom of the fence but got a few more ideas to explore first.


Ill post part two soon.
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Old 02-08-2012, 08:48 PM   #2
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Part two

Well the beasts came out and it was time to strip down the old pond...........





As you can see its double skinned with decking boards which should help keep the enclosure warm



Well I marked out where I want the house to be and the size, you can see where the decking board sits across the width and towards the back of the enclosure so a nice size. The bottom of the tort house will be above the ground and start at the top of decking board, this should help keep the house dry.



You can see what height is left I think this will help with keeping the inside warm she will have plenty floor space but only about 16'' of height but I think this is more than enough, she aint a giant tort lol.



Next bit was the block paved area which will sit directly in front of the tort house and be level with the entrance so no drops, this should be a great basking area and Im hoping with the poly carb lid that these blocks should heat up real nice for her, also the entrance into the main garden will be off the side of the paved area.
The rest of the enclosure will be made up of sand, top soil and stones with planted up area's, this will also start level with the top of the blocks so no high drops anywhere.


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Old 02-08-2012, 08:50 PM   #3
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Part three

Ok got a start on Georges hide inbeteen taxi jobs. As you can see it will be double skinned and have 2'' insulation sandwiched between the wooden skins, the wood used is external ply and its what I had left over in the shed but I need to go and buy some to finish it off.







Lets try it for size.



Entrance to the hide will be on the far right and ill also make a little partition inside for further shelter and warmth. Was thinking of making the door way 9'' wide what do you guys think for a 9year old Ibera, I think it will be ok as the whole enclosure will be enclosed anyway.



Getting there slowly but surely. Ill have this all finished next week then get it planted up.

More to follow
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Old 02-08-2012, 08:52 PM   #4
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Part four

Today I picked up the heavy duty galvanised mesh for the top, I'm going to cut it down to make it easier to get in and out the enclosure but Ill connect the two pieces with steel ring hinges or even padlocks, it will also be secured to the enclosure via security bike cable's the type you use on your bicycle wheels, this will go straight around the wooden enclosure frame and through the mesh. The mesh is small enough to stop sizable rats that could do some damage and with the enclosure being double skinned I don't think Ill have any problems there.



I also bought some top soil and the sand as advised, sand was from Argos and the top soil from wickes ( for those in the UK), whilst I was in wickes I also noticed some grey natural stone and remembered reading some experiments with different colour stones, the grey seemed to retain the most heat so that's what I bought. I need some more smaller stones to mix in with the sand/topsoil mix so its morelike the natural habitat. AND THERE'S MORE LOL, some large rocks etc to make things a bit more interesting for her.

Ive planted up one corner with some weed seeds I bought and also some which I got from a lovely member of another forum whom has sent some through the post for me, many thanks again for being so kind and helping me out.



I brushed some of the play sand and top soil mix inbetween the block paving may get some free weeds growing inbetween the gaps.



Obviously the steel needs to be cut, Ill have to get the angle grinder out for that, if you look carefully you will see a cut in the mesh I'm going to continue through that cut and as stated and join them together with steel hinge rings or padlocks as its a bit awkward lifting it up and down.



So I think you get a bit of an idea how its going to look, don't forget I still need a framework over the top again with either some heavy duty polythene sheeting the likes you get on a poly tunnel or some polycarbonate sheeting either will do and this will help keep the temperature up all the time. These photos were taken about 3pm and the sun moves round over next door's roof and behind my fence panel, the sun was at the top end of the enclosure early morning and moves around then it disappears for an hour or so and hits the enclosure again until the sun goes down. It should stay nice and warm but George will be able to come and go anyway and chase the sun around the garden all day long



Well not much more to do, Im away soon on holiday and when I get back George is coming to live with us and I cant wait, this has been a dream for so many years since I was a child to have another tort, this time round Ive got alot more knowledge thanks to this site and thanks to the members that have been patient and answered questions for me.

Last edited by Daryn; 02-08-2012 at 09:19 PM.
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Old 02-08-2012, 09:43 PM   #5
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This looks brilliant, you have really thought it through. What a spoiled tortoise your going to have
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Old 02-08-2012, 09:44 PM   #6
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Looks great! you have put alot of thought and hard work creating a great place for your new tortoise. I'm sure George will be very happy roaming around the garden x
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Old 02-08-2012, 10:00 PM   #7
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What a great garden, fantastic home for George x
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Old 02-08-2012, 10:05 PM   #8
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A shame you had to get rid of the pond though plus it would have been an ideal turtle pond if you no longer wanted fish!
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Old 02-08-2012, 10:15 PM   #9
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ohhhhhhhhhh a bit cold here for turtles I think. I fought for years with that pond trying to get the water clear, I only ever saw my koi when it was feeding time. My friend has them now and his water is always crystal clear and he can see them all the time. Also my wife does not want a zoo I would have one but she don't want it hehehe. So I guess getting rid of the fish will pave the way to a couple more torts. I want to get a mate for her as I would love to breed my own, NOT for selling on though, I wouldn't want the responsibility for that but my brother-in-law is taking a keen interest in torts and it would be great for him to have some of mine eventually.

Thanks for all the comments folks and Ill add more photos as things progress.
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Old 04-08-2012, 08:48 PM   #10
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Got a little bit more done today...........

Right for starters my weeds are coming through waheeeeeeeeeee



Started cutting an access hatch in the mesh today, I need some medal ring hinges welded in place so they cant be prised apart and of course there will be padlocks to make it nice and secure.........



I need another hatch cut in at the top for access to the Den......





In this pic it gives you an idea of what it will look like when the capping goes on over the top of the mesh, its not screwed down yet as I need to get the den in and out..........



There will also be either a polytunnel type polythene cover or polycarbonate cover over the top of the whole enclosure to keep the heat in but she will have an access hatch into the garden.

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