The Tortoise Table

Hi everyone,

Planning an outdoor enclosure for our 4 year old Horsfields, Timmy. I want it to be plenty big enough for him to roam and explore. I'm thinking about 3x1m to start, but I suppose it can always be made bigger if needs be.

How deep should I dig down, and what's the best way to secure below ground level to make sure he doesn't escape?

Have any of you used a cold frame in an outdoor enclosure? I'm thinking if will provide extra warmth and provide shelter from rain.

We get regular visits from squirrels and birds as the far end of the garden is lined with tall trees, so I'm assuming it'd be a good idea to have a decent, strong mesh lid on top to stop unwanted visitors?

Any advice would be appreciated. Won't be starting on it until the weather changes, but I like to plan ahead!

Hi Macca, and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

That is great that you're thinking ahead about an outdoor enclosure for your Horsfield. First of all, here's a link to a little article on The Tortoise Table website that points out some of the things to consider when building an outdoor enclosure. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... /outdoors/ .

3m x 1m should be a good size, and you can make it more interesting by putting in interesting 'furniture'. For example, in my enclosure I used one of those long, curved roofing tiles to make a tunnel/hill for my tortoisees, and they love going through the tunnel and climbing over the curved top (have attached a photo). And you can use flower pots on their sides for little shelters, but cold frames are really useful, especially for warming up in the mornings. I also have one of those rabbit/guinea pig hutches with a door that also functions as a ramp -- like this https://www.therange.co.uk/pets/small-p ... k/#3197309 It's useful because you can close up that ramp in the evening and know they are safe from predators inside and then open it in the morning, although I actually prefer now to just bring mine in at night (just a personal thing).

I don't think that squirrels and birds (depending on what species of bird) are too much of a threat, but rats and foxes are problems, so a strong mesh lid over the top (make sure it is attached to a frame or something that you can easily lift up , so that you can get inside for cleaning, removing the tortoises, etc. A good mesh lid will also prevent the tortoise climbing out (they are extraordinary climbers, and horsfields are the best of climbers (a couple of photos of Horsfields climbing are also attached). If you don't put a mesh lid on top then just make sure that there is nothing next to the wall (plant or shelter) that the tortoise could use as a ladder to climb out, and that there is an inward facing little lip on the top of the walls -- especially at the corners -- to prevent him climbing over the wall (just a small inward facing lip is enough to do it).

Regarding digging down -- you are absolutely right to consider this, as Horsfields are a burrowing species and will happily dig down, under a wall, and out. Many people dig out the enclosure to a depth of at least a foot and then lay a mesh or something similar down there. You can also sink the walls of the enclosure into the ground do a depth of a foot or so. In my enclosure the walls are only sunk in about 6 to 8 inches, but that is because my soil is heavy clay and it is very difficult for my tortoises to dig down in that -- other soils will require greater protection.

It is very useful if the enclosure is in a site that gets the morning sun -- or even better that it is south facing and gets sun for most of the day. It's also important that the ground isn't grass, but is bare earth with plants, a bit of grass, as grass gets too wet, and Horsfields in particular don't deal with cold and wet well (warm and wet is OK, but cold and wet can lead to respiratory problems), maybe a flat slab of limestone -- lots of things to provide different textures and surfaces to walk on. A water dish is also necessary, and I find that a good sized plant saucer, sunk a bit into the ground works well.

It's exciting that you're going to build your tortoise an outdoor enclosure, and I know he will appreciate it (they love the outdoors).

Nina

[attachment=0]Tortoise climbing wall.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]Tortoise climbing fence.jpg[/attachment][attachment=2]IMG_1327 (Copy).JPG[/attachment]

Hi, and thanks for the warm welcome and advice.

I was also thinking about burying some 6" pipe under a soil hill for him to walk through and climb over, but worry he'll spend too much time in there hiding.

Also thinking of planting dandelions and some other edible plants so he has a food source

I think a 6" pipe could work well, but you need to make sure that the diameter of the inside of the pipe is wide enough so that he doesn't get stuck in it. Mine don't spend a lot of time in their tunnel -- they just love running through it -- but they do spend time in their other shelters (a large flower pot turned on its side, and a guinea pig hutch that is sort of like this https://mypetsdirect.co.uk/products/lar ... gs-rabbits . In the wild tortoises are active in the early morning, take themselves away for a long nap around lunchtime, and then emerge again late afternoon for a good foraging around, so I wouldn't expect yours to be active all day.

Having edible plants is great, but the big problem is that if you put a nice edible plant into his enclosure he might well eat it to the ground in an hour or two. One thing you can do is to put a wire framework around the plant (one of those old wire frame egg baskets, turned upside down works well https://tinyurl.com/bdfzsnfh ), and the tortoise can then nibble on leaves that grow through the framework but the main plant doesn't get destroyed.

I sort of gave up trying to grow edible plants in my tortoises' enclosure and just grow decorative grasses, which provide interest and shade in hot weather. I particularly like one called Carex 'Frosted Curls' as the leaves grow up and then fall over like a waterfall and the tortoises can shelter underneath https://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/item_27 ... urls_seeds . However, I know that many people can successfully grow edible plants in their enclosures, so by all means do have a go, and do send us some photos of your enclosure when it's ready, or designs for it while you're working on it.

Nina