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New Tortoise Enclosure

M

mateomasfeo

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A while back I asked for some advice on a enclosure for my tortoise Lucy. Finally got it all set up!



Check out Lucy’s mansion. It is damn near a biosphere!



The enclosure is 6’ x 3’ x 2’, and made of black PVC, made by Animal Plastics. It has holes cut in the top for 2 UVB lamp fixtures, which supply Lucy with the critical UVB she needs for proper health and shell growth. There are two 18” fluorescent fixtures in the cage roof that supply plant spectrum light for the greenery. All the lights are worked by timer at about 14 hours of sunshine a day.





cage2.jpg






One-half of the floor of the enclosure has a heating coil built in, the half where her hiding box and log are, to provide a toasty place for Lucy to burrow into the cedar and crash.



Since Lucy is native to the tropics, optimal temperature is about 90 degrees with humidity around 80%. The enclosure features a built in misting system which mists water into the cage to add humidity and to water the grass that grows in the cage. About a liter a day in this enclosure keeps the humidity perfect, and the grass green.





cage7.jpg






I have had this setup for a couple of months now, and it appears her waste products are used by the plant life. She eats the grass. The grass eats the waste. No smell after two months! I plan to add a potato plant in the corner as she likes to eat those too.





cage10.jpg




cage13.jpg






She was in small aquarium before this, and she was lethargic and shy. Since putting her in her new house she has become very active and friendly.





cag19.jpg
 
Woops!

Thanks MONKEYWRENCH for recommending the Animal Plastics enclosure! I put the sod in like we talked about and it works great!

Got yours yet?
 
WOW!! That is an awesome set up!! Do you mind if I ask how much approximatley did it all cost? I am looking to update my tortoise table and yours looks amazing! I absolutely love the idea of the waste being used by the greenery...too cool!! :thumbsup:
 
Jim,
Congratulations on a beautiful setup.
Just curious, how old is Lucy and what is her primary diet?
 
WOW!!!! That is impressive!! Very Nice setup!

I'm really glad that it's working out so well for you! You did an incredible job setting it up!
 
:eek: Nevermind on the cost, I just checked the cage alone and I will have to wait 'til after graduation for a sweet enclosure like that. Great job, it looks really comfy! :)
 
barbie69 said:
WOW!! That is an awesome set up!! Do you mind if I ask how much approximatley did it all cost? I am looking to update my tortoise table and yours looks amazing! I absolutely love the idea of the waste being used by the greenery...too cool!! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind comments!

BARBIE:

It was about $1000 as pictured. The enclosure from Animal Plastics was the main expense, followed by the mister. Everything else is common stuff I already had.

WALK OF LIFE:

Lucy is four years old.

Her diet is heavy on cherry tomatoes, zuchinni, squash, grass, and Mazuri Tortoise food. She gets just a touch each week of grub worms and banana peel. I supplement with Calcium and D3.
 
Just an FYI: If you still have potatoes in there..or a potato plant..did you know that the leaves are toxic to many tortoises? as are tomatoes (leaves and plants).

The toxic plant list that in The Tortoise and Turtle Feeding Manual by A.C. Highfield has a list of toxic foods.
 
Quick question

HI i am new here and i am looking to redo my tortoise table. could you please tell me what attachments you got from animal plastics like(belly heat,which fixtures ect.) how do you keep your cage warm at night without any lights?
Thanks? :)
 
I don't want to embarrass you...but Lucy seems to have begun pyramiding. This means that her shell is not growing smoothly but in "bumps." This is not normal but many people do not know this. It could be a trick of the light, but I wanted to draw your attention to her shell.

The pyramiding is caused when the tortoise is unable to absorb calcium efficiently because of a lack of UVB or too much protein in the diet (trying to keep this simple). May I ask what kind of lights you have at the top? Is there any belly heat?
 
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Very nice looking. My daughter wants a setup like that now. We are into pythons but have a couple gators. I have a two part pond (top and bottom) with a water fall for them. That is my pride setup but yours is awesome and the fact it in a cage inside makes it unreal. AWESOME

Rick Vanderpool
 
Deb,

I have had Lucy for only about six months. I rescued her from Petco where she had been subsisting for two years in a small enclosure on mostly grub worms (high protien). I feel her pyramiding is a result of her diet at Petco. It will be interesting to see what effect her new improved diet will have on her shell...

Hopefully under my care she will do better.

The two lamps are mercury vapor lamps. Can't remember the brand, but they don't have the poor quality of floresent UVB. These last about a year then must be replaced.

The belly heat is wire coiled in to the plastic on the bottom side of the cage, but only in half of the bottom of the cage.


John,

The cage is in my house and retains heat marvelously from the day time lights. She also has the belly heat. Cage hasn't fallen below 75 at night yet.
 
Deb, the bulbs are T-Rex 150 w I believe. I;ll check when I get home. I also have two floresent plant spectrum grow lights in the cage that complete the overall light spectrum.

A long time reptile expert recommended adding the plant lights to the spectrum as it "brings out the reds" in Lucy's color. Also, it helps my plants grow.
 
mateomasfeo said:
Deb,

I have had Lucy for only about six months. I rescued her from Petco where she had been subsisting for two years in a small enclosure on mostly grub worms (high protien). I feel her pyramiding is a result of her diet at Petco. It will be interesting to see what effect her new improved diet will have on her shell...

Hopefully under my care she will do better.

The two lamps are mercury vapor lamps. Can't remember the brand, but they don't have the poor quality of floresent UVB. These last about a year then must be replaced.

The belly heat is wire coiled in to the plastic on the bottom side of the cage, but only in half of the bottom of the cage.


John,

The cage is in my house and retains heat marvelously from the day time lights. She also has the belly heat. Cage hasn't fallen below 75 at night yet.
Click to expand...

I am glad you rescued her! She is beautiful. I just wanted to make sure you weren't one of those that thought that tortoises are supposed to have shells like that. I am looking forward to seeing updates on her highness!

Then you are better prepared than I am. :) Because mine escaped (or was stolen) from his outdoors pen and becasue I thought he was gone, I dismanteled the pen so what I have now is makeshift and I am improving it as I go along.
 
Humidity

is also a factor in shell pyramiding. I would be careful about the floor heating. We just rescued 2 Marginated tortoises that had major health issues due to in floor heating. This type of heating is great for snakes and lizards but doesn't seem to work well for chelonians.

Nice set-up.
 
Tim Cole said:
is also a factor in shell pyramiding. I would be careful about the floor heating. We just rescued 2 Marginated tortoises that had major health issues due to in floor heating. This type of heating is great for snakes and lizards but doesn't seem to work well for chelonians.

Nice set-up.
Click to expand...

Explain in more detail, please?

Thanks in advance.
 
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