new tort (sulcata) table/cage/enclosure

DeesBalls · 05-17-12, 12:08 PM

So, as many of you know i am in the process of building a room in my basement with heat and all the trimmings. my thing is this...

here is a pictures.. i will explain...

ok well the picture is a very fast pic i made in paint...

it is 3 racks that will hold 7 snakes each. the racks will be 4.15 foot tall, 3 foot long and only 17 deep. they will be made of melamine, with probably plywood back... heating will be flexwatt blah blah blah, its like the 10 thing i made for my snakes ... lol... anyway.. i want to put my tortoise table on top of the 3 racks...

It will measure 10 foot long x only 17 " deep. i feel that is going to be too small for him once he gets bigger ( ill be at this house for prolly 5 years ) so what i want to know is that....

1st, would that be fine for a few years?
2nd, should i make it deeper? if deeper about how deep?

i will also be putting up walls around the back, and the sides probably like 5 foot tall, just to make it go up to the celeing. i will be putting mounts on the sides for heat and lighting (or on the back)

basicly i want to know how deep should i make it?

10' x ?''/' lol is what i need to know.

if i need to make it deeper, i was just going to get like 2 sheets of plywood 5x3 and make the total table 10x3 and i would just put back supports on the back part of the table to support the back...

if any one out there can understand any of this, please help me out!

thanks!

StudentoReptile · 05-17-12, 12:18 PM

Let me get this straight...You are building a room INSIDE your basement. Inside that room, you are building a rack system for snakes....then you want to construct a tortoise table on top of the snake racks.

In general, to answer your first question, that size (10x17) should be fine for a few years. I would hope that he may have access to outdoors in the warmer months, so he will only have to spend only part of the year inside this pen/table.

To answer your second question, should you make it deeper? Well, bigger is always better for a tortoise, so if you are able to afford him more space, by all means, do it.

I don't fully understand why you want to have it on top of the racks, and a 5 ft wall all the way to the ceiling. Have you considered how easy it would be to get inside the pen to get the tortoise? What if the tortoise is in the middle of this 10x17 ft table? What are you going to do, climb into it? I dunno...perhaps I'm not entirely understanding your plan.

DeesBalls · 05-17-12, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

Let me get this straight...You are building a room INSIDE your basement. Inside that room, you are building a rack system for snakes....then you want to construct a tortoise table on top of the snake racks.

In general, to answer your first question, that size (10x17) should be fine for a few years. I would hope that he may have access to outdoors in the warmer months, so he will only have to spend only part of the year inside this pen/table.

To answer your second question, should you make it deeper? Well, bigger is always better for a tortoise, so if you are able to afford him more space, by all means, do it.

I don't fully understand why you want to have it on top of the racks, and a 5 ft wall all the way to the ceiling. Have you considered how easy it would be to get inside the pen to get the tortoise? What if the tortoise is in the middle of this 10x17 ft table? What are you going to do, climb into it? I dunno...perhaps I'm not entirely understanding your plan.

Yes- lol, im having a baby and i need to move all my snakes, my house is very small and the ONLY room i have is the basement... the basement is crappy so my brother is building a room in there roughly 10'x13'. for al my snakes, bearded dragon, and my tort.....

Yes- right now he is only about 3.5 - 4.0 inches however he will have a little pen outside, that i will be making in June... when we do our landscaping...

Ill just make it deeper to about 3 or 4 foot then i suppose...

Your not...

sorry.... its going to be only 17 INCHES deep, not feet... and again, this just need to last him about 5-6 years till we buy a house, then i will make sure i will have plenty of room for him! the reasons it will be on the racks are again, space. in that room i also need to have my bearded dragon, and by RTB both are in a 4x2x2 cage. also that will be my closet. lol. so the table needs to last about 5 yrs.... as the reason to have it going to the ceiling, i guess i dont since it should set flush to the wall... so nevermind that.

I hope this clears everything up.

StudentoReptile · 05-17-12, 01:47 PM

Ah ok...Well, honestly, I would work on keeping him outside as much as possible. I know you live relatively far north, but in general, here are some guidelines, from what I've gathered over the past year on another forum.

1.) As long as nighttime temps do not fall under 60'F, he should be fine. Just make sure he has a couple shelters. Although if predators (dogs, cats, raccoons, etc) are an issue, many keepers build a lid out of chicken wire to go over the pen.
2.) Provide plenty of water. Hydration is more important than many assume for this alleged "savannah/grassland" species" especially for hatchlings and juveniles.
3.) Offer plenty of shade during the day. Juvenile tortoises spend a lot of time hiding in the wild, and don't bask much.

Here is what my little 6" sulcata is in. I've made a few adjustments since, namely adding a cover over the water pan and extra planks over each shelter to decrease heat.

Good Fence (Lizards) make Good Neighbors « Student of the Reptile

DeesBalls · 05-17-12, 02:05 PM

that is very nice! i do have a spot like that outside for mine, it is... about 8x8 foot... not excactly sure, but i have a decent size yard for him (while he is young)

so he will be getting something liek that outside. i need to get a fence up 1st, then i will make it, plus i live in Ohio, so temps suck... plain and simple... its 60 today, was 80 few days ago. so i wont put him out there till prolly june or so. and i will be putting a "lid" on the top too made of chicken wire since there are squirels and raccoons around town.

jaleely · 05-17-12, 09:24 PM

You could put the baby room in the basement. I think the basement would be pretty cold for snakes.
Also that diagram...I would use a level when you make the rack because those lines are a little bit crooked. : )

DeesBalls · 05-18-12, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaleely

You could put the baby room in the basement. I think the basement would be pretty cold for snakes.
Also that diagram...I would use a level when you make the rack because those lines are a little bit crooked. : )

the babies room is not going into the basement... it cold, but thats why we are making a room IN the basement, to be heated and insulated for the snakes/reptiles...

i want the babies room to be right next to mine.

and yes, i drew that in about 2 min. in Paint, so the lines are terrible... however its not going to be the 1st rack i build