Tortoise people, outdoor runs?

[ElleSkywalker]

Afternoon,

Am planing on making my tortoise an outdoor house. I have a lot of old fence rails that act like sleepers so will probably be about 5/6f square with a mesh top to stop my cats annoying him.

It's lily to be a permimant one (although I might extend it if he likes it) so am guessing I'll have to cut the grass with scissors as he's only small and won't eat much of it.

Was planing on putting him some slabs/rocks to walk/climb over, maybe a coupleof tunnels to hide under and a little house to go in. Any other things tortoises like?

He will only be out on warm days and when we are in

Anyone got any ideas what else to put in it? Or pictures?

Elle

 

[3OldPonies]

Sounds like a lovely plan, lucky little tortoise.

A word of warning though, I and my cousins used to let our tortoises out every summer, in pens with bedrooms attached, and unfortunately one year there were workmen who got to notice them. We had chains and padlocks on the garden gates, but even so, one Saturday some barstewards got in and stole them both (two different gardens, but side by side). Even now I wonder what happened to the poor things, neither of them were youngsters, and the female was one of those who wouldn't eat properly to begin with after hibernation and needed vitamin jabs to get her going again.

 

[SpringArising]

Oh, I love tortoises! We had a Spur-Thighed and a Hermann's and they're such characters.

We had rabbits and guinea pigs too who had a huge run and living area we built ourselves, and they used to get along happily when it was warm enough for the tortoises outside (for the most part - the eldest tortoise could be quite territorial and would chase the guinea pigs!)

One thing I'd say is be prepared to build a fantastic run and then have the tortoise constantly climb the sides to get out, no matter how interesting you make it.

What you're planning sounds great though. I have tortoise envy now!

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Thanks both. I have put him out in a very small run before and he just tries to dig out but am hoping a bigger one might entertain him a bit more. So do you think if I leave him a nice pile of soil he'll dig in that?

He definately won't be going out alone, I do live quite rurally in a hamlet so he'd be pretty safe but I have a nightmarish memory of finding best friends tortoise lying on its back waving it legs when I was very young so I'd be too worried that he'd flip himself to leave him unattended