Sheds make a great house for your tortoise. Cutting out a small doorway in the side leading out into a safe enclosure.
Covering the enclosure with wire mess will protect smaller tortoises. Planting lots of plants will give shade from the sunshine and rain.
Adding rocks and pebbles to scramble over and tunnels to sleep in. making the run as big as possible. You can also use an old fish tank on its side and create a hot house, they will sit inside and catch the sunshine.
Greenhouses make great housing but can get to warm in the summer. Providing shade using plants and soil will help keep the hot sun from scorching.
You can also whitewash the windows to protect in the hottest of summer. There is also a pet reflector curtain you can hang over the top.
The greenhouse offers warmth on chilly and rainy days with the benefit of providing daylight. Tube heating and lamps can be hung so they can bask and warm up.
A garden shed works well. Although they can be on the dark side. Making sure the shed has a window or windows for the extra light to help tortoise activity. Tube heaters are cheap to run and hanging basking lamps to warm up.
Cold frames raised and secured upon bricks acts similar to that of the greenhouse. You can still hang the basking lamp and attach a tube heater to inside of the bricks.
The photos that follow are from members shared with permission from various tortoise groups.
Buying and homing a tortoise requires commitment. Once you have the correct set up for your tortoise. They will bring a real sense of pleasure and amusement.
Berkshire Tortoise club pride itself in promoting good husbandry and safe indoor and garden setups.
It is important to acknowledge that tortoises free roaming the house is not something we would recommend. Its is highly dangerous and accidents do and can happen
Garden setups can be a great achievement. Creating your own design can be satisfying especially the end result.
Creating interesting tabletops for you tortoises can be just as satisfying. Tables should only be used up to that age of 4 years, the size of the table should be twice the size of the tortoise.
We have compiled a few photos from the BTC Face Book Group page to help you with ideas on your set ups.
Obviously, they are other people’s ideas but offer you some thoughts into your own setup.
The table needs to be big enough for the tortoise to roam around, bask and foraging around. Lots of plants and rocks will keep him happy and prevent pacing and climbing the sides of the table.
Sheds can also make great houses, but they must have adequate daylight through windows to help with natural activity and encourage them to leave the shed