If you want to keep tortoises, you will need to meet their specific needs, and all those need should be get start in a best tortoise enclosure. Housing a tortoise isn’t at all that difficult, however, it is important to know what material of enclosure is suit for your pets.
A convenient enclosure should be similar to your tortoise’s natural environment. Before consider the types, spaces, design of the cage, here are some common material of tortoise enclosures that you can choose from.
#1 Glass Enclosures
Glass can be considered as the most preference vivarium with a lot of people. The glass enclosure will allow you to easy see your pet through the material. Glass enclosure also durable and last for very long time. However, there is a big problem with glass is that it can actually stress tortoises out.
This is because tortoises don’t understand what is the glass as it none exists for them in nature. So, they tent to spend their time pacing the glass, trying to go through it. Tortoises will try to push through it and it can cause them injury.
To prevent it, you can cover the bottom of the enclosure by any coloured tape. Make sure that the taped area is 4 to 6 inches taller than the substrate so the tortoise can be able to see it. You can also paint the back and the side panels of the glass tank.
#2 Wooden Enclosures
If you want to DIY the tortoise enclosure by yourself, then the wooden cage is the good ideal. Wooden enclosures are especially popular amongst tortoise keepers as you can design or create them to any dimensions you want. Just one things to keep in mind is that you should also be aware of the type of wood that it’s made from and if it’s toxic or not.
There are two type of wood that are toxic for your tortoises: cedar and pine. Besides, ensure that you treat the wood well before putting your tortoise in one of these wooden enclosures as wood are also prone to mold.
#3 Plastic tubs
Another less common type of enclosure is plastic tub. The advantage of this enclosure is thay they are excellent at keeping the humidity inside, which many tortoise species need in order to thrive, while being opaque. That means you do not need to worry about your tortoise get stress of visual barriers.
One more pro is that plastic tubs are lightweight and easier to clean and move than other types of enclosure. However, the main drawback is that most of the time, you cannot find the large plastic tubs as you want. They are more prefer to keep smaller tortoise and to house your tortoises temporarily.