hi everybody, can you give me any advice on how to create a great set up outside for my tort,the area will be approx 6ft by 3ft oblong in a raised bed of concrete blocks, i will be putting in various hides,pots & shrubs and im hoping the floor will have parts with sand/soil and parts with stones/slate to let him trim his claws, ive judged the sunshine in this area and concluded that half of it will have full sun most of the day and half will have shade( hopefully).im going to add a permanent hutch type house( the type i can lift the lid and peek into) even tho i will be bringing him in at night for thr forseeable future, i really need advice on the following :

should i put the heat lamp inside the house & if so what temps should it be set at

what type of bedding stuff will be best to use

should i still use a basking lamp on the cloudier days

all advice will be greatly recieved

 where are my manners, i forgot to say thanks in advance xxxx

Hiya

In relation to heating your tort house then yes you will need to.  the type of heating you will need to use will depend on the size of the hutch.  if you can give details on that we should be able to help further.  As for a substarte use sand/soil as your horsfield will need to burrow in it.  Hemp is too course and sharp for a small tort.

Have you had a look in the TPG picture gallery to get some great ideas of outdoor set ups for young torts?  Make sure you don't add anything around the edges, even plants, as Twiglet will use it as a ladder to climb out.  Ensure that he can't burrow his way out underneath.  My large Russian encclosure fence goes down about 10" below ground.  For the younger tortoises there is chick wire under the soil.  I also have plenty of rocky climbing areas for them.

HTH

Helen

One of my enclosures which is dog proof ;)

[URL=http://imageshack.us][img]http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6072/p1000627copietr8.jpg[/img][/URL]


[URL=http://imageshack.us][img]http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3737/p1000628copiegf6.jpg[/img][/URL]


[URL=http://imageshack.us][img]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/847/enclos1cg8.jpg[/img][/URL]

[URL=http://imageshack.us][img]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7388/enclos2qw3.jpg[/img][/URL]

Hi Tangerine

I've just looked at your enclosures and as usual there are some great ideas.  I wished we lived a little closer and you wouldn't be able to keep me away.  I'm posting the links again to see if I can make them live links for you:

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/6072/p1000627copietr8.jpg/img

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3737/p1000628copiegf6.jpg/img

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/847/enclos1cg8.jpg/img

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7388/enclos2qw3.jpg/img

I hope this has worked.

Helen

It's worked, Helen -- thank you. And very nice looking enclosure, Tangerine!

Nina

Thank you for your help Helen - in future I'll know I need to post the direct links ;)

thanks tangerine and helen, those enclosures have given me some great ideas, whats the plant with the little blue flowers called hun ? xxx

The plant with blue flowers is called Campanula  

You can see some wild edible plants here - a small selection which I regularly complete. 

http://tortue.forumpro.fr/l-alimentation-et-les-plantations-f15/sauvages-et-comestibles-t265.htm

They absolutely love the Sedum album but depending on the size of the plants and the size of the tortoise(s) it will not last long.  I go in the country side to pick mine since it grows naturally where I live.

thanks hun but i cant get onto the link you posted as its asking for your password, but thanks for trying xxx

Hi There, I think I have Sedum! Could you post an image of your sedum so I can see if its the same. Thanks :)

I had read somewhere that some Sedums are toxic is this true? Claire

Hi I just googled it, Add the link for you to see :)

I have this too, This is Sedum aswell...http://www.marlysgardens.com/photos/sedum/tiniest_sedum_pot.jpg

Is this safe too??

Hi, I have found a previous post that says this about sedum

"All sedum is fine (except sedum acre, which is slightly toxic), and you should be fine, but maybe only a couple of times a week, as too much of the succulent plants (like sedum spectabile, which is a favourite) can cause runny poos."

Regards Vivienne