Building a tortoise table

JasonK84

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I’ve got 2 leopard tortoise hatchlings that I’ve had since July 1st. They’ve been in a plastic storage bin since I got them and I’ve been building them a larger tortoise table to get them through their first couple years. I had bought a used 120 gallon tank while gathering for the fish room I was building. I ended up not using the tank and tried selling but wasn’t getting offers close to what I was willing to let go for. I decided to sell just the glass tank and keep the stand and canopy and build the tortoise table where the tank would normally be.
Constructed from 3/4” ply bottom, 2x6 sides, and 2x4 & 2x2 canopy structure. Also has a 1/4” piece of glass for the front for better viewing. Painted all and used black silicone to seal all edges. Just letting everything dry and cure and I can move them over to their larger place!
last pic is them in the storage tub.

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JasonK84

JasonK84

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And it’s on casters so it can be wheeled around and easily moved around the building.

I’ve also started building an 8’x8’ outdoor pen for summers after they outgrow the tortoise table. I’ll still have to come up with a winter time arrangement but I’ve got a couple years before that’s an issue.
 

KingTideCorals

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I thought about getting a couple cherry heads. How big is yours? How long have you had it?
Thinking of getting her a boyfriend cherry head!

I have had her now a little over two years and I adore her! She is a sweetie, real easy, and her shell is only about the length of palm size. She has grown a lot tho!
 
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JasonK84

JasonK84

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This is so rad!! Love this!

I myself have a gorgeous little red foot tortoise at my place!
I actually ran into trouble with mine just 2 days into having them. Thought I researched everything but must have missed this. I originally made the enclosure with a concrete mixing tub (as many do for hatchlings) and had it on the floor (this is where I went wrong) in the living room. I was at work and my wife sends me a message with pics of one of them chewed on by my little Yorkie! He had reached into the tortoise enclosure and snatched one out. Then proceeded to gnaw on it like a rawhide bone! Then while looking that issue up it seams to be fairly common. I immediately after work went and picked up a high sided storage tub so this would not happen again. I also placed my Wyze cam in the enclosure and set it to alert me anytime there was movement at the hide entrance so I could make sure it was eating and moving around. I’ve been able to get it nursed back to health and is mostly all healed up at this point. Will have some lasting shell deformities though.
Some images may be shocking to some people. If you don't like seeing injured animals then don’t scroll down.
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KingTideCorals

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SO glad you were able to nurse it back!!!

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JasonK84

JasonK84

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Thinking of getting her a boyfriend cherry head!

I have had her now a little over two years and I adore her! She is a sweetie, real easy, and her shell is only about the length of palm size. She has grown a lot tho!
Pics?
The one that didn’t have the trauma has more than doubled in weight since getting them. The other was larger to begin with but was stunted for a couple weeks after the incident. Has since picked back up and they are growing at an even pace to one another.
First 2 pics is the day I got them (July 1, 2020). Last 2 pics are from about 2 weeks ago.
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JasonK84

JasonK84

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Here she is!

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Awesome! I’ve loved my tortoises since they arrived. Such cool pets. I get so much more enjoyment with the camera in the enclosure. I’ll get a notification and pull up the live feed to see what they are doing. At work I get to check on them whenever I want. I’ll be mounting the camera into the new enclosure once they are there. Then I think I’ll set up a time lapse recording. I’ll upload to YouTube and post here once I get it done.
 
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JasonK84

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Got my fish room all rearranged to make room for everything and make better use of the space. Also mounted a smart wifi strip in the canopy and cypress mulch down for substrate. Going to pickup an infrared heat lamp tomorrow so I’ll have all the heat I need. Should be moving them in Saturday or Sunday. Sold my old tank lighting (4 different ones), an old skimmer, and an old wet dry sump and overflow to a new local LFS that’s accumulating items for their store. I’ll take all of that to them tomorrow. Decluttered a little and got a little cash for it. Win win.
Updated tortoise enclosure pic and short fish room tour video.
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JasonK84

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It’s all put together and the tortoises are exploring their new home! The wifi power strip has all of the different light and heat bulbs set to come on and off automatically. I also found a really good spot to mount the camera to spy on them.
I have a time lapse video recording now and will post it after uploading to YouTube later this evening.

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JasonK84

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Got 2 more hatchling leopard tortoises delivered today! Found them available on a site I’ve been checking regularly. Ordered Sunday, shipped Monday, and delivered before noon today. They are so tiny! So much smaller than the 2 I received back in July from a different breeder.

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