Let’s talk about tortoise habitats and enclosures.
Tortoises need a lot of space. No matter what kind of tortoise you have, bigger is always better. Outdoor enclosures, when the weather permits, are always the best option.
Sulcatas need 100-300 square feet, while Mediterranean species will only need about 60 square feet. And since you shouldn’t keep dominant tortoises together, you’ll need a lot of space if you have more than one tortoise.
Aquariums aren’t good enclosures for tortoises. A tortoise spends its day roaming. It will keep trying to get through the glass and could not only become stressed, but depressed!
Speaking of getting through. A general rule is that if a tortoise can see through it, it will find a way to get through it. Chain link and other fencing are not recommended. Not only could a tortoise eventually break through, but those types of fences can also cause injuries.
Many tortoise species have mastered the art of climbing, so keep that in mind as well.
Tortoises are burrowers. Many of our larger species have burrows 3-4 feet deep. When we build our enclosures, we dig down a few feet for the smaller species and lay hardware cloth and cover it with substrate to prevent them from digging out. For our larger species, we first dig a trench along the perimeter and drop in rock or landscape timbers several feet underground to prevent anyone from digging out.
It’s a lot of work, but it doesn’t end there.
Once you have an enclosure that’s safe and the right size for your tortoise, you need to think about what’s inside the area.
Tortoises of all species need room to roam, places to hide, safe plants to eat, an area for warmth, space to burrow, AND if you have more than one tortoise in an enclosure, they need plenty of room to get away from each other. In any space with too many living beings, it can be stressful.
While tortoises may not always live together, they’re quite social and need to stay busy.
Check out these pics of one of our Sulcata enclosures! The tortoise barns are insulated, and during winter they’re warmed up to a cozy 80 degrees. The torts can come and go as they please since most of our days in the south, even during winter, are well above freezing. If we have a few weeks of super cold weather or if the forecast says we may get snow or ice, we sometimes bring the torts inside.
The perimeter is made of landscape timbers held in place by rebar drilled into the wood and then several feet into the ground. Our enclosures are inside a fenced area, so if anyone tries to break free, they’d have to get through a second barrier. We also have cameras to keep an eye on the enclosures and make sure everyone goes in for the night.
We take our role as tortoise keepers very seriously.
Tortoises at our rescue aren’t available for adoption. Many of them have had to go through emergency care for injuries and severe neglect, and our wish is for them to never have to go through anything like that again! Tortoises of all ages come to us to retire from the pet trade and live the best life possible. That’s why we call our tortoise division of the rescue Shady Pines Tortoise Village.
If you or someone you know is thinking about bringing a tortoise into your family, please do your research. If you love what we do and would like to help us continue to be able to provide a safe space for tortoises to retire, you can sponsor a tortoise at the rescue. It’s super easy. A sponsorship of ANY amount can be sent using
paypal.me/pinetreehillwildlife
VENMO: @PTHWild
Checks: PTH Wildlife, PO Box 1523, Camden, SC 29021
