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Saturday, May 11, 2024

A redesign concept for a tortoise yard

Sometimes I redesign using software that can force me to think in new, creative ways. every detail is not included, but it's so fun to just  conceptualize!

Here, I redesigned a friend's sulcata tortoise yard that it shares with goats and pigs. I wanted the tortoise hide to be something the goats could safely stand on, since they'd totally do it anyway. πŸ˜…

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I really like this giant heated house, so that during cold weather in So. Cal (not often) the animal still has room to move around. Would use freezer strips to keep in the heat.

A bubbling, flat pool is perfect for sulcatas - they love to exctere urates in moving water!

A really strong, tall planter is key- they can mow down ANYTHING. But eventually the plants will grow low enough to nibble on, or easily trim from. Browse poles are periodically replaced- did I mention they are STRONG animals?


These tree stumps are buried in the earth with the goal of giving them something to push on, walk around, and generally destroy. They seem to like to have obstacles to walk around a bit. The barrel can hold browse, or just be knocked around a bit.


They a LOT need room like horses. Horses that dig. Relentlessly.


Planting opuntia and other things that will drop into the yard now and again is great. I'd probably recommend making a solid wall at tortoise height is best, though. 


On the left I was playing with the idea of burying a half-barrel to create an "Authorized Dig Spot". Perhaps pretending to be exasperated at filling it back in would make them dig there more? 😁





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Welcome to Digs! "We build habitats for zoo-manity" ~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_ My name is Leslie and I am a seasoned, professional animal ke...