Novice looking for advice on a box turtle outdoor habitat
Much to my 10-year-old daughter's unbounded joy, I am thinking of adopting some rescue turtles! PetSmart had led me to believe it would be an indoor endeavor, but a visit to the Central Texas Tortoise Rescue (CTTR) changed my mind! This would be an outdoor habitat.
Species suggestion:
I am looking to get a smaller tortoise that does not need to be moved indoors for the winter. Any suggestions? CTTR has Russian, Greek, and ornate box turtles. They did not have a herman but said they would be getting one soon. I loved the colorations on the ornate box turtle, but they need protein. I like the Greek too, but it needs an indoor enclosure for the winter (so I was told). I do not have the room or bandwidth to have both an outdoor and indoor enclosure.
Any suggestions on what I should get? How many and what sex? I want them to be as active and interactive as possible.
Enclosure/habitat suggestion:
The pic above is the side of my house that I am thinking of using as the area of the habitat. I understand it is not ideal, but I have a very small yard and this side of the yard is rarely used.
About this area:
- It is 6 ft wide and 70 ft wide. I can use any part of that area.
- It has the house on one side and wooden fences on the other 2. The fence is not dug all the way into the ground. Bunnies have come in from under.
- There is slight slope (about 20 degrees) towards the fence. Water drains away during rain. I do not have rain gutters on the roof so water may fall inside the enclosure area during rain.
- It gets sunlight, as you see in the pic, but only for about half the day. I can add a UVB lamp if needed, but cannot change the location of the habitat. Yes, I learned about the need for UVB but I am a newbie!
Plan:
- Decide on the area. Say, I get 2 or 3 box turtles, CTTR says I should not have more than 200 ft.
- Use cinderblocks on both open ends and no change to the house wall.
- I need to decide what to do to block under the wooden fence. If I put cinder blocks along the fence, it would cause any rainwater to puddle up.
- I do not have sprinklers. Will it need a mister on a timer?
- Predators: I do not know if I have predators. I spot wild bunnies in my backyard almost daily which suggests there may not be any predators. Although I have seen eagles and hawks at a nearby construction site and they may fly over the house.
- Preventing digging by the pet and predators: Do I put hardware cloth under the boundaries of the enclosure to prevent predators from digging under? Will it hurt the pet's feet?
- Even if I am using only part of this alley as the enclosure, should I put hardware cloth under the entire length of the fence to keep predators out? Will that be effective? It is a lot of work!
- Are lights more effective as deterrents for predators?
- The ground has some grass but it's hard and dry. Do I need a substrate? I intend to plant a few turtle-friendly plants for food and cover.
- Any further suggestions are more than welcome! I am a complete newbie willing to learn from this awesome community.