 |
|
| Star Tortoise Treasury | * Indian, Sri Lankan, and Burmese Star Tortoises... plus a few other tortoises... |
|
Indian/Sri Lankan Star Tortoise (G. elegans)
Burmese Star Tortoise Other Starred Tortoises Angulate Tortoise Misc. Pages
Email me to submit photos of your Star tortoise table, tub, or other enclosure.
|
Multifunctional Tortoise Table
A 2-level tortoise table with built-in hides and removable plant boxes. If you'd like to house your tortoise in something fancier than a plastic tub (see indoor housing), here's an example of a wooden, two-level tortoise table. Wooden tables can be built in any size to fit your space, and you can paint them to match your decor. Note: Star tortoises love warmth and basking. Their indoor enclosures should include heating, basking, and lighting fixtures (not shown in these photos). Go to the lighting & heating page for descriptions of UVB bulbs and ceramic heat emitters.
Two safe feeding areas and plant tubs with water dishes.
Tortoise table photos and plans courtesy of Philip Chan. This wooden tortoise table was custom made for Philip's Indian Star tortoises. It has two built-in hide areas at the lower level and two changeable plant boxes on the main level. Two separate feeding areas prevent accidental ingestion of substrate. The see-through front wall lets you observe the tortoises in action. First, buy the plant tubs, and then build the table based on the plant tub dimensions. The table can be build larger by adding more tubs. These removable plant tubs are great if you like to grow edible weeds and flowers in your tortoise table. Plant multiple tubs with vegetation and just switch between them as needed, i.e., when eaten. :O) Plus, changing the soil is much easier with smaller, removable tubs. Even if you don't grow grass or plants, soil filled tubs make good digging, burrowing, or egg laying areas. For egg laying, the tubs may need to be deeper. Just choose deeper plastic tubs and adjust the ramp and the rest of the table to match, or plug the nesting tub into a hole cut to the bottom of the table. If using the latter method, choose a tub with wide rims that are strong enough to hold and support the weight of the filled tub. For added safety, it's a good idea to add support braces to hold the bottom of the tub. You can easily modify the table design to fit your needs. For example, you can simplify the table by making it a one-level enclosure. Just use enough tubs to cover the floor area and add a hide box. Depending on your circumstances, you may or may not need the cover lid. Installing strong netting (e.g. steel hardware cloth or chicken wire) into the lid frame will keep the tortoises safe from other pets like cats and dogs. Adding wheels to the table legs gives you the flexibility to roll the table into different areas. For example, between indoors and outdoors. If you have wide double doors. :O) You can build the table yourself if you are handy with woodworking tools, or take the table plans and your plant tubs to a local carpenter and have him build it for you based on your specifications (size and number of plant tubs).
The two removable feeding platforms form the roofs of the hiding areas.
Ramp to the lower level hiding places.
Water dish.
One of the lower level hiding areas. All photos and tortoise table plans on this page courtesy of Philip Chan. - - - For more information about Star tortoise housing needs, see the indoor housing, lighting & heating, substrates, hideboxes, outdoor housing, allergic keepers p.1 (more on substrates) and p.2 (enclosure materials, humidity etc) pages. |
| StarTortoises.net | * Star Tortoises - stars, stars, stars everywhere... |
Email: startortoises at yahoo dot com |
|
