The Beginning - 12" deep footers around the habitat area. The pond liner will be outside the tortoise pen but is part of the landscaping.
Another picture of the footers with the re-bar visible in the bottom. The habitat wraps around our windmill.
We used almost 5 yards of cement in the footings! They are 12" deep so a Tortoise can't dig under them. We had to wheelbarrow the cement across to the other side because our landscaping wouldn't allow for truck access everywhere.
The footings are poured! We made a shallow cement dish for the Tortoise to soak in or drink from out of extra cement. The other piles are also extra cement that we let dry before removing it and using it as fill.
A view of the footings from the top of the windmill!
A view of the footings at sunset! The block begins tomorrow!
Here is Dan mixing mortar for the first row of block.
The first row of block is in place. Re-bar was drilled into the footing and extends up to the top of the wall where it is tied into a piece of re-bar that goes around the top of the wall. Things are taking shape!
The three rows of block are up! An opening has been left so loads of mortar can be moved to the far side of the pen. There are lots of wide cracks in-between blocks on the tight radius corners that need to be pre-filled before the stucco goes on. It is amazing how much material this project took and how much it all weighed!!!
The re-bar coming up from the footing is tied into re-bar inside the top row of block, then the top row of block was filled full of mortar (the "bond-beam"). There is a paper layer in-between the second and third row of block that stops the mortar from going all the way down except for one "cell" of block every four feet which is full all the way to the ground with re-bar in it. Like I said, there is a lot of material in this thing! You can also see the Tortoise burrow in the center. We poured a thin cement top on it (with re-bar in it) and then covered it with soil for insulation.
Here is an overview with all the block and stucco work done. It rained during the final coat of stucco which caused runs and drips to form. We were after an "old adobe" look and didn't like the way the rain made the drips, but it has "grown" on us and I think it adds to the "look". You can see the Tortoise water dish in place in the pen and the roof of the burrow on the right in front of the base of the windmill.
Closeup of the "old adobe look" wall, complete with unintended drips caused by the rain during the final coat of stucco. Do you like it?
Closeup showing the water dish and burrow. We still need to add soil on top of the burrow for insulation, but that is the next step!
Here comes the dirt! The "native" soil in our yard is not really soil at all - just sand, gravel and rocks. The substrate in a Tortoise pen isn't supposed to be rock or gravel because they may ingest it and get stopped up. We got a number of tons of native soil from Congress AZ (I have not seen anything like this anywhere else - it is really soil with hardly a rock in it!!!). We are moving this into the pen from the dump trailer and covering everything with 3-4" of nice soft Congress dirt! We put about 8" of soil on top of the burrow for insulation. Now, seeding and a little landscaping! We have filled in around the pond at the base of the windmill - again, the Tortoise will not have access to this pond, water this deep would drown a Desert Tortoise!
Detail shot of the "well casing fountain". Note: there is no well here, we are recirculating the water from the pond!
Here is the entire habitat!
Here is the habitat from another angle. In this shot you can really see how the wall follows the lay of the land.
Inside the pen, you can see the den and the water dish. The antler sheds are for the Tortoise to chew on for extra calcium. I have small rock piles around the plants to give them a little protection. All the plants in the habitat are native plants that are used as food for Desert Tortoises. The entire inside of the habitat has been seeded with a mix of 14 species of native grasses that are used by Tortoises for grazing. I still need to put a prickly pear cactus in the pen but I am waiting for the cut pads to callus over before I plant them. Then, it will just be a matter of waiting for things to grow up a lot and we will be ready to submit our application!
I want to try to explain the water and irrigation system. I am using the pond liner and some pumps I got from a friend who was tearing them out. I have a small pump in the pond that will go on for a few minutes several times a day and will feed new water into the Tortoise dish. The dish will overflow and the water will run down to several of the plants in the pen. We have a float in the pond that will keep the level of the water in the pond constant. When water is pumped into the Tortoise dish, replacement water will be added to the pond automatically.
We also have a recirculating pump in the pond that moves water into the well casing fountain and back into the pond. The water is also being fed through a UV sterilizer. This will aerate the water in the pond and keep it from getting stagnant. It looks neat too! I still need to put in a few more plants around the pond at the base of the windmill to disguise some of the tubes and wires.
The plants around the pond are watered with the drip system from the yard. We have a fertilizer pump on this drip system so I didn’t want to use that water in the Tortoise pen.
If you would be interested in doing something like this, I would be glad to visit with you about it, do consulting and design work, or build it for you. Whatever you like, just give me a call!
Kat,
I would be glad to show you what we’ve done whenever it works out for you. Saturdays are usually good, weekdays might work in the late afternoon depending on the day. Give me a call and we can figure something out! 928-231-3549.
In planting my habitat I wanted to make sure that all the things growing in side the wall would be edible for the tortoise. I don’t know that either of the trees you are looking at would have leaves/fruit/seeds that would be harmful to the tortoise, but they are not on the food plant list. (here) I would probably not use them because of that. Have you looked at Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)? Tortoises eat the flowers and they are a nice little tree.
Thanks so much for the info. I’ll look into the Desert Willow and will definitely let you know when I can make a trip out there.
This is an excellent, detailed article. I thank you for this information. I have a Sulcata, 4 1/2 years of age, and need to improve on his habitat. Your pictures are very helpful. Thanks.
howdy all, we are gonna adopt a sonoran desert tortoise after the forthcoming hibernation. next april or so… we will be planting desert willow trees as our son has an adopted sonoran desert tortoise and he has 2 desert willows and a couple of globemallow in his habitat. the tortoise consumes flowers from both of those botanical species. incidentally, “srp” (salt river project) who is civic minded and environmentally minded offers free desert trees under their “shade tree program”. they offer 4 tree species, of which the desert willow is one of the four. we just took possession of 3 desert willow trees that come 4-6 feet in height! we’ll put ’em in the ground and likely they’ll bloom next spring…..
Tom, Your tortoise will enjoy the flowers of the Desert Willow! We give them to ours for “desert” – not too sweet, but he really likes them! Best wishes on your new habitat/tortoise project! Paul
This tortoise habitat is amazing. I have an approx. 3 yr old sulcata, and I am currently researching how to expand and improve his habitat. Your enclosure looks a little cost restrictive for what I can afford, but I would love to have a consultation with you to see if we could come up with something that would work in my budget. Your initial post is a couple years old, so I hope you are still willing to help me out! Thanks, and again… awesome work!!
Tina, I would be glad to visit with you about your habitat ideas! Whereabouts are you located? Take care, Paul
Hi Paul ~ Your habitat is amazing! I too am space & cost restricted, but would love to set up something soon for a fall adoption. I am near Sctts.Rd/Thomas if you’re still willing to share ideas. Thanks in advance.
I’d be glad to talk about this with you. We’ll be in the area Sept 9, if that works for you!
I acquired “Formaly” known as Harry through a found add a couple weeks ago.
So far I have a burrow made from cinder blocks and need to cover it with soil. I am heading to Silverbell Nursery in Tucson for some plants to have in the backyard for her. Any help would be appreciated. Thankyou
Our tortoise loves Mulberry leaves, and they are supposed to be a good food for them. Look around to see if you can find a place to pick leaves occasionally until your native plants grow up!
I loved the curves of your pen and put several curves in our design. We are redoing our tortoise enclosure at Arizona Western College, and we will be making the walls using either a “super adobe” or “hyper adobe” technique, which uses tubes made either of sandbag material (super adobe) or the mesh that they put onions and potatoes in (hyper adobe). The walls will be covered in cement or water-resistant plaster. Like you, we are trying to plant with natives that the tortoises will enjoy grazing on. Thanks for the inspiration!
Glad this was an inspiration to you! I would like to see pictures of your process and finished product! The adobe construction sounds great!
Hello Paul,
I’m curious if you have an up close picture of the consistency of the soil you used that you can share? I do know of an elderly desert tortoise that began to snack on small pebbles, eventually causing death. I want to avoid this. Cheers.
I don’t have any photos, I don’t think a photo would show much… It is very fine-grained. Clay and silt. I got a trailer load from Congress, AZ but soils from the farming areas in the valley would be very similar. Hope this helps!
Bravo! That habitat is amazing. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Glad you liked the article! Obadiah is awake but has not come out of hibernation yet – soon!
Just decided to adopt. LOVE your enclosure! Do you suggest construction and adoption in the same “season” or would it be better to allow a year for the plantings to mature before adopting ?
Thanks in advance,
We built and adopted the same year. Construction in the spring and adoption in the fall. Waiting may have been better, as tortoises go through some stress when they are put into a new habitat. Stress can cause illness, and that can be a hinderance to their survival during hibernation. Our tortoise got sick & stopped eating. We had to give him medicine (shots) to clear it up, then he barely got enough weight gain to hibernate. If you can stand it, waiting might be better. Otherwise, start building! Take care, Paul
Hi, interested in having habitat designed and created for a desert tortoise..contact me so that we can arrange a meeting.
Exciting Trish! What is your address, and what thoughts do you have about an area for a habitat? I will check it out on Google Earth and see what we can come up with as a preliminary, then go from there! Take care, Paul
9910 N 47th Pl., Phoenix, 85028.
When we landscaped our backyard, we had initially thought about the tortoise habitat being along the west wall.. However, this might not be the best choice, we don’t know the depth of the footing for the wall. Also there is a large olive tree that would be right in the middle.
We added the grass, but would consider reducing or including some of the grass in the tortoise habitat.
Trish, might be best with the curb around the grass to avoid that area. I see a good-sized tree in the backyard, what species? It would be nice to include a tree in the pen for shade. Along the back wall might work well! The standard block walls don’t have much footing, but perhaps it can be modified… I’m thinking the southeast corner, with or without the tree might be nice. Talk soon, Paul
There is a large palo brea in the south east area. We had extended the perimeter wall to have more privacy. . We used a short steel metal barrier to separate the grass from the granite. No curb or concrete as a barrier.
Other trees are palo verde, and 2 citrus trees. There is also an older oleander tree,( its on the northside near an ac unit), that doesn’t do much. I know it’s toxic to many animals, not sure about tortoises.
Thanks.
Trish
Is the tree along the back wall the Palo Brea? That seems like the most logical area for a habitat. I understand now about the grass barrier being metal – didn’t show up well on Google Earth! So, that can be a non-issue. Maybe a test dig to find out what footing you have along the back wall? Perhaps the footing can be deepened or another put in front to get the 12″ depth. The stories about oleander toxicity are overplayed, but it would be best to avoid it!
What’s the next step…
We’ll need to meet and come up with a simple drawing of the habitat. Then I can get prices worked up, and you can come to a decision on whether to proceed. I will try to get down in the next week!
I have two tortoises and will be moving soon. My new backyard has pine trees. I am concerned that the pine needles and droppings will be harmful. Advice?
Home is in Tempe. Are you availalbe for consultation?
Donna, I really don’t think the tortoises will eat anything that will be bad for them. And I don’t think the tortoises will be harmful to the pine trees. I don’t know that I can get down there right now but would be glad to talk! Take care, Paul
The pen you created is very nice. Was all of that required to adopt?
John, The State of AZ has certain minimum requirements to adopt a tortoise. Our pen meets the requirements, but other versions would as well. Check out their website for details! Take care, Paul
I love your habitat for your turtle. I live in California and have six desert tortoises that are adults oh so I have six baby turtles that are maybe five years old. Are you ever out in California?
I think it would be fun to have multiple tortoises, but at least in AZ it is illegal to have more than one. Basically they don’t want people doing captive breeding because releasing them into the wild can introduce diseases as well as crowd the habitat. So, we just have one and enjoy him! With things the way that are, I’m not doing any traveling. We will have to see how things go! Thank you!