Tortoise & Reptile Vivariums

Tortoises are unlike most reptiles. They will require less closure to their tanks. In fact you can have an open style tank over your typical enclosed vivarium. To truly understand the different tortoise vivariums and what they require you should look at tortoise care guides. These will explain exactly what you require for your specific tortoise. For instance a Leopard tortoise requires that you house your reptile in 4 feet by 8 feet minimum enclosure. The Leopard tortoise can grow up to two feet in the carapace area; therefore, they require a lot more space than some of the other reptiles you might consider for pets. There also smaller tortoises and turtles that can be housed.

When you choose a tortoise vivarium there will be a number of considerations you have to make. The United Kingdom is a cooler and rainier climate. While tortoises can be used to the rain they are not going to adapt well to the cooler temperatures. It will be impossible to keep your tortoise outside in a garden setting unless you have the room to make a greenhouse style garden. For this reason you will need to have the vivarium located inside your house. If you have a room that will fit a 4 feet by 8 feet enclosure then a Leopard tortoise might be within your limits. Otherwise you would need to find a smaller tortoise for the typical vivariums on sale.

Most of the tortoise vivariums are a lot smaller than 4x8 feet. As a result, it is easier to house these other tortoises. Let’s take a look at the tortoise vivariums sold online. One of the more popular options is the tortoise garden starter kit. This kit comes with the sides, bottom, and sand you would need for a smaller tortoise. To a degree it is customisable so you could have a taller enclosure rather than something that is wider, yet shorter. It will depend again on the tortoise you have as a pet. Some reptiles are very good at escaping so the taller garden might work better.

If you are getting a tortoise that is known to escape you might go for the other style vivarium. A wood or full glass vivarium allows you to enclosure the tortoise, so that they cannot escape. These vivariums can also house snakes and other reptiles, so they are more universal than the garden explained above. These also come in a variety of sizes unlike the garden starter kit. For example you could get a 36in or 48in vivarium to house your smaller tortoise.Even tortoise vivariums and terrariums that are not the right size could affect the health of your pet.

There is one last type of tortoise vivarium you can purchase. It is a wood vivarium, but instead of being fully enclosed it has one section that is open. There is an area for a basking lamp, and a hidey hole for when they want to burrow. These are a flat wood container with 18 inch sides all around. Again the size of your pet will matter, as this style vivarium is meant for tortoises less than a foot in diameter.