Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House

My sons Greek turtle loves it.. She likes the place to hide for safety and we have a nice rock in the main area for Helga to bask :) http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Reptile-Cave-Large/dp/B0002AR5B0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402907567&sr=8-1&keywords=Exo+Terra+Reptile+Cave%2C+Large

I had been looking to order the Tortoise House for a long time but could never make the plunge. Im glad I did! Was able to construct it alone with only a screwdriver. I wish I had a drill, but it was manageable without one. The directions are fairly clear and there are videos for the DIY construction on Youtube and Petcos website. My tortoise LOVES his new environment. Ive rested the heat lamp on top of the wire and it hasnt been a problem. The space is nice, I wish the hideaway space was a bit smaller so he has more room to roam and still has the option of using the sleeper box.

I wanted to move my 4 inch box turtle from his long time cafeteria food container that was only 6x18x28 inches. I also purchased the XL Repti Ramp Bowl which fits nicely. He had outgrown his two previous bowls. He is a daily soaker. He appears to like this house and explores. I am still experimenting with substrates. I am a 68 year old female and put it together myself in about an hour using the tool sent with the house. As previously suggested I left all the screws loose until total assembly which helped greatly in alignment. I pretreated with water seal. There was ply separation in the divider but no big deal to me. I considered and shopped this house for a year and found this a good price.

Assembly requires two people if you do not have clamps and a power drill. However, assembly is possible with a manual hand screwdriver. Directions could have been more detailed and assembly parts should have been numbered. Check and recheck when assembling since parts are not marked, read directions, and look at box cover and relative positions (hinges, house floor stand, etc.) Other than these minor inconveniences, product should look as shown on box cover- patience is required, but good product nonetheless.

I think this a great enclosure for anyone who doesnt have a ton of space. It gives your pet a nice place to retreat to for sleep and you can add on another to it to create a double the size enclosure.

Definitely not good for baby tortoises. Temperature & humidity regulation is too hard. Would be great for outdoor time if you have inside torts though.

It was easy to put it together. Its a rather nice size for a tortoise areound six inches. It makes a great temporary home. I didnt give it 5 stars because They gave me one too many long screws and one less short screw. Also, it had some scratches in the wood.

I absolutely love this tortoise house, it was easy to assemble and is higher quality than what I could have made myself. Its probably more space than I needed for my juvenile pancake tortoise (pictured inside the box, before I set up lighting and added substrate and hides.) It is also not waterproof so you will either need to find a non-toxic sealant, or line it with newspaper or non-adhesive shelf lining under your substrate. Its probably not ideal for species that need to be misted or kept humid. Also the bars are spaced far enough apart that its not suitable for climbing species unless you modify it with a screen. And this thing is a cat magnet! Their arms fit perfectly between the bars and they will enjoy trying to touch whatever is inside (I took this picture under well-supervised conditions, before I chose the final location for the tortoise house. No tortoises were harmed in the making of this review.) I put a wire cookie cooling rack over the top of the existing bars and this seemed to solve the problem.

LOVE IT!!! Get this if you have the space for it. You can move it without it being heavy! Very well made!!! Thank you Zoo Med! The best part? You can interconnect 2 or more, which I am intending on doing for the summer months. Hopefully I will be able to post and update once I get 1 or 2 more enclosures and connect them. So far, the one I have has been well worth the money!

My boyfriend put it together with ease and my tortoise Bridget loves it!