Turtle enclosure ideas

Do you want to create a DIY outdoor enclosure for your tortoises or turtles? Then it’s essential to protect the animals from the cold. Clear polycarbonate or clear acrylic sheets are ideal materials for this project, helping your pets keep warm and dry. In this blog, we’re going to show you an example of an outdoor enclosure for Greek tortoises.

Supplies for making a DIY turtle enclosure outside:

The basics of constructing an outdoor turtle enclosure

When building an outdoor turtle enclosure, the pen must have sturdy surrounds to stop the tortoises from escaping, as these animals love digging and climbing. And the flooring in the enclosure needs to be rough so that the tortoises’ nails wear down. Acrylic and polycarbonate are both very robust, easy to work with and as clear as regular glass. So these materials are ideal for this project.

Tip: would you like to learn more about the differences between acrylic and polycarbonate? Take a look at our blog: “Acrylic or polycarbonate?“.

Step 1: Make a design for your turtle enclosure

Before you get started on your homemade turtle enclosure, it’s essential to consider what exactly you want. Ideally, you want to construct a home for your pets that’s easy to maintain. And you need to determine the box turtle enclosure size. In our example, we’re using an old planter measuring 120 cm x 180 cm.

Step 2: Order acrylic sheet or polycarbonate for your outdoor baby turtle enclosure

Once you’ve planned your outdoor box turtle enclosure design, the next step is to order the required clear acrylic sheet or polycarbonate with the correct measurements. Then, we’ll cut the sheets to size for you in any shape you need. Once you’ve assembled the plastic sheets and other materials, you can start constructing your turtle enclosure.

Step 3: Building your turtle enclosure

For the turtle enclosure shown in the photo below, we used two 8mm thick clear polycarbonate sheets to create ‘lids’ on an old raised bed. Are you also planning to make a tortoise enclosure from a raised bed or cold frame? Then it’s essential to secure the plastic sheets properly with hinges. Doing this means your tortoises will stay dry, and the warmth won’t escape. To allow the turtles to go outside when they want, we have removed a stone from the side of the raised bed. An outdoor enclosure is attached to this with the help of stone blocks. So you can admire your tortoises from a distance, you can opt to add ‘windows’ made of 3 mm thick acrylic sheet in the stone sides. It’s very easy to do this by creating a slot in the stone blocks. Finally, seal everything for a neat finish.