Customer Reviews

Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We needed a home for our hatchling African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata). We looked at several pet stores in our area and couldn't find anything that he would not outgrow in a year. So we went online and found this cage, and decided to try it out. It was easy to assemble, all the parts were there, and most importantly Geo (the tortoise) is enjoying it immensely. It provides a den to hide in, plenty of room to roam, and protection. The only draw back I have found that if it gets damp (water bowl spillage) the wood can warp a little and the divider won't fit right. We had this happen, so we took a clamp and held it in place while it dried...worked like a charm.

Great overall product. Assembly was fairly easy though some of the threaded pieces needed to be cleared out of some remaining fabrication metal, which was easily done by poking it out with a small screwdriver. Another problem existed in the fact the main bottom sheet of wood was slightly warped. This made the side walls on the far end of the cage pull away from the end piece when the enclosure screen was opened. However, the cage still closed easily and lined up with the latches. The latches closed solidly and and when were closed...made everything line up again. This is a very nice looking enclosure. It is much nicer looking that a tupperware/rubbermaid bin strewn with lights and cords and such. We didn't want that kind of thing. The metal screen material of this enclosure is sturdy enough to support a nice florescent UVB bulb mounted inside (though use a low power 2.0 or such to make it safe at such a short distance to the tortoises). I am using the enclosure as a set up for baby redfoot tortoises and the need for moisture and humidity is great. So I lined the floor and walls of the enclosure with tiles. In the top portion of the "hide" area I have set up a heat emitter mounted directly through a whole drilled through the wood ceiling. The bulb sits inside the hide a safe distance from the tortoises and temps inside the hide using a thermostat stay at 88 degrees (ideal for redfoots) and the moist sphagnum moss substrate inside keeps the humidity around 75%-80%. Ultimately I am happy with the product. I would consider purchasing one for temporary outdoor tortoise playtime and two of these enclosures put together (as pictured on the box) would be a reasonable amount of room for baby tortoises to securely get some outdoor excersice (though no clear way to secure two end-to-end is apparent). I would recommend this product to others with the caution that one should be prepared to make slight modifications or at least be slightly mechanically inclined when putting the unit together should problems occur such as the ones listed above. Really beats the pants off of building one yourself from scratch.

We just got the new tortoise house yesterday. My 12-yr-old son put it together all by himself in about an hour, said it was pretty easy. We just got our Russian tortoise 5 days ago and she was in a temporary habitat. She seems to be adjusting fine to the new home, we moved her in this morning and she's discovered the dark, covered part of the house. She's about 4-5 months old so she has lots of space. The heat lamp and UVB lamp are clamped to the top screen, and plenty of room for her water/soaking dish and food dishes. The Tortoise House was just as we expected it to be and looks like it will be a very suitable home for our Russian tortoise.

I wasn't sure what to expect when ordering this product. It took 10 minutes to put together and gives my redfoot tortoise plenty of room to roam and a seperate place to be secluded. I would recommend this product to anyone. I like it much better than an aquarium.

This would be a great house were it not for the problems I had putting it together. The bottom was very warped, one hole was not properly made and I had to gouge out wood to get the screw to engage the threads and worst of all, the putting together stopped all together yesterday when I was almost finish due to the fact that not a single one of the holes was drilled for the hinges. So now I have to track down my drill and drill the holes myself....grrrrr....like I said, great house but super sloppy manufacturing of the product.

We bought this for our new Russian tortoise and it seems to be working out very well. It was pretty easy to assemble, but required 2 people to attach the base because it was a bit warped. The enclosure gives plenty of room for a food bowl, extra large reptile ramp, and there's enough space for the UV lamp to hang over the cage and warm one side. Our tortoise seems like it much better than a glass enclosure, and every evening she goes into the closed side to sleep, then comes out in the morning for sun, food, etc. She's about 5 inches big, so if your tortoise is much bigger then this cage might be too small.

Perfect size, easy to assemble, he loves his new house. Otis has plenty of room to explore, I put a lot of substrate in the bottom so he can dig. Its easier to clean if you line the bottom with a garbage bag or some sort of plastic and then stack newspapers on top of the plastic lining.

I removed it from the box and it was broken in a couple places that are needed to put it together. I was pissed and wanted to return it. Instead I glued the pieces together. I know I can't make one on my own for the same price and the broken parts were fixable it's just irritating when you buy something and it comes broken. I took pictures of it so I can maybe get a discount. My Russian tortise on the otherhand could care less what I went through to build him a comfy home and he seems to really like it. He is definetly not as stressed as he was in his old glass house.

I have one of these for a red footed and just got one for my juvenile leopard tortoise. While there may be some difficulties with assembly as a whole it is a great value and I am satisfied with mine.

I HAVE RUSSIAN AND GOLDEN GREEK TORTS IN THESE HOUSES DURING THE WINTER MONTHS AND THEY ARE HAPPY AND ACTIVE IN THEM. I PUT 2 HOUSES TOGETHER AND THERE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH ROOM FOR 5 TORTS TO EXPLORE AND FIND A HIDING SPOT TO SLEEP. IT IS PERFECT FOR A WATER DISH THAT THEY CAN CLIMB IN AND OUT OF, AND I PUT A BASKING LAMP OVER ONE SIDE SO THAT THEY CAN CHOOSE TO GO UNDER IT OR NOT DURING THE DAY. IT IS ALSO EASY TO SPOT CLEAN THE SUBSTRATE AS THERE IS FULL ACCESS.