Homemade Box Turtle Pen

Box turtles are primarily outdoor creatures that like to explore their habitat. Building your own box turtle pen requires you to create an environment that is safe, while at the same time provides sunlight, shade, a variety of terrain and fresh water. You can build your own box turtle pen with some common home improvement store supplies. The time it takes to construct will depend on how large of a pen you make and how detailed you make the interior of the pen.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • String
  • Wooden stakes
  • Hammer
  • 2-by-4 lumber
  • Table saw
  • Screws
  • Drill
  • Plywood
  • 150-to-180 grit sandpaper
  • Bricks
  • Top soil
  • Fruit trees
  • Shovel
  • Pond liner
  • Grass
  • Vegetable peels
  • Old bread
  • Water
  • Logs
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Instructions

  1. Location and Preparation

    • 1

      Find a location in your yard that has sunlight. A location next to the house where the sun̵7;s rays will beam in every morning is an excellent choice.

    • 2

      Measure the area and mark it off with string, laying the string on the ground where you want the pen. A 5-foot-by-5-foot area is sufficient for up to four turtles, while a 5-foot-by-8-foot area is sufficient for up to five turtles.

    • 3

      Determine how high you want the walls of the box turtle pen. If you have dogs or children that may disturb the turtles you may need to construct the walls high.

    Frame

    • 4

      Drive wooden stakes in the ground at each of the corners of your pen with a hammer. Butt the stakes next to the house up against the house so that there are no gaps. Use pre-cut wooden stakes with spiked ends from the home improvement store.

    • 5

      Measure the distance between each of the corner stakes, measuring from the center bottom of one stake to the center bottom of the next stake. Measure on the inside of the pen space.

    • 6

      Cut three pieces of 2-by-4 lumber the length of each of your measurements with a table saw.

    • 7

      Attach the three pieces of 2-by-4s to the stakes, framing the inside bottom of the pen, with screws and a drill. One of the 2-inch sides of the wood must rest on the ground.

    Walls

    • 8

      Cut three pieces of plywood the length of the three walls of your box turtle pen and the height that you want your pen as well. Use a table saw.

    • 9

      Attach the three pieces of plywood to the corner stakes with screws and a drill. Attach the plywood from the outside of the pen, connecting it to the stakes first, and then the bottom frame of 2-by-4s.

    • 10

      Sand down the top edge of the plywood with 150 to 180 fine grit sandpaper, as needed.

    • 11

      Line the bottom frame of the pen, all the way around the inside, with bricks.

    Complete

    • 12

      Cover the bottom of the pen with topsoil. 2-to-3-inches of topsoil is sufficient.

    • 13

      Plant small fruit tress in the pen for shade.

    • 14

      Dig a hole in the pen 1-to-2-feet deep with a shovel and line it with a pond liner for the turtles to bathe.

    • 15

      Make a worm bed in the pen by placing grass, vegetable peels and old bread in a pile in the pen corner. Water the pile daily. Over time worms will collect beneath the pile and come out each day, providing a food source for the turtles.

    • 16

      Place small logs about the pen for the turtles to climb over or dig under.