How to Make a Turtle Pen

A sturdy outdoor turtle pen designed to keep turtles in and predators out offers an enjoyable habitat for both large and small turtles. By keeping safety and structural considerations in mind, your turtle pen will be a place your turtles thrive. Well-constructed turtle pens also provide a ready environment for owners to observe and interact with their turtles in safety. Avoid common mistakes that lead to lost, hurt or dead turtles by creating a pen that your turtle can't climb out of or dig under.

Things You'll Need

  • Umbrella or sheet of plywood (optional)
  • Edible plants
  • Water trays or bowls
  • Rocks
  • Shovel
  • Hardware cloth
  • 3 pieces of pressure-treated lumber, 8 feet by 2 inches by 4 inches
  • Lumber for pen top (optional)
  • Stapler (optional)
  • Hinges (optional)
  • Screwdriver (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Research your turtle breed's native habitat and create an environment inside of the pen that mimics that habitat. Desert turtles, for example, should be kept in pens with sand or dirt floors, cactus, rocks and dry grasses or other foliage. Include water trays or bowls and edible plants that your breed of turtle is known to consume to keep your turtle from digging under or trying to climb out of the pen; a well-fed, entertained turtle is a happy turtle.

    • 2

      Select a spot for your pen that provides both sun and shade or create an awning with an umbrella or supported plywood sheet to provide shade inside the pen for your turtles.

    • 3

      Dig a 12-inch-deep trench outlining the area where your turtle pen will set. Bury hardware cloth in the trench. Cover the hardware cloth with soil so that it is not exposed to the turtles. Understand that this measure prevents turtles from digging beneath your pen wall and crawling out of it and protects them from predators that may try to dig into the pen.

    • 4

      Stack pressure-treated beams or logs so they are at least twice the height of your turtle's full-grown height. Create a pen that is 8 feet long and 4 feet wide.

    • 5

      Construct a top for your pen, if desired, as another way to keep predators out of your turtle pen. Add a two-by-four measuring 8 feet long in the center of the top frame and secure it to the sides with nails. Staple hardware cloth to another set of two-by-four lumber matching the pen dimensions.

    • 6

      Attach the top to the pen frame with two pairs of steel hinges. Screw one end of each hinge into the pen frame and the other end into the pen top. Lift the pen top up to access the pen, but keep the top shut otherwise to keep predators out.