Zoo Med Wood Tortoise House

I ordered two Zoo Med Tortoise Houses for Boris and Natasha, my Russians. The kits arrived on time and assembled easily, per the instructions, using just a Phillips screwdriver. The houses are designed with a panel that easily slides up and out, so two can be set up end-to-end as a single long habitat. To keep everything fixed, I used duct tape to secure the connection all around. Works like a charm. I lined the inside with heavy duty vinyl from the local hardware store as a moisture barrier and added substrate on top. I am very happy with the result. The price was reasonable and the product performs exactly as advertised. My only suggestion to Zoo Med would be to sell a heavy duty moisture barrier designed for the exact dimensions and contours of the house, since over time moisture will surely damage the wooden bottom if not protected.

Very satisfied with the product!

Let me start by saying that this is a sturdy, well made product. That being said, let me tell you what Zoo Med isnt telling you. First, Zoo Med states that its an indoor/outdoor enclosure. It isnt. In the instructional manual, it says to bring it inside if it will be raining or cold outside and to only use it outside in sunny, nice weather. It is suitable for outdoor conditions much like your living room couch is suitable for outdoor conditions. Sure, you could hump a heavy, bulky thing in and out of the house every time you want to sit outside, but wouldn’t you rather have a true outdoor seating option? If this product came properly weatherproofed, that would make it a true outdoor reptile enclosure, and you wouldn’t have to carry a heavy wooden box full of heavy dirt in and out of your house. Second, the manual says to layer the bottom with newspaper before adding substrate. The reason for that is that the bottom is made of wooden slats which most likely will allow some dirt to fall through, basically making it also unsuitable for indoor use, especially when you combine two units with a big seam in the middle. You WILL get dirt on your floor. Lastly, on the website, Zoo Med states that you can combine two units to make a large unit. Well, there are no instructions for that and there are no provisions in the design to accommodate it. Basically, you are on your own to figure it out. You will have to join the two units with metal or wood strips and add a center support at the top to strengthen the middle. By leaving off the two end panels, you are left with two unsightly slots where the end panels were left out. All in all, nothing in the item description is technically true, except where they call it a turtle enclosure. You can’t use it indoors or outdoors, and you can’t join two together without having some basic woodworking knowledge. This is more than a little misleading, and it could even be called false advertising. If you are looking for a true indoor/outdoor enclosure, you would be better off building it yourself. If you do not have the skills or tools, buy this one, but paint the entire enclosure with a heavy duty outdoor latex paint such as porch and floor paint. Get the paint into the space in the frame of the lid where the mesh is sandwiched between two pieces of wood. That will increase the weather resistance. Then caulk all seams. I hope this review helps those misled by Zoo Med.

Very cheap and the corners on the frame for the wired top came split open. Was not pre-drilled for screws either. Solid top on the one side of the enclosure is basically falling in right out of the box. Next time I will just buy a bin and save about $75.00 over this thing. Too poorly made for the price.

bought two and put them together to make one big enclosure for my russian tortoise. bought two of these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IAAIEIG?th=1 to line the bottoms with. Staying eco friendly☺

This house didnt line up to all the holes which made it lopsided afterwards. Pieces kept breaking off and now its all in pieces. No warranty or exchange or any way to contact seller. Save your money for quality house

Great buy! My tortoise Mickey loves his new home :) Its definitely high quality construction with some minor defects (some parts didnt align just right). Either way, we made it work and Im sure it will last a long time.

Awesome product

Arrived as expected, easy to assembly very happy with it!

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.