In many places, herpers who have the space may have the opportunity to raise their pets in an outdoor enclosure.

Some reptiles just don't thrive inside, and with others, their size or captive requirements my require it. Outdoor enclosures can be as simple or as complex as you want to build them, and many herp owners turn to greenhouse designs as a starting point.

Whether you buy a greenhouse kit or build one from stuff just laying around, as long as the greenhouse is secure and escape-proof, it can be used to raise everything from turtles and tortoises to chameleons and iguanas.

The simple hoophouse greenhouse pictured here was built by one person (me) in about four hours, using scraps from other projects and a total of 16 screws. Designed for temporary use for box turtles, it used some old fence boards and several welded wire livestock panels bent over to provide the hoop frame.

It was wrapped in rolled welded wire and covered with tarps. It could be wrapped in plastic just as easily, but for our purposes the welded wire did the job.

With rocks bordering the walls to prevent dig-unders, this enclosure was used for several weeks while a more permanent home was being built. While the materials you have at hand may vary, a trip to the home improvement store can replace any missing items, and in a nice afternoon you can end up with something functional. And with a little more effort, and more materials, something this simple can be easily expanded into a more permanent structure.

Me, I'm going to need something more permanent. And larger. Much larger.