Life Goes On. A shelter is very important to our turtle and tortoises well being. Without a suitable shelter, they have no choice but to burrow underground. Chelonians need a shelter to sleep in, to get out of the sun or to escape a predator or another aggressive tortoise. Several can occupy a shelter and it is important to keep the shelter as clean as possible because there is a lot of pooing going on in there as well as hiding and sleeping.
Wooden structures make the best shelters.
They enjoy the security of a small entrance and the darkness inside. My tortoises do not have much use for the plastic igloo- like doghouses. I suspect the doorways are too large and the domes too high inside to give the tortoises the comfortable feeling they long for. I don't feel the plastic igloos give as much protection from the weather as the wooden shelters do. Box turtles enjoy being in small doghouses or wooden structures not much larger than they are and you will often find several of them cramming themselves together in the tiny space.