# Photos of Juvenile Redfoot Indoor Enclosure... Rosie's enclosure Part 2



## RosieRedfoot (Nov 26, 2012)

Sooo I have another thread where I had some pictures and discussion about my indoor tortoise pen. But, I'm going to post a photo history from start to finish of it here in one place. I edited my photobucket album so my links in my other thread probably all broke and this way is easier 

Her previous home, and underbed storage tub:






Original rough-sketch of the plans:





First cuts!





Bottom up on end, with Rosie in bottom for comparison:





Framed in top:





Top and bottom framed and with plywood:





Paint I used:





Letting her explore before lining:





Liner I used as a back-up moisture barrier:





Lined bottom! Was like wrapping a gift from the inside...





Added some peat moss and a few plants to see how much space they took up:





All done! (Except for control panel)





Inside, from left to right, the water area has a plastic tub under to contain the rocks and I can pour in warm water to raise the ambient humidity without making a soggy mess that could lead to shell-rot:





Inside, from right to left:





Left side, has a flood light for extra heat at the moment until CHE arrives, will then put in light as well to turn on when want to view the inside:





Right side, with basking MVB, feeding slate, and plants:





Control panel LCD screen with switches to view different conditions (has two humidity/temp probes on each end and one temp probe under the basking area)





The back, as a work in progress:





Happy tort!





Plants inside are umbrella plant, wandering jew, dracaena (two types), fake philodendron vines, fake monstera leaf (her favorite hiding spot), fake rubber tree, hosta, a clump of grass, and a type of fern (don't remember type).


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## stinax182 (Nov 26, 2012)

this is amazing!! your tortoise will be so happy! if just add more hides


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## kathyth (Nov 26, 2012)

This is so cool!
You really put your heart into this and it shows.
Thanks for sharing this.


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## Julius25 (Nov 26, 2012)

Very nice Congrats


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## Sezdawg (Nov 26, 2012)

So cool! I think your tort is living better off than I am lol!


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## RosieRedfoot (Nov 26, 2012)

Thanks! I'm planning on making some tile/rock hides soon to pack with moist moss. She actually seems to prefer hiding between/under the plants and half the time I can't even find her! 

The other morning I was a bit chilly so I stuck my head in there for a while to warm up. Thinking maybe I should have made it bigger and included a lawn chair so I have a tropical winter retreat as well!


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## Watsonpartyof4 (Nov 26, 2012)

RosieRedfoot said:


> Thanks! I'm planning on making some tile/rock hides soon to pack with moist moss. She actually seems to prefer hiding between/under the plants and half the time I can't even find her!
> 
> The other morning I was a bit chilly so I stuck my head in there for a while to warm up. Thinking maybe I should have made it bigger and included a lawn chair so I have a tropical winter retreat as well!



What a great idea!

Although I am likening the idea of making it big enough for a lawn chair too!


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## danosaurous (Nov 26, 2012)

Incredible!!!


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## ShadowRancher (Nov 26, 2012)

Holy crap that's awesome! I'm impressed (and my s are jealous  )


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## shellibelli72 (Nov 26, 2012)

RosieRedfoot said:


> Thanks! I'm planning on making some tile/rock hides soon to pack with moist moss. She actually seems to prefer hiding between/under the plants and half the time I can't even find her!
> 
> The other morning I was a bit chilly so I stuck my head in there for a while to warm up. Thinking maybe I should have made it bigger and included a lawn chair so I have a tropical winter retreat as well!



 FUNNY!


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## RosieRedfoot (Nov 26, 2012)

Haha, thanks guys! I feel like I have a zoo exhibit in my spare bedroom. Rosie seems to spend most of her days now in between the plants with her legs kicked out, basking. Before she used to circle her tub and claw at the walls endlessly because she could see out and it probably wasn't always warm/humid enough (due to lack of lid) and she was trying to escape to a place that was. I'd say she's spoiled, but I feel more like I'm giving her what she should have to keep her properly in captivity. When I got her several months ago she was starting to show signs of pyramiding, so hopefully keeping her properly prevents further development.

ShadowRancher, we could build one for a fee to cover time/supplies since you're in the area (maybe not as massive though!).. or if you ever need to borrow power tools and a garage to put together a table of your own let me know. 

Right now I'm thinking I need to add a humidifier. The ambient humidity locally is about 25-30% today, in her enclosure it's about 70-74%. I'm going to need a humidifier to bring it up past that since I dumped a bunch of hot water into the substrate and my rock-pool and as soon as I opened the door BAM there goes all my hard work, lol.  Also still working on sealing up some cracks around the doors with insulating foam. 

The pictures don't seem to do it justice. I'll have to take some from my nicer camera since the phone camera can't pick up things like the LCD display and whites-out where the lights shine. I just like staring at it and feel it came together quite nicely for our first ever build.


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## mightymizz (Nov 26, 2012)

Great!! Thanks for sharing.


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## dannel (Nov 26, 2012)

Nice! Good worksmanship on the electrical!


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## RosieRedfoot (Nov 26, 2012)

Thanks, and the things that look like gum drops are warning LED lights. Eventually it will be programmed for a day/night cycle to keep heat and humidity in their ideal ranges without me having to do anything, but the lights will go on if something is wrong to let me know. Like red for too hot, blue for too cold, green for too low of humidity, etc. My boyfriend is in charge of finishing the electrical system and programming it, buuut he just got busier at work so it may be a while. 

The temps have been holding firm between 75 and 83F with a basking spot around 92-94F and humidity is hovering around 70-75%. So it's not *too* bad, just want to have it on auto-pilot in case it gets hotter one day or too cold and I'm not around to turn on/off the heat or humidifier.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Dec 19, 2012)

VERY impressive enclosure!


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## Richsandwich (Dec 19, 2012)

Can you explain how that control system works? I like the idea of having an auto pilot with built in warning lights.


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## mattgrizzlybear (Dec 19, 2012)

That looks so cool! Great indoor enclosure! I wish my mom would let me build on of those or something like it.


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## RosieRedfoot (Jan 10, 2013)

Um, I would explain the control system Richsandwich, but my boyfriend designed it. It has sensors (2 just temp, and 1 that's temp/humidity) and when the humidity drops too low the program turns on an alert light and turns on the humidifier until it goes up to the acceptable range we set. Same goes for the temperatures, except when it's too cool it ups the CHE alongside the MVB and when it's too hot it turns on computer fans to pull out the hot air. Basically he built it from scratch and programmed it (there were other similar programs out there that people use in greenhouses and such). 

So far I water it down weekly since it has live plants and it stays about 80% humidity and 77-86 degrees. She seems to be a very happy tort with no more climbing the walls. Now she just sits half hidden in her plants waiting to attack at feeding time. With the higher humidity she doesn't go into her water bowl and soak for long periods like she used to when her container was always drying out. I do pour water on her probably twice a week (she hates it) to make sure she's staying hydrated enough and usually she's in the way of watering one of the plants... 

If you have any specific control system questions pm me and I'll ask my boyfriend for specifics.


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## MasterOogway (Jan 13, 2013)

I love this!!!! Thanks for the step by step instructions. What plants did you plant on your enclosure?


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## RosieRedfoot (Jan 13, 2013)

Plants are umbrella plant (half trampled now), wandering jew (eaten), 2 dracaena , 2 fake philodendron vines (her favorite to hide in), fake monstera leaf, fake rubber tree, hosta (half eaten), a clump of grass (dying slowly from munching and lack of light), and a type of fern.

She hasn't completely eaten any of the plants other than the wandering jew, but I have enough cuttings of those to keep her fed and replenish the plant lost to her chowing down.


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## RosieRedfoot (Apr 30, 2013)

Pulling up an old thread, but might be useful for people looking for higher humidity tort tables to reference. 

I've since added a humidifier and several new plants (real and fake). I plan on building Rosie an outdoor enclosure soon enough and will probably rearrange it then. 

I will update this thread with new pictures if/when I change the layout and plants


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## RosieRedfoot (Jun 20, 2013)

Left:



Left-Center:



Center-Right:



Right:



Exterior:


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## Beck (Jun 20, 2013)

Great new pics! What sort of humidifier did you add? Trying to draw up plans/ideas for a closed chamber for what will eventually be a juvenile redfoot. Trying to decide if I want to add a false-bottom for humidity, add a humidifier, or if just adding water would be enough.


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## RosieRedfoot (Jun 20, 2013)

I have a cat litter pan under the rocks under the water dish and fill that with water as well as water the plants. The humidifier goes on when it's below 75% humidity (sensors on two sides). The humidifier is a standard cool mist one that I adapted by cramming plastic tubing in and feeding through the back of the enclosure and it comes out on the side with the mvb since that side dries out quicker.


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## Jessicapinkie1 (Jun 23, 2013)

I love this set up!!!!


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## klinej50 (Aug 1, 2013)

Just wondering about the glass did you use real glass, plexiglass glass, or acrylic glass?


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## RosieRedfoot (Aug 1, 2013)

It's plexiglass. I ended up designing the doors a few inches larger than originally planned to accommodate a pre-cut sized piece of plexi from the home supply store. I glued it in with an epoxy made for wood to plastic.


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## klinej50 (Aug 1, 2013)

Thanks! Love your design I'm trying to build one like it.


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## RosieRedfoot (Aug 1, 2013)

Well if you have further questions don't be afraid to ask. I'll do my best to respond!


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## klinej50 (Aug 1, 2013)

Ha hopefully just one more. How long did you let the paint air out before putting your tort in it?


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## RosieRedfoot (Aug 1, 2013)

Well it was constructed in parts and painted (doors, bottom, side panels, lid) and I painted those as they were built so some were drying for 1-3 weeks before finding the manual labor (yay friends) to haul it inside. Then I let it sit for a few days inside before lining it and adding soil, etc. I live in a humid climate so I doubled the recommended drying times and then gave an extra week to air out. So I'd say 10-14 days for the shortest wait until I put her and all the plants in.


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