red foot keeps hiding - PLEASE HELP

DutchieAmanda

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2014
Messages
344
Location (City and/or State)
Netherlands
A CHE does only emit heat, no light. But because redfoots are not really fond of bright light, that's OK.
I don't use a humidifier. I just pour water into the substrate, water the plants in the enclosure and spray the moss in his hide and on the second floor. I get humidity up to 90% like that, while the top of the substrate doesn't feel wet to the touch.
A greenhouse type enclosure would work really good. If you search for 'greenhouse' on the forum, you'll find quite a few nice examples!
This is my enclosure, just finished the build:
ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1424468395.449633.jpg
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,309
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
yeah i soak him every day in warm water, he loves it! Is this how often i should be doing it?
Hi eve376. Where abouts are you in the UK. We are in Sheffield. We have 3 juvenile redfoots and 7 sub adults. I have my juveniles in a closed vivarium with a 150watt che on a thermostat. My temp is 33 down to 27deg so they can find there own ideal thermal temp. 30deg is ideal. Some say 33 is too high but its working for me. When i turned mine down to 30deg to 26deg they were not as active, so now back at 33 to 27deg and all is well. I have 2 that prefer the cooler end to rest and 1 that prefers the hotter end. All 3 wander about all over, however they do hide quite a lot. Its natural at a young vulnerable age. It may pay to bite the bullet and get an enclosed viv, I started with an open table with perspex and they were not happy. You get hot and cold spots and not an ambient warm air temp. Also my humidity is 85 to 99% constantly. And its not a problem at all to maintain that level.
Not saying do it my way, just letting you know what I have done. I'm no expert. @HLogic knows what he's talking about. And @DutchieAmanda seems to have followed the same learning curve that I have. My set up is below. 2x4ft. My juvies are about 3.5" long. BTW i don't use that temp and humidity gauge you can see any more. I have 3 digital versions spread about the viv. Make sure you are checking temp and humidity at tort level not higher up.
Also in the photo The uvb bulb is the full length of the viv, I changed it for one half the size, so now on the r/hand side its much darker, They love it. Now they hide in the sphagnum moss that's on the outside of there hide. where as before with the brighter light they were always in the hide. Hope this makes sense. photo 1 (8).JPG photo 2 (3).JPG

photo 4 (2).JPG
 
Last edited:

Eve376

New Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
United Kingdom
A CHE does only emit heat, no light. But because redfoots are not really fond of bright light, that's OK.
I don't use a humidifier. I just pour water into the substrate, water the plants in the enclosure and spray the moss in his hide and on the second floor. I get humidity up to 90% like that, while the top of the substrate doesn't feel wet to the touch.
A greenhouse type enclosure would work really good. If you search for 'greenhouse' on the forum, you'll find quite a few nice examples!
This is my enclosure, just finished the build:
View attachment 119190

That looks amazing!!! I bet you have a very happy tort/torts!! What is the temp of your enclosure at night? i think i might have to get a humidifier...
 

Eve376

New Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
United Kingdom
Hi eve376. Where abouts are you in the UK. We are in Sheffield. We have 3 juvenile redfoots and 7 sub adults. I have my juveniles in a closed vivarium with a 150watt che on a thermostat. My temp is 33 down to 27deg so they can find there own ideal thermal temp. 30deg is ideal. Some say 33 is too high but its working for me. When i turned mine down to 30deg to 26deg they were not as active, so now back at 33 to 27deg and all is well. I have 2 that prefer the cooler end to rest and 1 that prefers the hotter end. All 3 wander about all over, however they do hide quite a lot. Its natural at a young vulnerable age. It may pat to bite the bullet and get an enclosed viv, I started with an open table with perspex and they were not happy. You get hot and cold spots and not an ambient warm air temp. Also my humidity is 85 to 99% constantly. And its not a problem at all to maintain that level.
Not saying do it my way, just letting you know what I have done. I'm no expert. @HLogic knows what he's talking about. And @DutchieAmanda seems to have followed the same learning curve that I have. My set up is below. 2x4ft. My juvies are about 3.5" long. BTW i don't use that temp and humidity gauge you can see any more. I have 3 digital versions spread about the viv. Make sure you are checking temp and humidity at tort level not higher up.
Also in the photo The uvb bulb is the full length of the viv, I changed it for one half the size, so now on the r/hand side its much darker, They love it. Now they hide in the sphagnum moss that's on the outside of there hide. where as before with the brighter light they were always in the hide. Hope this makes sense. View attachment 119210 View attachment 119211

View attachment 119200

I live just outside of newcastle! Your enclosure is looking amazing! im currenty growing edible plants to put in his enclosure however im still learning so still abit behind! yeah, my temps are around 28-34 now and he is much more active now than what he was before when it was abit colder due to using a lower watt bulb. I think im going to look into getting a CHE, how much did that cost you? and can you use the previous light bulb fitting?
Yeah, im currently having the same problems you had by using the tortoise table and perspex, the perspex is also starting to warp... I'm currently looking at getting a greenhouse cold frame and cover to put my tortoise table in to hang the lights over the table instead of clipping them on the edge. Apparently it works wonders with keeping in the heat and humidity which is what im aiming for so i think im going to give that a go first!
Are you using a tube UBV light? i have one clipped on the side of my tortoise table however i read this could be hurting my torts eyes?! if so im going to have to look into a bulb that emits UBV instead...
i recently bought a hanging basket lining, upturned it and cut a semi circle at the edge for him to use as a hide and he loves it!! £1 bargain from poundland!
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,309
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
I live just outside of newcastle! Your enclosure is looking amazing! im currenty growing edible plants to put in his enclosure however im still learning so still abit behind! yeah, my temps are around 28-34 now and he is much more active now than what he was before when it was abit colder due to using a lower watt bulb. I think im going to look into getting a CHE, how much did that cost you? and can you use the previous light bulb fitting?
Yeah, im currently having the same problems you had by using the tortoise table and perspex, the perspex is also starting to warp... I'm currently looking at getting a greenhouse cold frame and cover to put my tortoise table in to hang the lights over the table instead of clipping them on the edge. Apparently it works wonders with keeping in the heat and humidity which is what im aiming for so i think im going to give that a go first!
Are you using a tube UBV light? i have one clipped on the side of my tortoise table however i read this could be hurting my torts eyes?! if so im going to have to look into a bulb that emits UBV instead...
i recently bought a hanging basket lining, upturned it and cut a semi circle at the edge for him to use as a hide and he loves it!! £1 bargain from poundland!
I use a uvb tube and its 8" high above the torts. Don't go too high or it won't give the correct level of uvb rays at tort level. Stick with a uvb tube and use a CHE bulb, then at night just turn uvb off, leave the CHE. At a young age I keep the warmth same at night. You can get thermostats that you set at a lower temp for night time if you want, I haven't bothered. That hanging basket idea is a good one. A Geordie, Bet you can party:D
 

Eve376

New Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
United Kingdom
I use a uvb tube and its 8" high above the torts. Don't go too high or it won't give the correct level of uvb rays at tort level. Stick with a uvb tube and use a CHE bulb, then at night just turn uvb off, leave the CHE. At a young age I keep the warmth same at night. You can get thermostats that you set at a lower temp for night time if you want, I haven't bothered. That hanging basket idea is a good one. A Geordie, Bet you can party:D

haha you bet I can! :D Oops, i turn everything off at night because i just use heat lamps so temperatures drop to around 20 degrees/room temp! This is what the man who sold me him said to do so thats why hes probably being going back to bed when i get him up on a morning. Is a CHE just a bulb that will fit in to my original light fitting? and how much do they cost? could you recommend a make? and thanks! i only got him last week so still learning the ropes!
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,309
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
haha you bet I can! :D Oops, i turn everything off at night because i just use heat lamps so temperatures drop to around 20 degrees/room temp! This is what the man who sold me him said to do so thats why hes probably being going back to bed when i get him up on a morning. Is a CHE just a bulb that will fit in to my original light fitting? and how much do they cost? could you recommend a make? and thanks! i only got him last week so still learning the ropes!
A CHE bulb is about £10/£15. But last for years and years. You need to have them in a ceramic bulb holder, a normal plastic holder will melt. There are loads of makes, all the same really. How big is he/she
 

Redstrike

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 9, 2011
Messages
2,716
Location (City and/or State)
New York
That looks right good.:)
How big is your enclosure including the height, Also what wattage is that radiator. What's the ambient temp that you achieve.
Does the rad run 24/7 or is it on a thermostat.

The enclosure is 4H x 8L x 4W (all in feet).
The radiator is 600 watts on the low setting. It has a built in thermostat that turns it on and off. I put it on a medium-low setting. The CHE's are on my Herpstat (A Zoo Med 500 R is just as useful at 1/10 the cost) and they kick on only when the temps fall below 82ºF. The warm end runs around 85-86ºF while the cool end stays at 80-82ºF. Under the basking bulb, it's about 90ºF.

More information here:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-redfoot-enclosure-lots-of-pictures.108727/

There are a lot of really great examples of enclosures on here. TerryO makes some vivariums that are extremely well planted. Tortoiselibrary.com is a great site to visit, she has a page on there describing her vivariums.
 

New Posts

Top