RedFoot Enclosure

MPRC

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
3,102
Location (City and/or State)
Oregon
Mango no go lol I'll try papaya I live a block away from an organic grocery store I do all my shopping there and they sell exotic fruits and veggies they always have dandelion greens I get for $2 a bundle

Ask them what they do with the bruised, over ripe or wilted stuff from the produce section. You may be rewarded. ;)
 

Janelle Green

Active Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2016
Messages
391
Location (City and/or State)
Colorado
image.jpeg Finally finished the red foot enclosure , still have to hang another light set and add the humidifier ❤️
 

Leapin

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2017
Messages
43
I just spoke to our local store manager, he told me when they clear out the "old" produce and said I could come get it at that time. I was pretty excited !
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
View attachment 191629 Finally finished the red foot enclosure , still have to hang another light set and add the humidifier ❤
Hi! three years later... This looks great! Kinda like what I'm building now for my RF tort-to-be. Any suggestions on keeping heat and humidity at the right levels on the table? (I think yours is a table?)

I'm building one out of wood and need ideas for the top...
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Hi! three years later... This looks great! Kinda like what I'm building now for my RF tort-to-be. Any suggestions on keeping heat and humidity at the right levels on the table? (I think yours is a table?)

I'm building one out of wood and need ideas for the top...
Closing off most or all of the top and dropping the lights/heat down inside the enclosure making it a "closed chamber" is the easiest and best way to house a Redfoot.
Remember that you'll need a lot of humidity. So make sure that you water seal your wood or place something like pond liner or shower curtain material down as a barrier.
Search newer posts for CLOSED CHAMBER enclosures.
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
Closing off most or all of the top and dropping the lights/heat down inside the enclosure making it a "closed chamber" is the easiest and best way to house a Redfoot.
Remember that you'll need a lot of humidity. So make sure that you water seal your wood or place something like pond liner or shower curtain material down as a barrier.
Search newer posts for CLOSED CHAMBER enclosures.
Thank you! I'll check out those posts.
As far as my enclosure goes, I'm in the process of installing HDPE panels to line the poly-sealed plywood for the interior. HDPE isn't cheap, but it is UV stable, totally waterproof, and food safe- great for cutting boards and pet enclosures, lol. I'll seal the edges/corners with GE 100% silicone for plastics. Once it's cured, it's safe enough for aquarium use...
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
@ZEROPILOT I've searched for info on this but haven't had any luck: I recently acquired what I think is a 4'x2', 12" high boaphile PVC cage from my brother. I was thinking of mounting my 36" T5 HO UVB light on top along with a 100w CHE and using it for my tort until his "real" enclosure is finished.
Have you heard of this being done before? -at only 12" high I know that's not much head room but I think it can be done safely (?). I have cut openings in the top to perfectly fit the UVB and CHE. I am thinking of adding a fogger or similar to up the ambient humidity.

What do you think- give it a shot?
 

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2018
Messages
4,666
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, VA
That sounds like an awesome baby starter cage. Heat/Humidity control will be a breeze. Maybe even try a 50 watt CHE or consider a Radiant Heat Panel from @Kapidolo Farms . As for the UVB Mount to the top that should be about right, but without a Solarmeter 6.5r you can not be 100% sure. At $200 the Solarmeter 6.5r is a deep pocket start, but with time it earns its money-saving your torts from bad bulbs or showing that abulb is still good way after 6 months
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
That sounds like an awesome baby starter cage. Heat/Humidity control will be a breeze. Maybe even try a 50 watt CHE or consider a Radiant Heat Panel from @Kapidolo Farms . As for the UVB Mount to the top that should be about right, but without a Solarmeter 6.5r you can not be 100% sure. At $200 the Solarmeter 6.5r is a deep pocket start, but with time it earns its money-saving your torts from bad bulbs or showing that abulb is still good way after 6 months
Thanks for the vote of confidence! At the moment, my tort is about 5.5-6" in size. As I get this set up, I feel that it will work out nicely until my tort outgrows it. It will also buy me time to finish his large (4'x8') enclosure.?
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
Here are some pics of the finished conversion:
20200219_145551.jpg20200219_141658.jpg20200219_123450.jpg

after being set up for 5 hours, it's at 80% humidity and 80F. Though it is around 95F under the CHE... perhaps that is too hot? He tried to nibble the amethyst but upon finding it's not edible, knocked them both over. He then explored his entire new home, drank some water and nibbled some leaves, then went to bed. lol.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Here are some pics of the finished conversion:
View attachment 286605View attachment 286606View attachment 286607

after being set up for 5 hours, it's at 80% humidity and 80F. Though it is around 95F under the CHE... perhaps that is too hot? He tried to nibble the amethyst but upon finding it's not edible, knocked them both over. He then explored his entire new home, drank some water and nibbled some leaves, then went to bed. lol.
95 is too hot.
If he were to get flipped upside down in that area, 95 would kill him.
With a Redfoot, you want ambient (all over) heat. All of it between 80 and 84 in my opinion.
This species is not fond of the heat.
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
95 is too hot.
If he were to get flipped upside down in that area, 95 would kill him.
With a Redfoot, you want ambient (all over) heat. All of it between 80 and 84 in my opinion.
This species is not fond of the heat.
Definitely don't want that to happen. I'll go adjust it now. If it proves difficult maintaining in the low 80s...maybe I'll swap out the 100W CHE for a 50W(?)
 

Macca33

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2020
Messages
50
Location (City and/or State)
MN
I've done some adjusting with my thermostat. Temp directly below the CHE is 85-90F, 77-82 in the middle area, and 75 in the corner furthest from the CHE. A bit on the cool side.... My tort roams the entire enclosure, but definitely shows a preference for the area near the CHE (seems to prove your point about preference for low-mid 80s).
Right now he's been choosing to burrow into the substrate under the CHE- forgoing his humi-hide (where temps are likely around 80F). Humidity is well in the 90s, but the substrate is not soaked (seems ideal to me).

I may have to mount the other lamp on the cool end and go with two 50W CHEs instead of one. The goal would be to get the overall ambient temp up to the mid 80s as you suggest.

In all, the Boaphile cage converted to a tortoise enclosure is a breeze for regulating humidity and providing ample space for a young redfoot. But the trick is to provide low-wattage (even, or "all-over") heating for ambient temps since the PVC isn't great at insulating. I think the 100W CHEs will prove useful when I finish the 4x8 enclosure in the basement where ambient temps are typically in the low to high 60s throughout the year. But two 50W CHEs seems best for this setup.

Sorry for the long follow up, but I think others may be interested in this experiment since boa cages are easily accessible (seems there are always people looking to unload one). It's a good option. I'll likely post another followup once I'm able to get the other lamp mounted and see what it does for the temps. OH, and one 36" Reptisun T5 HO seems to be nearly perfect for providing the UV in this case.
 

willee638

Active Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2020
Messages
283
Location (City and/or State)
HK
That sounds plenty big for yearlings, but I can't see any harm in going as big as possible. You might have a hard time finding them but use your judgement. @pfara has a great planted enclosure. Search for the thread "My Redfoot Family". She lists some plants she uses. I think some good choices would be pothos, certain ferns, bromeliads and spider plants. Good luck
I completely agree the more tortoises the more space is required, I need to put more living plants for my only one baby red foot to hide & munch on. I frequently take my tortoise to a grass field where she can roam a 100 feet or more, but unfortunately I live in an apartment & no backyard of my own so it isn't practical to have more than one tortoise.
 

New Posts

Top