Redfoot care in AZ

[TuckerDucker]

I have an 8-inch red-footed tortoise. She's going from a fully indoor enclosure in Missouri to Tucson, AZ. We can't transport her enclosure, so we'll either have to build her a new one or make an outdoor setup. We don't have a yard in Tucson, but we have a 20x10 ft enclosed patio. Half of it is shaded by trees. I was thinking of getting a dog house with a heat lamp to turn on during the occasional cold weather, and filling the dog house with substrate so she can bury herself if she wants to. I'd probably have an emergency storage container to keep her inside during monsoon season or the very occasional very cold weather. Does this sound feasible? Thanks!

 

[COmtnLady]

You will definitely need to build a large indoor enclosure. Red Foots evolved in the northern part of South America - they are a jungle floor species and need 84% humidity and 84F, 24/7/365. Much of the time AZ has reasonable temps for them, to some extent, but the tortoise will never be able to be healthy for the rest of its life in the kinds of humidity you have.

The sun porch might do if you have back-up heat in the enclosure to make sure it never gets below 80F.

These might be good to look through:

Housing older red foot/cherryhead

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to go over an example of an appropriate indoor red foot/cherryhead enclosure. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure(especially the size these guys get!) I understand being from the uk myself, that some climate’s make it...

tortoiseforum.org

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

I have an 8-inch red-footed tortoise. She's going from a fully indoor enclosure in Missouri to Tucson, AZ. We can't transport her enclosure, so we'll either have to build her a new one or make an outdoor setup. We don't have a yard in Tucson, but we have a 20x10 ft enclosed patio. Half of it is shaded by trees. I was thinking of getting a dog house with a heat lamp to turn on during the occasional cold weather, and filling the dog house with substrate so she can bury herself if she wants to. I'd probably have an emergency storage container to keep her inside during monsoon season or the very occasional very cold weather. Does this sound feasible? Thanks!

I agree with what the COmtnLady said. Tucson is WAYYYYYY too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and way too dry all the time for a RF. Totally wrong environment. Indoors in a large closed chamber, or a whole room kept at 82-86 degrees and 80% humidity all the time is what is needed.

 

[AshtonPierce]

You will definitely need to build a large indoor enclosure. Red Foots evolved in the northern part of South America - they are a jungle floor species and need 84% humidity and 84F, 24/7/365. Much of the time AZ has reasonable temps for them, to some extent, but the tortoise will never be able to be healthy for the rest of its life in the kinds of humidity you have.

The sun porch might do if you have back-up heat in the enclosure to make sure it never gets below 80F.

These might be good to look through:

Housing older red foot/cherryhead

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to go over an example of an appropriate indoor red foot/cherryhead enclosure. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure(especially the size these guys get!) I understand being from the uk myself, that some climate’s make it...

tortoiseforum.org

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

The dog house with a heat lamp for colder weather and a substrate-filled interior for burrowing is a good approach. The emergency storage container is a smart idea for extreme weather. Since your patio is enclosed, you’ll want to ensure proper ventilation and secure fencing to keep her safe. Make sure the setup has enough space for her to roam!

Thanks for the links, you made my day <3

 

[TuckerDucker]

You will definitely need to build a large indoor enclosure. Red Foots evolved in the northern part of South America - they are a jungle floor species and need 84% humidity and 84F, 24/7/365. Much of the time AZ has reasonable temps for them, to some extent, but the tortoise will never be able to be healthy for the rest of its life in the kinds of humidity you have.

The sun porch might do if you have back-up heat in the enclosure to make sure it never gets below 80F.

These might be good to look through:

Housing older red foot/cherryhead

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to go over an example of an appropriate indoor red foot/cherryhead enclosure. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure(especially the size these guys get!) I understand being from the uk myself, that some climate’s make it...

tortoiseforum.org

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you so much!

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

My adult red foots lasted 2 years in Az but when we had 2 weeks of 115 degree heat the great pair both died