Overdesigned red foot enclosure planning adventure

Hello tort folk!
Our red foot tort Shinji just hit 5 years old, 11" long and 6#10oz. We are moving soonish to a house with more space and a decent yard (hopefully) so it's a good time to upgrade tort's enclosure.

Tort currently has a 6'x3'x4' custom PVC enclosure I made, but it's getting a bit small for them.

I've been working on plans for the full sized adult enclosure, minimum 12'x4'x4'. Shinji will be spending about 5-6 months a year in it, rest outside in an outdoor setup. Trying to make this look nice while providing a good natural feeling environment. If space allows I will try to expand it to 16' long, the design allows you to easily make it longer.

Mostly looking for input on anything I may be missing and such.

The entire tank will have substrate varying 6"-12" deep. Shinji loves digging. Bioactive.

The left side will have a hide, middle a wading pond for soaking, and right a feeding area.

The hide will have built in pots for plants to help with humidity and shade.

The pond will be 2" deep for tort to wade in, and have a apx 20-30 gallon sump with UV filters ect to keep it clean. The misting system will pull from the sump to keep the enclosure humid.

The feeding area will have the standard slate pad, but will also have a tree root area you can toss food in for tort to hunt for enrichment.

Various planters and plants wherever I can fit them without taking up too much floor space.

The top has room for lighting, and a clear plastic guard to prevent the lights getting wet.

The walls will be insulated so it hold heat better.

Tank build plan overview:

Loose decoration plan:

Tort Tax:

I would switch from misting to more of a under substrate irrigation system. The tiny water droplets from misting is not good for them.

mojo_1 said:

I would switch from misting to more of a under substrate irrigation system. The tiny water droplets from misting is not good for them.

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Does it mess with their breathing?

Drip irrigation lines could keep the plants watered and edges moist. Making the pond more "river" like by making the flow higher would also boost humidity. Its cheaper than misting too.

Another reason to have plenty of plants.

Trashpanda said:

Does it mess with their breathing?

Drip irrigation lines could keep the plants watered and edges moist. Making the pond more "river" like by making the flow higher would also boost humidity. Its cheaper than misting too.

Another reason to have plenty of plants.

Click to expand...

In short you are slowly drowning them. And or increasing the risk for respiratory infection. They don't have the capability to process and deal with the microscopic water droplets from a mister.

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Have you had a chance to read this yet?



1. As Mojo is telling you, Misting (AND Fogging or Spraying) creates droplets, not humidity. Don't use them in enclosures. Look at Shinji's "nose". Especially notice the size of the holes (nares). There is nowhere in an enclosure where your tortoise can get away from the congested atmosphere spraying, etc., create, so your droplets are a bit like waterboarding your tortoise.
2. There is also the problem that the drops land on the surface, so there is also nowhere for your RedFoot to be on dry enough surface to not be exposed to bouts of shell fungus from the constant dampness.
3. The water evaporates off the surface, cooling the ambient air, creating a cycle that plays havoc with keeping your tortoise consistently warm enough.


This has quite a bit of background info that is good for RF keepers to know. There are a few details in it that we have since discovered are not best practices (for example: sand, moss, or a few other things that were considered ok when that was written, now we know not to use in an enclosure.) We can discuss it later on, for now this is a helpful bunch of info that is good to know.



Since RFs need a minimum of 84F degrees and minimum of mid-80s% humidity, or higher (think Amazonian jungle conditions, where they evolved), ALL the time, 24/7. Virginia's climate isn't suitable to have her outside for long periods of time unless it's the few days in July-August that don't fall below that minimum heat and humidity all that time. Yes, many tortoises can survive it, but its not good for them. Surviving in spite of wrong conditions isn't thriving. About the only places in the USA that can qualify as "tropical" are farthest south Florida Keys and that most-southern point of Texas. Even Hawaii is not quite warm enough much of the time, and not quite humid enough for optimal RF living.

Tort currently has a 6'x3'x4' custom PVC enclosure I made, but it's getting a bit small for them.

Click to expand...

Its good you're getting a larger enclosure, the current one is far too small for an adult Red Foot. Because they need to move/exercise a lot to keep their GI system working well, 4'X 8' is even small. If you can make the new one even bigger than you are currently planning, it would be well worth it. If you don't have the square footage to do that, think about a second level to maximize the space you have. You would do better putting the money you'd spend on the water feature into more space,

A large terracotta dish for water is quite sufficient. Tortoises aren't as aquatic as turtles. You still need to do warm soaks every other day or more often, and its easier and cheaper to just wash the terracotta dish (have two or three and allow them to dry in the sun, then rotate them). It would be harder to keep that water system you wrote about above, clean enough to be healthy.

Since you understand the importance of having some depth to the substrate, the best way to keep humidity consistent is to hand-pack the lowest inch or two of wrung-out wet coco coir, or keep the same depth of Orchid Bark wet if you only use bark. The moisture evaporates up through slowly and doesn't create the droplets that can cause Respiratory Infections. We can talk more about this when you are closer to putting substrate into the new enclosure.

Trashpanda said:

Hello tort folk!
Our red foot tort Shinji just hit 5 years old, 11" long and 6#10oz. We are moving soonish to a house with more space and a decent yard (hopefully) so it's a good time to upgrade tort's enclosure.

Tort currently has a 6'x3'x4' custom PVC enclosure I made, but it's getting a bit small for them.

I've been working on plans for the full sized adult enclosure, minimum 12'x4'x4'. Shinji will be spending about 5-6 months a year in it, rest outside in an outdoor setup. Trying to make this look nice while providing a good natural feeling environment. If space allows I will try to expand it to 16' long, the design allows you to easily make it longer.

Mostly looking for input on anything I may be missing and such.

The entire tank will have substrate varying 6"-12" deep. Shinji loves digging. Bioactive.

The left side will have a hide, middle a wading pond for soaking, and right a feeding area.

The hide will have built in pots for plants to help with humidity and shade.

The pond will be 2" deep for tort to wade in, and have a apx 20-30 gallon sump with UV filters ect to keep it clean. The misting system will pull from the sump to keep the enclosure humid.

The feeding area will have the standard slate pad, but will also have a tree root area you can toss food in for tort to hunt for enrichment.

Various planters and plants wherever I can fit them without taking up too much floor space.

The top has room for lighting, and a clear plastic guard to prevent the lights getting wet.

The walls will be insulated so it hold heat better.

Tank build plan overview:
View attachment 400188
Loose decoration plan:
View attachment 400189
Tort Tax:
View attachment 400191

Click to expand...

I like the idea! Just a few things to consider:
1. Tortoises frequently (read, "always" ) poop and pee in the water dish. UV filters are useless for that kind of waste. As much as I would like to have a water feature for my redfoot, I've ditched the idea and use just a plain terracotta dish.

2. Misting is not really necessary in a "closed chamber" enclosure. Rainfall simulation would be cool to implement, yet a thick drainage layer (1" min) is a must (with ability to drain excesses).

3. Growing any kind of plants within tortoise ls reach is futile So using wall pockets, combining hides with planters, placing elevated half-logs or rain gutters with vines (such as pothos) is the way to go.

4. A bit more walking space can be gained with tricks like galleries, tunnels and such.

Alex and the Redfoot said:

I like the idea! Just a few things to consider:
1. Tortoises frequently (read, "always" ) poop and pee in the water dish. UV filters are useless for that kind of waste. As much as I would like to have a water feature for my redfoot, I've ditched the idea and use just a plain terracotta dish.

2. Misting is not really necessary in a "closed chamber" enclosure. Rainfall simulation would be cool to implement, yet a thick drainage layer (1" min) is a must (with ability to drain excesses).

3. Growing any kind of plants within tortoise ls reach is futile So using wall pockets, combining hides with planters, placing elevated half-logs or rain gutters with vines (such as pothos) is the way to go.

4. A bit more walking space can be gained with tricks like galleries, tunnels and such.

Click to expand...

Yea torts do that. I had a 150 gallon fish tank a few years ago and still have all the supplies, (heater, canister filter, pumps ect. ect.) it would be a bit more involved than just UV, more similar to a red ear slider filtration. That being said, the actual tray in tank would be a bread proofing tray/litter box/similar item. so still easy to revert to a more simple setup, swap out for cleaning, or have multiple for swapping around for cleaning.

Rain is a good idea, my tort loves and hates the "rain". doesn't like getting wet but gets very chipper, active, and hangry after spraying or soaking. Some small annoyances makes life more interesting. The well draining layer seems needed regardless anyway, I have found it to be the only way to maintain humidity while not having a soggy substrate, but the current enclosure isn't super tight.

Plants are a constant battle. Whatever doesn't get eaten gets trampled, whatever survives both gets harassed to death. The current tank has hanging plants and planters with a couple guarded plants that tort doesn't like. Tort loves the shade under the planters and plants. Occasionally I will "plant" tort's greens and let them eat and destroy it.

I'm hoping to have the final size 16' long, the 12' is the bare minimum, it's just hard to plan final sizes when you don't even know what the rooms will look like. I can look into more creative walking solutions if it ends up being more like 12' long.

Trashpanda said:

Yea torts do that. I had a 150 gallon fish tank a few years ago and still have all the supplies, (heater, canister filter, pumps ect. ect.) it would be a bit more involved than just UV, more similar to a red ear slider filtration. That being said, the actual tray in tank would be a bread proofing tray/litter box/similar item. so still easy to revert to a more simple setup, swap out for cleaning, or have multiple for swapping around for cleaning.

Rain is a good idea, my tort loves and hates the "rain". doesn't like getting wet but gets very chipper, active, and hangry after spraying or soaking. Some small annoyances makes life more interesting. The well draining layer seems needed regardless anyway, I have found it to be the only way to maintain humidity while not having a soggy substrate, but the current enclosure isn't super tight.

Plants are a constant battle. Whatever doesn't get eaten gets trampled, whatever survives both gets harassed to death. The current tank has hanging plants and planters with a couple guarded plants that tort doesn't like. Tort loves the shade under the planters and plants. Occasionally I will "plant" tort's greens and let them eat and destroy it.

I'm hoping to have the final size 16' long, the 12' is the bare minimum, it's just hard to plan final sizes when you don't even know what the rooms will look like. I can look into more creative walking solutions if it ends up being more like 12' long.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you've got things covered I would love to see some "in-progress" photos and posts. And the finished enclosure as well.

Alex and the Redfoot said:

Sounds like you've got things covered I would love to see some "in-progress" photos and posts. And the finished enclosure as well.

Click to expand...

I plan on it, but you might be waiting a couple months lol. I thought people might want to copy the Glorified box PVC enclosure bones.

Trashpanda said:

I plan on it, but you might be waiting a couple months lol. I thought people might want to copy the Glorified box PVC enclosure bones.

Click to expand...

I'm certainly interested in blueprints

A few more things catched my eye...
1. A protective poly cell screen for lights. Is it UV-transparent plastic? What brand? Also, it would be interesting to see heating/lightning layout.

2. Why do you plan to place radiant heat panels on the walls? While they certainly work this way, the most common and "natural" is provide top-down heating. I also concerned that live plants will wilt near RHPs.

That being said, the actual tray in tank would be a bread proofing tray/litter box/similar item. so still easy to revert to a more simple setup, swap out for cleaning, or have multiple for swapping around for cleaning.

Click to expand...

Please look through this before you build. It will help you not make the mistakes that someone here has already had to contend with.










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Alex and the Redfoot said:

I'm certainly interested in blueprints

A few more things catched my eye...
1. A protective poly cell screen for lights. Is it UV-transparent plastic? What brand? Also, it would be interesting to see heating/lightning layout.

2. Why do you plan to place radiant heat panels on the walls? While they certainly work this way, the most common and "natural" is provide top-down heating. I also concerned that live plants will wilt near RHPs.

Click to expand...

1: Good point, I thought about that after remembering the UV lights would be blocked or weakened after going through anything. I'm just going to have to put it over only the non-UV lights. But without misting the risk of water getting up there is lower, so maybe it won't be a problem. It was going to be greenhouse poly panels.

2: Was bit of an afterthought, but yea roof is better. Its a rollover form my current enclosure where the UV and T8 plant light prevent putting them up there.

Heat/Light layout will likely be the last step, as what goes where will very a lot. Want to avoid having the heating right over plants, the UV in places tort wants to hang out, plant lights over plants, etc.. etc..