WrinklyTortoiseNeck
New Member
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and wanted some (ok, a lot) of advice on a tortoise table for a red foot. I recently moved back in with my parents and noticed that their adult red footed tortoise, Bozo, was way too big for his vivarium. I believe he's fully grown as he's about 12 years old. I would have liked to buy a bigger vivarium, but decently sized enclosures are around 1k which I'm not willing to pay. We are willing to build a tortoise table since it seems like it'd be cheaper than the alternative. I'm planning on building an enclosed tortoise table since it'd very dry in the Midwest now that it's getting cooler and I would like to have a more hands off approach to maintaining the appropriate high humidity for Bozo. I'm thinking of making a sort of greenhouse by building a frame overtop and layering over some sort of sheeting or PVC. I've heard that mold is a possibility with an enclosed space but would varnishing the wood be enough to prevent this? I have a general idea of the design, but are there any blueprints or layouts that could help guide me more? I've heard people using pine for the wood more so than other types. Why is that?
I have a few other questions regarding the closure. Do you guys have both a UV light and night heat lamp in your enclosures or just keep the UV on 24/7? I plan on building a section in the table that would be sheltered from all light but didn't know if it'd be beneficial to have the entire enclosure dark at the night. Do you guys have experience with including live plants in red foot enclosures? That sounds like it'd be a neat idea but I want to know if any of the risks are more of a hassle than a benefit. Is spritzing the substrate plus heat lamp enough to maintain humidity or should I look into a humidifier.
Thanks!
I have a few other questions regarding the closure. Do you guys have both a UV light and night heat lamp in your enclosures or just keep the UV on 24/7? I plan on building a section in the table that would be sheltered from all light but didn't know if it'd be beneficial to have the entire enclosure dark at the night. Do you guys have experience with including live plants in red foot enclosures? That sounds like it'd be a neat idea but I want to know if any of the risks are more of a hassle than a benefit. Is spritzing the substrate plus heat lamp enough to maintain humidity or should I look into a humidifier.
Thanks!