Bioactive Redfoot Enclosure

[Tofutheredfoot]

For all fellow red foot owners we just switched our two year old redfoot into his new enclosure. We decided to go bioactive to help give him as natural of an environment as possible. He was also in a table and we were struggling to maintain temperature and humidity. It was a total labor of love but Tofu is so much happier. He has loved exploring, is way more active and I like that we get to hang out and watch him live his best life Huge shout out to you guys for all of the awesome info on different setups and to Toad Ranch for the killer enclosure and answering our five million questions during the build process. If anyone is interested in what we used let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any questions or provide info on everything we used.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

For all fellow red foot owners we just switched our two year old redfoot into his new enclosure. We decided to go bioactive to help give him as natural of an environment as possible. He was also in a table and we were struggling to maintain temperature and humidity. It was a total labor of love but Tofu is so much happier. He has loved exploring, is way more active and I like that we get to hang out and watch him live his best life Huge shout out to you guys for all of the awesome info on different setups and to Toad Ranch for the killer enclosure and answering our five million questions during the build process. If anyone is interested in what we used let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any questions or provide info on everything we used.

This enclosure looks superb! I believe Tofu is smiling on the photo!

I want to know details, for sure
1. How did you make substrate? Is there a drainage layer?
2. What plants do you have (I don't recognize all of them). Will they be fine without a grow light?
3. I see Deep Heat Projectors instead of usual CHEs or radiant heat panels. Was it a Toad Ranch suggested setup?

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

This enclosure looks superb! I believe Tofu is smiling on the photo!

I want to know details, for sure
1. How did you make substrate? Is there a drainage layer?
2. What plants do you have (I don't recognize all of them). Will they be fine without a grow light?
3. I see Deep Heat Projectors instead of usual CHEs or radiant heat panels. Was it a Toad Ranch suggested setup?

This enclosure looks superb! I believe Tofu is smiling on the photo!

I want to know details, for sure
1. How did you make substrate? Is there a drainage layer?
2. What plants do you have (I don't recognize all of them). Will they be fine without a grow light?
3. I see Deep Heat Projectors instead of usual CHEs or radiant heat panels. Was it a Toad Ranch suggested setup?

Thanks - we love seeing how engaged he is now. And the visibility of having the front open is so nice compared to the table where we would have to stand and look down on him. Our whole goal was to make this as close to natural for him as possible. We went with a 6x3x3 enclosure with a six inch bottom so we had enough depth for substrate and a drainage layer. Our drainage layer is a mix of false bottom from Josh’s Frogs and small lava rocks. I found the best deal on Amazon for those. We then did a substrate barrier (which was a pain because it was hard to lay flat and not shift a lot once you started putting substrate on it.) The actual substrate was a mix too. We looked at making our own ABG mix but ultimately it was more cost effective to get it already made directly from Josh’s Frogs. We did a mix of 50% ABG and then 50% Eco Earth, Zilla mix and Reptisoil. We mixed a family of springtails into the substrate to help keep everything clean and “moving.” And we added leaf litter to the top which will breakdown and feed the clean up crew too. I chickened out on doing an actual wading pond and went with the tried and true terracotta dish.

As for the plants we have Boston ferns, bromeliads, spider plants, a few different kinds of sansevieria, a prayer plant, moss, Japanese birds nest, rubber plants and peacock moss. For the most part these plants are pretty hearty (which I need because I don’t have a green thumb at all). There are a few, like the prayer plant, that I’m hoping do well but the plants for the most part are going to be trial and error. There is an app called Picture This that identifies plants. We wandered around a local nursery, took pictures and then compared that with the “safe” lists we’ve found for tortoises. We did two grow light panels that we got off of Amazon that stuck to the ceiling of the tank. They’re on timers that match the UVB light.

We did deep heat projectors at Toad Ranch’s recommendation. We also added the Herpstat 4 environmental control which has been awesome. It gives us a ton of options to be able to really fine tune the temperature and humidity settings.

It’s a lot of info so I hope it helps! Let me know if you want links or close up pictures of anything we used. Happy to pass them along.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you for the details!

I haven't noticed the grow light panels, that's why I've asked. The link to those would be helpful. Also, as I read, grow lights should be on for 10-14 hours a day. Probably, depends on plants used.

What's the thickness of drainage layer?

I second your decision to go with a terracotta saucer Much easier to clean. I put a similar sized plastic saucer under the terracotta dish so less substrate sticks when you change water (also less disturbing for the cleanup crew).

You have only springtails and no isopods there?

How long did you wait before moving tortoise in? Was there a "mold outbreak" after adding leaf litter?

P.S. - @Littleredfootbigredheart this is a must for your "Visual Inspiration" thread.

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

Thank you for the details!

I haven't noticed the grow light panels, that's why I've asked. The link to those would be helpful. Also, as I read, grow lights should be on for 10-14 hours a day. Probably, depends on plants used.

What's the thickness of drainage layer?

I second your decision to go with a terracotta saucer Much easier to clean. I put a similar sized plastic saucer under the terracotta dish so less substrate sticks when you change water (also less disturbing for the cleanup crew).

You have only springtails and no isopods there?

How long did you wait before moving tortoise in? Was there a "mold outbreak" after adding leaf litter?

P.S. - @Littleredfootbigredheart this is a must for your "Visual Inspiration" thread.

Thank you for the details!

I haven't noticed the grow light panels, that's why I've asked. The link to those would be helpful. Also, as I read, grow lights should be on for 10-14 hours a day. Probably, depends on plants used.

What's the thickness of drainage layer?

I second your decision to go with a terracotta saucer Much easier to clean. I put a similar sized plastic saucer under the terracotta dish so less substrate sticks when you change water (also less disturbing for the cleanup crew).

You have only springtails and no isopods there?

How long did you wait before moving tortoise in? Was there a "mold outbreak" after adding leaf litter?

P.S. - @Littleredfootbigredheart this is a must for your "Visual Inspiration" thread.

I forgot the Amazon link! Here you go.
Grow Lights

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you for the details!

I haven't noticed the grow light panels, that's why I've asked. The link to those would be helpful. Also, as I read, grow lights should be on for 10-14 hours a day. Probably, depends on plants used.

What's the thickness of drainage layer?

I second your decision to go with a terracotta saucer Much easier to clean. I put a similar sized plastic saucer under the terracotta dish so less substrate sticks when you change water (also less disturbing for the cleanup crew).

You have only springtails and no isopods there?

How long did you wait before moving tortoise in? Was there a "mold outbreak" after adding leaf litter?

P.S. - @Littleredfootbigredheart this is a must for your "Visual Inspiration" thread.

Oh agreed! I love this!!great job @Tofutheredfoot! Do you have any worries over him potentially swallowing some of those smaller stones? I only ask because there’s been quite a few instances of torts eating them and getting blocked upare they bigger than how they look in the pics? Love the background btw!!

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

Oh agreed! I love this!!great job @Tofutheredfoot! Do you have any worries over him potentially swallowing some of those smaller stones? I only ask because there’s been quite a few instances of torts eating them and getting blocked upare they bigger than how they look in the pics? Love the background btw!!

They are bigger than they look. Here’s a shot of Tofu with the rocks so you can see the scale. The background was picked out by our kids and Toad Ranch installed it during the build. I believe it’s the California Redwoods. My only regret is not having the background extended to both side panels but maybe down the road we’ll add some.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

They are bigger than they look. Here’s a shot of Tofu with the rocks so you can see the scale. The background was picked out by our kids and Toad Ranch installed it during the build. I believe it’s the California Redwoods. My only regret is not having the background extended to both side panels but maybe down the road we’ll add some. View attachment 381315

Ah I can see now! That’s fine

Would you mind me adding this to my visual inspiration thread? It’s full of photo examples of lovely closed chambers! I will probably add the warning against small stones because some folks do add ones that are too small, but don’t want you thinking that’s aimed at you! I try to keep general safety in mind when posting to a larger audience

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

Ah I can see now! That’s fine

Would you mind me adding this to my visual inspiration thread? It’s full of photo examples of lovely closed chambers! I will probably add the warning against small stones because some folks do add ones that are too small, but don’t want you thinking that’s aimed at you! I try to keep general safety in mind when posting to a larger audience

Sure! Let me know if you want any more pictures. For reference I used #57 gravel for my stones which is about 3/4 average inch. If you want to call that out. Tofu is only two so still smaller than the gravel at this point.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Sure! Let me know if you want any more pictures. For reference I used #57 gravel for my stones which is about 3/4 average inch. If you want to call that out. Tofu is only two so still smaller than the gravel at this point.

Thanks so much! I’ll definitely add that in your instance, the stones are a safer sizeappreciate it!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

It would be great to see some regular updates:
what plants do better, what tweaks have been done, how often you add water and so on. And, of course, pictures of Tofu growing and exploring.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It would be great to see some regular updates:
what plants do better, what tweaks have been done, how often you add water and so on. And, of course, pictures of Tofu growing and exploring.

Oh yes second this! If you ever change to landscape about I’d love updated photos along the way! It’s a really nice set up

 

[mojo_1]

Oh yes second this! If you ever change to landscape about I’d love updated photos along the way! It’s a really nice set up

X3 on this. Beautiful enclosure. I'm looking to expand Mojo's enclosure myself.

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

It would be great to see some regular updates:
what plants do better, what tweaks have been done, how often you add water and so on. And, of course, pictures of Tofu growing and exploring.

That’s a great idea! I forgot I have one peperomia plant in there as well. So you can add that to your “safe” list. I’ll keep everyone posted on how we fare and what we find we need to change. For starters I already swapped out the flat plastic pieces for the glass doors that came with the enclosure. We were having trouble putting too much pressure on the glass and it wouldn’t slide easily in the tracks. We switched them out for pulls that you can actually grab which has made a huge difference.

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

Thanks so much! I’ll definitely add that in your instance, the stones are a safer sizeappreciate it!

Side note - I pored over your visual inspiration thread prior to our build for ideas. So I feel honored to now make the list!

 

[mojo_1]

That’s a great idea! I forgot I have one peperomia plant in there as well. So you can add that to your “safe” list. I’ll keep everyone posted on how we fare and what we find we need to change. For starters I already swapped out the flat plastic pieces for the glass doors that came with the enclosure. We were having trouble putting too much pressure on the glass and it wouldn’t slide easily in the tracks. We switched them out for pulls that you can actually grab which has made a huge difference.

Where did you get the pulls from? The ones on Mojo's enclosure are nail bending #^&%/÷

 

[Tofutheredfoot]

Where did you get the pulls from? The ones on Mojo's enclosure are nail bending #^&%/÷

Amazon - here’s the link

 

[mojo_1]

Amazon - here’s the link

Thank you.

 

[cwalker1379]

For all fellow red foot owners we just switched our two year old redfoot into his new enclosure. We decided to go bioactive to help give him as natural of an environment as possible. He was also in a table and we were struggling to maintain temperature and humidity. It was a total labor of love but Tofu is so much happier. He has loved exploring, is way more active and I like that we get to hang out and watch him live his best life Huge shout out to you guys for all of the awesome info on different setups and to Toad Ranch for the killer enclosure and answering our five million questions during the build process. If anyone is interested in what we used let me know and I’ll be happy to answer any questions or provide info on everything we used.

I love your enclosure!! I’ve been looking at Toad Ranch for a while and I’m planning to get one within the next year or so. My little guy is a little over 2 years old as well. I currently have a 4’x2’x2’ pvc enclosure that’s bioactive and I plan to set the new one up the same way. I have a couple questions for you, if you don’t mind. How much of the lava rocks did you use for the drainage layer? How do you like the vent placement? I was thinking of doing a couple vents, one on each side panel. I’ve seen a lot of people say you really don’t need vents for red foots but I at least want to have a little circulation. Is there anything you would’ve done differently if you had to do it again? I’m sure he is loving this setup! I’d also love to hear how your plants are doing with the grow lights you have. Sorry… that was more than a couple questions!

 

[COmtnLady]

That is a gorgeous enclosure!

Because they are a tropical species, Red Foots need high humidity (84% or above) and warm temps (I think 84F degrees, that way the minimum is easy to remember - 84F & 84%, 24/7/365).

That means you have to have a closed chamber to hold all that in. NO VENTS! No little open spaces between or around anything. Seal it all down tightly... tape around points where wires or whatever go in, if you can see in/out seal it up. Every open space is a place where your heat and humidity escape into the room and are not useful to your tortoise. There are A LOT of cubic inches of space in your enclosure, and every time you open it to put food or water in or take your tort out to soak, a huge amount of air is displaced and fresh rushes in to fill the void. Remember your mom telling you not to just stand there holding the refrigerator's door open when you were a kid? Same principle - the air/heat/humidity all falls/floats out. Don't even worry about your tortoise running out of air! Its not going to happen.


Have you read this yet? (Most of it is a good resource, but its an older thread and we have since discovered a couple recommendations that we no longer recommend - like: sand as substrate for a captive tort can be deadly, so do not use sand at all.) Feel free to discuss anything that comes to mid.

Redfoot Tortoise Care Sheet

NOTE: I do not keep redfoots, and I only have one tortoise in total. With this in mind, remember that I am in no way an expert, and this should not be used as cold hard proof of how to raise a redfoot. I used information from great keepers on this forum to put everything together. This care...

tortoiseforum.org

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