Camping with Paco

[SamFoxx21]

Hello! Im new here, and already leaning great stuff! Any who, I am going camping for a week un north (Michigan) and couldn't find a sitter for my red foot. His name is Paco, and hes a few months old. I am thinking of taking him with me. I have a smaller tank to make him comfy (I know...a tank, but it wont be forever) and have an extension cord for his heat lamp. I will be in a tent so I was going to put him in the car at night to protect from cold or critters and put him outside during the day (under supervision). I also have a critter pack carrier to take him places (see through backpack with breathing holes. Im gonna put damp sphagnum moss in there with him too). I plan to let him have plenty of supervised exercise time in the grass so he can munch on stuff (loves clover). Do you have any ideas or suggestions for the trip to keep him comfy and okay? I know this isnt ideal, but I have no one to watch him and surely wont leave him home that long alone. (also, im still gonna water bath him, the campground isnt horribly rustic). Thank you in advance

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello! Im new here, and already leaning great stuff! Any who, I am going camping for a week un north (Michigan) and couldn't find a sitter for my red foot. His name is Paco, and hes a few months old. I am thinking of taking him with me. I have a smaller tank to make him comfy (I know...a tank, but it wont be forever) and have an extension cord for his heat lamp. I will be in a tent so I was going to put him in the car at night to protect from cold or critters and put him outside during the day (under supervision). I also have a critter pack carrier to take him places (see through backpack with breathing holes. Im gonna put damp sphagnum moss in there with him too). I plan to let him have plenty of supervised exercise time in the grass so he can munch on stuff (loves clover). Do you have any ideas or suggestions for the trip to keep him comfy and okay? I know this isnt ideal, but I have no one to watch him and surely wont leave him home that long alone. (also, im still gonna water bath him, the campground isnt horribly rustic). Thank you in advance

Hello, you’re in a bit of an impossible situation here, because I would strongly urge you not to take your tortoise camping, travel is incredibly stressful for them, I absolutely wouldn’t let him roam random areas in the wilderness, so many people have lost their tortoises that way, but you also don’t know what may have been sprayed in the area in terms of fertilisers or something.
Walking around with him in a critter pack would also be so incredibly stressful for him, they don’t like the movement of travel, and they can find new territories very daunting. Sphagnum moss is also an impaction risk, avoid it at all costs.

As you’re new here I think you’ll find looking these links over super helpful!

This housing thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, I always urge to check your bulb types on the forum, you’d be surprised how many people are sold the wrong ones, especially for red foots), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for red foots(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity(they are prone to shell rot so this is important! No misters or humidifiers), safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, a diet list and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Young red foot/ cherryhead set up

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information on an effective example of a starter enclosure for a red foot/cherry head😊 Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chambers, some work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates(including moss), housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Is there any way you can find a pet sitter online to come and do daily feeds, water refresh etc, it really would be in your babies best interest, this trip could really set him back in terms of being settled into a new home

 

[mojo_1]

Please do everything you can to not put your tort through all that. Also heat lamps extension cords and car. This sounds like the first sentence on a report that comes after, Upon arriving on the seen a car and 3/4 of the campground were engulfed in flames.

 

[RandyTortoise]

Hello! Im new here, and already leaning great stuff! Any who, I am going camping for a week un north (Michigan) and couldn't find a sitter for my red foot. His name is Paco, and hes a few months old. I am thinking of taking him with me. I have a smaller tank to make him comfy (I know...a tank, but it wont be forever) and have an extension cord for his heat lamp. I will be in a tent so I was going to put him in the car at night to protect from cold or critters and put him outside during the day (under supervision). I also have a critter pack carrier to take him places (see through backpack with breathing holes. Im gonna put damp sphagnum moss in there with him too). I plan to let him have plenty of supervised exercise time in the grass so he can munch on stuff (loves clover). Do you have any ideas or suggestions for the trip to keep him comfy and okay? I know this isnt ideal, but I have no one to watch him and surely wont leave him home that long alone. (also, im still gonna water bath him, the campground isnt horribly rustic). Thank you in advanc

 

[Tom]

Hello! Im new here, and already leaning great stuff! Any who, I am going camping for a week un north (Michigan) and couldn't find a sitter for my red foot. His name is Paco, and hes a few months old. I am thinking of taking him with me. I have a smaller tank to make him comfy (I know...a tank, but it wont be forever) and have an extension cord for his heat lamp. I will be in a tent so I was going to put him in the car at night to protect from cold or critters and put him outside during the day (under supervision). I also have a critter pack carrier to take him places (see through backpack with breathing holes. Im gonna put damp sphagnum moss in there with him too). I plan to let him have plenty of supervised exercise time in the grass so he can munch on stuff (loves clover). Do you have any ideas or suggestions for the trip to keep him comfy and okay? I know this isnt ideal, but I have no one to watch him and surely wont leave him home that long alone. (also, im still gonna water bath him, the campground isnt horribly rustic). Thank you in advance

Hello and welcome! @Littleredfootbigredheart spelled everything out perfectly for you. It's best to leave the tortoise at home and have someone come check on it daily. Friend, neighbor, family member, pet sitting service. There are many ways to do it.