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I am so new to this. Where do I find how to make a "smart enclosure".Here is a helpful tip: Heating an open topped enclosure is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof. It just won't work. Your baby red foot will need a roof. A closed chamber with all of the heating and lighting contained inside. A closed chamber makes it very easy to keep the necessary warm humid conditions. We will help you. You don't have to figure it all out alone. We want you to have a happy and rewarding tortoise keeping experience and a healthy tortoise too.
You can find examples of closed chamber type enclosures in post number three from Megatron's Mom. I HIGHLY recommend Mark's "Smart Enclosures". These are the best tortoise life support system there is, and they make is easy to attain and maintain the most prefect conditions for your tortoise. You can start with a 4x3 foot one, and add another 4x3 foot section later on to make it 8x3 feet as your tortoise grows. Or just buy both sections now to save on shipping. If that is overwhelming to you at first, the thread on making your own closed chamber out of a big plastic bin can work temporarily for a baby too.
Where are you getting the baby? Most breeders don't start babies correctly. The first step in having a successful tortoise keeping experience is to buy from the right source and get a healthy properly started baby. This is not an easy thing to figure out on your own.
Read through this thread at least a couple of times. Ask all of your questions.
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
Smart Enclosure is actually one of the ready made options. It comes with lighting included and the assembly is relatively easy. Even if you decide to go with it, you probably won't get it in time in two weeks.
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Here is the (in my opinion) simplest red foot care sheet we have:
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Thank you so much!Smart Enclosure is actually one of the ready made options. It comes with lighting included and the assembly is relatively easy. Even if you decide to go with it, you probably won't get it in time in two weeks.
Here is one easy DIY option for short term use:
How to make a closed-chamber baby habitat out of a 55gal Sterilite bin
Since several folks have asked about how to make a closed chamber baby enclosure out of a 55gal Sterilite tote, here are some pics and description of how I do. This is not the most beautiful option, but since the babies will only be in here for 9-12 months, I'm okay with that. My own Russian...
Here is the (in my opinion) simplest red foot care sheet we have:
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...
It has picture examples of all the products you will need.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have!
@Markw84 is a member here. Here is the Facebook page of Smart Tortoise Keeper:
www.facebook.com
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Yes, it should work as a temporary home. You might have issues with placing lighting and heating in it, but you can give it a try for a few weeks.
That's who I am hoping will build mine. Thank you so much!!
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Thank you so much! Going to get a tote started today! I appreciate all your feedback and willingness to help me. I am so grateful for this forum and everyone sharing all of their knowledgeNO!
EVERY TIME you open that it will lose ALL of the heat and humidity.
That would be akin to you having a three month old human baby suddenly having the room temperatures drop to about 40F degrees for a half hour every time you pick it up. How long would that take before the baby was unhealthy? You need something that will contain the temps and humidity. With something like the Tub-type of enclosure you lose some humidity and heat when you open the door, but its not like removing the entire upper portion of the enclosure. Baby RedFoots need 84F degrees and 84% humidity at all times. (Actually, RedFoot adults need that, too, as do all other types of hatchlings.)
How to make a closed-chamber baby habitat out of a 55gal Sterilite bin
Since several folks have asked about how to make a closed chamber baby enclosure out of a 55gal Sterilite tote, here are some pics and description of how I do. This is not the most beautiful option, but since the babies will only be in here for 9-12 months, I'm okay with that. My own Russian...
This plant stand with the lid on is awfully short. But you do need to have a tightly sealed top similar to that. From the floor of it to the ceiling is only15 inches. (A couple inches of substrate moves your tortoise even closer to a light/burn.) There is no good way to afix lighting and heating in this - whatever you do, those focal points will all be too close to the floor and thus too hot or other ways ineffectual-to-dangerous.
By the time you rig that plant stand up to not harm your baby, you could have made one of the Rubbermaid-type bins into something that is actually better for your baby. You need a CLOSED enclosure to hold the temperatures and humidity in. If the top was another foot higher you might be able to create a good enclosure from this.
As it is you would also have to seal up/duct-tape over the handles on the ends of the upper piece of the plant stand, and whatever is in the center on the top would probably need adaption - its not easy to see exactly what's going on there in the pics provided .
You would need to check it out in person at any rate. It might have holes in the base to allow excess plant water to drain out. You would have to seal all of those closed or your substrate will become too dry for your hatchling. (And would stain the floor it drips onto.)
If you were an experienced keeper you might be able to adapt this, but since you haven't raised a baby tortoise yet, so much could go wrong. Stick with the Rubbermaid Tub type (which you will still need to get lights and such for) because the instructions are all right there.
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I believe you would also need LEDs for ambient lighting on top of these two. @Alex and the Redfoot can probably comment on this.
