Indoor enclosure, cherry head, need ideas

[Lrn2trvl]

Hi everyone,
This forum is so so helpful, so many wonderful people here.

TLDR: ideas for indoor enclosure/setting up a room *semi-temporarily* hopefully will move houses in 4-5 years. Currently living in Northeastern US

anyway I need to come up with a creative solution. I was going to buy an animal plastics enclosure or an even more awesome one from Mark, or make one similar to Sterant, but I'm realizing reading in here that I need something *much* bigger (the breeder at the reptile show did not express how much room a little tortoise needs 😞)

I've searched on here but I feel like I could read forever and never make a decision...I need a little hand holding I think

Please hit me with your best ideas... I'll have a budget of about $500-800 and it would be great to have something that can be (easily-ish)moved to another house. I am somewhat "handy" but don't have any tools.

I'm thinking our basement/"bonus" room might be best space wise, but it's carpeted.

I think I've read 64sqft of space is minimum?

Had anyone done anything like I mention before, or is there a better idea?

Could I put covered plastic tubs connected with some type of tube? Would need 8-9 storage tubs. Cons: large footprint:can't stack them, would need multiple heat sources?

Or do similar with a folding kiddie pool, cut the sides to attach to a heated tub or enclosure (is it ok to have such a large uncovered space? What temp would I need to keep the room at?)
Pool is 87" (7.25') diameter= about 41sqft so it'd need additional 23ft2 (this would be 3 tubs, or a 3x7 enclosure.

Thanks for any help and ideas. You all rock

Amazon pool link: https://a.co/d/7BNIWEx

Lowe's solid black : is 7.6sqft

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-75-Gallon-PS-Commander-Tote/5013943287

Walmart tree box 52"x20" 15" tall 8.6ft2

Robot or human?

Home Depot clear box 45"x23" 22" high 7.5sqft

HDX 70-Gal Clear Tough Tote w/Wheels in Black with Yellow Lid 206282 - The Home Depot

This HDX reinforced stackable 70 Gal. heavy-duty clear tough tote with wheels will handle any storage job ranging from general storage needs to extreme storage jobs. The tote includes a clarified polypropylene

www.homedepot.com

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hello and welcome to the forum from South Florida
While I have many decades of Redfoot keeping experience, very little of that is with keeping them indoors.
Mine have all lived outdoors.
Even my smallest babies after a certain age.

I've always been a fan of the mini greenhouse enclosures. But again. I've never used one.
Go as large as you have the space for it. My Redfoot initially go into 8'x8' pens.
My primary pen. That houses my adult male is 10x25.

 

[Lrn2trvl]

Hello and welcome to the forum from South Florida
While I have many decades of Redfoot keeping experience, very little of that is with keeping them indoors.
Mine have all lived outdoors.
Even my smallest babies after a certain age.

I've always been a fan of the mini greenhouse enclosures. But again. I've never used one.
Go as large as you have the space for it. My Redfoot initially go into 8'x8' pens.
My primary pen. That houses my adult male is 10x25.

Thanks. I am trying to figure out how to get as big as I can in that room, just trying to figure out how to keep it all off the rug, and with the dry winters here how to keep the humidity up. The plan was to move into a new house that we would be in indefinitely and build a large outdoor greenhouse enclosure. But we're stuck in our townhouse, with no yard, now until he retires from the guard (4yrs).

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
Unless you have a room with temperatures closer 80F and humidity of 80-90% you will need to provide closed chamber (covered enclosure). This is especially important for younger tortoises. As you mentioned breeder, I suppose you have a hatchling or yearling. This relaxes the space requirements but proper environment is a must.

I think the most "cost-wise" is to go with a portable greenhouse or a covered kiddy pool (or a combination of two).

Also 32 sq. ft. will be enough for 2-3 years. If you have no plans to move to a warm state like Florida, maybe a Smart Enclosure from Mark is a good option: you can start with one, then in a few years get the second one as an extension. And finally use it as a night stay/winter enclosure.

P.S. - I wish I've found a grow tents from AC Infinity earlier (from the other thread, where you've posted)... They really worth looking into. Maybe my redfoot will get an enclosure upgrade )

 

[Lrn2trvl]

Hello!
Unless you have a room with temperatures closer 80F and humidity of 80-90% you will need to provide closed chamber (covered enclosure). This is especially important for younger tortoises. As you mentioned breeder, I suppose you have a hatchling or yearling. This relaxes the space requirements but proper environment is a must.

I think the most "cost-wise" is to go with a portable greenhouse or a covered kiddy pool (or a combination of two).

Also 32 sq. ft. will be enough for 2-3 years. If you have no plans to move to a warm state like Florida, maybe a Smart Enclosure from Mark is a good option: you can start with one, then in a few years get the second one as an extension. And finally use it as a night stay/winter enclosure.

Thanks Alex...I must have mis-typed if I wrote "breeder"... I have a ~10" 10 year (?) old cherry head, so I guess I need to go bigger than that.

I'll look into an interior grow house as recommended by @ZEROPILOT

If I get one from ac infinity I'll let you know how it goes

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Oh. 10/10 is definitely not a baby )

I've looked through Amazon. There are many vendors for this kind of grow tents.

Some design gotchas with the grow tents:
1. They are tall: you will need some creativity to put UVB light at the right height. And using a couple of CHEs won't work to heat them.
2. Most of them are "dark rooms" - that means there is only a small peek window, if any. You will have to put a webcam, or you'll be missing your tortoise )
3. You can get a "wardrobe" type grow tent (like 6x2x6 ft) and put it on it's back. This easies the problem with lights mounting, however waterproofed floor tray will be on the side wall and you will need a shower curtain or something to line the floor.

Mini-greenhouses are cheaper, some of them even have waterproofed floor. But they aren't very good at keeping temperature. So if the room is cold, then a grow tent may a better option.

 

[Lrn2trvl]

Oh. 10/10 is definitely not a baby )

I've looked through Amazon. There are many vendors for this kind of grow tents.

Some design gotchas with the grow tents:
1. They are tall: you will need some creativity to put UVB light at the right height. And using a couple of CHEs won't work to heat them.
2. Most of them are "dark rooms" - that means there is only a small peek window, if any. You will have to put a webcam, or you'll be missing your tortoise )
3. You can get a "wardrobe" type grow tent (like 6x2x6 ft) and put it on it's back. This easies the problem with lights mounting, however waterproofed floor tray will be on the side wall and you will need a shower curtain or something to line the floor.

Mini-greenhouses are cheaper, some of them even have waterproofed floor. But they aren't very good at keeping temperature. So if the room is cold, then a grow tent may a better option.

Thanks. That is so helpful. I'm not really liking the idea of a grow tent with the solid walls (all the photos with the open doors I thought that part was clear!), he likes to look out and likes interaction, and so do I. I might be back to plan "a" and making my own enclosure.... I'll start looking at the greenhouses and I could put insulation around it if it doesn't hold the heat. I think I'm more worried about humidity anyway.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thanks. That is so helpful. I'm not really liking the idea of a grow tent with the solid walls (all the photos with the open doors I thought that part was clear!), he likes to look out and likes interaction, and so do I. I might be back to plan "a" and making my own enclosure.... I'll start looking at the greenhouses and I could put insulation around it if it doesn't hold the heat. I think I'm more worried about humidity anyway.

Yes, I've been upset with the solid walls as well

Maintaining humidity is easy with greenhouse tops. And I don't expect temperature to be a serious issue too, unless the room cools down to 50F.

It would be great if you'll make some updates on the progress later. And, of course, ask questions if any arise.

 

[Lrn2trvl]

I might do something like this... Not quite as large as I would want, but my dad mentioned they might build a greenhouse on their property and then Tortoise would have that for the summer or longer depending on how well it keeps the heat

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I like the idea! I can't really comment on cut-outs - I didn't build PVC enclosures yet. However, two things to consider:
1. Ramp looks narrow for a 10" tortoise - it will have hard times turning around. Maybe better make it 15-20"... It's still a usable space (and under the ramp could be a perfect humid hide).
2. And the same thing about 3 ft. enclosure depth. My red-foot is just 6.5" and she swears all the time when she needs to walk around a water dish or turn back. I would go with 4 ft. if possible.

 

[Lrn2trvl]

I like the idea! I can't really comment on cut-outs - I didn't build PVC enclosures yet. However, two things to consider:
1. Ramp looks narrow for a 10" tortoise - it will have hard times turning around. Maybe better make it 15-20"... It's still a usable space (and under the ramp could be a perfect humid hide).
2. And the same thing about 3 ft. enclosure depth. My red-foot is just 6.5" and she swears all the time when she needs to walk around a water dish or turn back. I would go with 4 ft. if possible.

Thanks for the ideas
His current indoor enclosure has a ramp that is 13" wide which seems plenty wide, but when I wrote 12" on the diagram I didn't remember how wide the ramp was. When I bought him the guy said he'd only get about 10" so I'm hoping he doesn't grow much more 😬 maybe I'll make it 14 or 15" wide which leaves 18" to go around.
Current ramp is also on a hinge and he bulldozes under it, and it's heavy plywood, so I'm not too worried about the 3ft being bothersome.
I do worry of I made it 4' it would be too hard to clean the far side.... Maybe I need to find a 4" box and try to reach in....

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

If the enclosure will be standing on the floor, then 4 feet depth maybe a hassle to maintain... But tortoise will be happier.. A tough choice

While cherry-heads don't grow as large as other redfoots, it's not an absolute rule. Maybe he will gain a couple of inches...

 

[quatre5]

i came up with 1x6 boards held together with 1' 2x4s. wrapp it underneath with a thick tarp and stapled it to the boards. attached a frame with 1/2" pcv tubing and covered the whole thing with a clear tarp. used extra clear tarp and some velcro to make a door. filled with coco and suspended heaters/lights and added a misting system. materials from lowes was about 150, heat panels and lights 2-300. has worked very well over the last year and works fine on carpet.
I dont have a cherry head specifically but i would think this set up would work just as well for them as well. main difference ive read is keeping humidity high while not having substrate too wet for shell rot. my misters only cover maybe 30% of the total area so they easily have space to move if they want wetter or dryer.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

@quatre5 Can you post a photo, how it looks like?

 

[quatre5]

Not the prettiest thing but it has been very functional and adjustable. Also easily reusable materials. I would recommend a thicker tarp for the top for a bit better heat insulation if it fits your budget. This is 3x7 for reference and I have a much larger 5x10 as well so the scaling is easy and very light weight.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Not the prettiest thing but it has been very functional and adjustable. Also easily reusable materials. I would recommend a thicker tarp for the top for a bit better heat insulation if it fits your budget. This is 3x7 for reference and I have a much larger 5x10 as well so the scaling is easy and very light weight.

It doesn't have to pretty, if your tortoise is happy Just one thing to adjust: point all light straight top-down (basking bulb seems a bit off).
I like the idea with PVC pipes for the frame! And you can solve the main pain point of "greenhouse tents" with it - loss of heat through the top, by mounting insulation panels outside the tarp and fixing them to the frame. Jotted down the idea

 

[quatre5]

It doesn't have to pretty, if your tortoise is happy Just one thing to adjust: point all light straight top-down (basking bulb seems a bit off).
I like the idea with PVC pipes for the frame! And you can solve the main pain point of "greenhouse tents" with it - loss of heat through the top, by mounting insulation panels outside the tarp and fixing them to the frame. Jotted down the idea

They definitely do well in this set up for what I can tell until outdoors warms back up. I did think about insulation but I’m not sure how well a panel would hold up with the high moisture. It’s really only about how warm the bedroom gets overall; the enclosure stays perfect. From my basic understanding of the complicated math on plastic insulation tho, another layer of thin plastic or one thick sheet is roughly equivalent to a typical insulation board and then anything after that is negligible.

 

[Maggie3fan]

I'm a simple person so I need simple things...here is a greenhouse fitted over a 6'x2.5' wooden tort table..it keep the temperature between 85-90 and the humidity about the same...it's easy and it mimic's the forest
the humidity
logan just had a sex change...to Lily

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

No doubt, that in a warm room you don't need to bother with an insulation. In my case, indoor temps can get be as low as 60-64F and without an insulation I would have tremendous bills for room heating. Right now, I have 0.1kWt/hour consumption for the 6x3x2.5 box (most heat loss is through the plexiglass sliding windows).

Insulation panels survive humidity just fine, however glue - doesn't I resorted to place them on the outside enclosure walls. There is a measurable difference even between different panels of the same thickness (e.g. EVA vs foam polystyrene board), so I'm not sure about thin plastic sheets at all.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I'm a simple person so I need simple things...here is a greenhouse fitted over a 6'x2.5' wooden tort table..it keep the temperature between 85-90 and the humidity about the same...it's easy and it mimic's the forestView attachment 366008
the humidityView attachment 366009
logan just had a sex change...to LilyView attachment 366010

Maggie, what is the room temperature outside the enclosure?

And yes, the simplicity of Lily's enclosure and how good it works for her always fascinates me