Indoor enclosure for Redfoot

[EP429]

I could not find a plastic container that I liked, so I opted to make my own box. This will be housing a baby Redfoot in a couple of weeks. I ended up making this one 4ft X 2ft, which should suffice to raise it up until it graduates to an outdoor enclosure. I opted to make this process as easy as possible, I bought my wood @ Lowes, had it cut in store to spec, ready to assemble once I got home. I had selected a hardwood type plywood, they had these in 4X2 and 2X2 sheets. All said & done I have about $60 and 25 minutes of labor wrapped up in this.

Starting items - 4X2 3/4 inch base for the floor. 4X1 & 2X1 1/2 inch walls (should've gone 3/4 to reduce screw blistering, in retrosepct!)

Got a shallow terra cotta bowl

And the cure for my paranoia of excess moisture finding its way into my carpet. Hello rubber-undercoating!

Substrate

I made on corner first, repeated the process for the other two pieces

I then joined the two halves together

Next, lots of screws holding the base board down (or up)

I taped off the top edge, to avoid excess of the rubber coating

Al sprayed up!

Got these at Target for ~$8, comes in a pack of 4, bed risers

If you look closely you can see the plastic sheeting I put on the floor, in case the rubber stuff isn't overkill enough. I picked a few rocks and wood pieces out of the yard as well.

I'm sure there's a few more things I need to work out, but otherwise, it's ready to roll!

 

[EP429]

Next on the agenda - Timer & and some form of a heat pad, perhaps a heat cable?

 

[wellington]

Looking good. Just a few questions. The peat moss said it was enhanced. That's a problem. It should not have anything added in it. No fertilizers etc. Also, you will probably need to add a top to most of the enclosure to keep the heat at a correct temp and humidity up. Is the light a MVB? Be sure to check the temp under it, it looks a little close to the bottom, might just be the pic though. A CHE, ceramic heat emitter is also a good choice for a night time heat source. Give undated pics when you get your little one

 

[EP429]

I couldn't find any information on the bag mentioning manure or any such additives, the ingredient list looks ok, but I'll definitely research further before putting anyone in there. The light is a UVA basking lamp, still need to run a temperature test & adjust if needed. I have more plastic drop cloth to cover the top with, I'm going to devise some means of retaining tension, would a solid cover be more suitable for a topper? Thanks for the tip on the CHE, looks like it might be what I need to help regulate evening temps.

 

[tortadise]

Looks good. I would regular peat and maybe a mulch mixture. Just make sure to not get anything with fertilizer or chemicals in it for substrate.

 

[Tom O.]

Nice!
But i would do a plexi glass of something like it on the roof, to keep more Humidty in it.

 

[EP429]

I picked up a heat cord this morning so as to not clutter up the top with another lamp, replaced the substrate, warms it up nicely! Got another thermometer and a hygrometer. I also got a pegboard sheet to cover most of the top, I'm going to loosely attach plastic sheeting to it, should allow ventilation but retain humidity. I'll try to update pics later

 

[EP429]

I'm liking the heat cord, kept it localized to the hot side

Here's with the top in place, I cut the leftover section into a flip-up lid, to cover a little extra space. Plexiglass would've cost about $25-$30, this piece cost me $6

This piece is held on with zip-ties & twist-ties Works like a charm though, easily removed when needed

 

[Tom O.]

Nice!

 

[bigred]

very nice

 

[Yvonne G]

I love the step-by-step builds. Thanks for sharing. What does the cautionary stuff say on the can about the spray. And can you smell it? Its a nice size, and you've done a good job with it, but I don't like the fact that you can't see the tortoise unless you remove the lid. Also, once you have it all closed up, is that rubber spray stuff ok to inhale?

 

[EP429]

You can't smell the rubber stuff, instructions say to let it sit up 2 hours to cure & harden, I put a fan on it & set it for 5 hours, for good measure.
I was having the same thoughts about visibility, but couldn't locate any fully transparent plexi-glass @ Lowes. It all seemed to be frosted, couldn't see much through it.

 

[hlester22]

The plexiglass sheets usually have a piece of plastic on them to keep them from getting scratched. You pull this off and then you have a clear sheet. Lol. Maybe that's why all the sheets looked frosted.

 

[Madkins007]

You mentioned a UBA basking lamp? While UVA is helpful, it is UVB that is important, and as long as they are getting UVB, they get UVA automatically, so there is rarely a need for a UVA bulb separately.

While everyone's needs and situation is different, there are a few things that seem to help most people.

1. Covering the habitat almost completely helps keep the heat and humidity where you want it. How much you cover it depends on your situation again. If the substrate is heated, then you only need to cover it about 75%ish. If it is not, then you may want to cover it even more.

2. A nice, deep substrate (about 6" or even more) helps moderate the temps and humidity better than a thinner layer does.

3. Live plants are a pain, but add a lot of benefit. You can leave them in the pots if you need, or even hang them to protect them from growing hungry torts. They add shade, hides, humidity cleaner air, interest for both the viewer and tortoise, and so on.

4. With a deeper substrate and a cover, you may actually want to raise the sides a bit. Sheets of plexiglass would do that nicely.

 

[HtVic]

what is the rubber-undercoating for?
I love this kind of step-by-step builds, thanks

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Nice.

 

[EP429]

what is the rubber-undercoating for?

I'm not a huge fan of urethane. I've used this stuff on cars before, it's a bear to remove if my tort gets scratch-happy

 

[HtVic]

I thought thats for water proof....lol

 

[EP429]

I thought thats for water proof....lol

2 birds, 1 stone

 

[EP429]

I keep eyeballing things outside & think to myself "oh yes, you are going in the box!"
But so far I've contained myself fairly well, I've only used a few rocks & root pieces from my back yard, I saw this loose piece of bark today & thought it would make a nice ramp




I'm going to put the hide a little deeper & build up the substrate to reduce chances of a flip