Autiwara

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TL;DR wanting to change my setup to something naturalistic, wondering about living peat moss as a bedding. Would it be too wet?

My juvenile red foot Clyde is currently living in a 90x45x30 cm which is now only a layer of paper towels, an MVB basking light, a CHE and a dry hide with papertowels for him to burrow in because of a recent infliction of shell fungus (very mild, it's only been 3 days and it's as good as gone) so he's kind of in a "hospital" setting right now, and it made me think of all the ways I could set up his enclosure! I really like the "naturalistic" aspects of a tortoise setup, and would really like to sort of recreate the south american rainforest in which they live in. When I first got him I used a thick layer of Exo terra rainforest substrate, then I switched to a blend of fine sand and plantation soil I think, it holds humidity pretty well and doesn't dry out too fast, but all that was removed when the shell fungus incident happened. Now I'm thinking of adding the plantation soil/sand mixture back into the tank but as a bottom layer, and then add the rainforest mulch on top so only the bottom layer holds the moisture, but I'm also wondering about a layer of living peat moss?

(Just as a note, the reason why he got shell fungus/shell rot was because I kept it so humid that the humidifier eventually kept building up water in the tube and it dripped down into the substrate. Lesson definitely learned.)
 

Yvonne G

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I like to use small grade orchid bark (fir bark). You can moisten it at first, then as it dries out, pour water down into a corner. This keeps it moist underneath but the top layer stays fairly dry so no shell rot.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Hopefully you'll find a happy "medium" that doesn't require a humidifier.
By closing off your enclosure and making yourself a CLOSED CHAMBER. You may find that keeping both warmth and humidity become much easier to regulate.
Until you get it dialed in...Too wet is a constant issue. Especially with Redfoot loving wet areas to sleep in.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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I like to use small grade orchid bark (fir bark). You can moisten it at first, then as it dries out, pour water down into a corner. This keeps it moist underneath but the top layer stays fairly dry so no shell rot.
Orchid bark is also my choice for an INDOOR RF enclosure
 

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