Permanent habitat

Anyfoot

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5 Year Member
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Nov 24, 2014
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6,309
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UK Sheffield
I'm going to go out on a limb here and talk practical! I have raised hatchlings to be 6-8" -- take a wild guess how long that took? 6-8 YEARS!!! Unless you feed them like a horse.. you want to grow them "slow and steady". I wonder how many here that are showing these HUGE enclosures know how long it takes for a redfoot to get to be 10-12" SCL ??? @mamameg do you think that your life or life-style will change in the next 10-12 YEARS?

I HAVE FOUND.. FWIW - a rectangular enclosure is better than a square because they don't go from their food dish [ on one end ] to their hide area [ on the opposite end ] in a zig-zag fashion... mine have always gone in a straight line. SO - right now 15-18" wide would be plenty wide enough x 4' long will be good for the next 3-4 years.

Over the past 10-12 years of keeping and breeding.. I've changed and upgraded at least 5 times for any hatchlings from 2006. A "lifetime" enclosure now would probably over-whelm your yearling.. I'm sure!

I build for 'purpose' only : For my young/mature adults -- 32" 'wide' x 12' long - cypress mulch substrate.. a water dish and a piece of slate to feed on. One end is their sleeping area ( 4' ) the other end has a single UVB bulb in a clamp light fixture over the slate.

If I were you I would look for [ or build a 'tortoise table' in the space you have ] a 55 gallon aquarium ( foot-print.. 12" x 48" ) or maybe a lower profile "breeder' style like a 40 ( foot print.. 18" by 36" or a 75 of 18" by 48" } - the 75 would probably by ideal.. even tho' quite big for a yearling . Hope this helped ?
Terry, your indoor redfoot enclosure is in a humid room too. Correct?
 

mamameg

Active Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2017
Messages
172
Location (City and/or State)
Detroit, MI, USA
I'm going to go out on a limb here and talk practical! I have raised hatchlings to be 6-8" -- take a wild guess how long that took? 6-8 YEARS!!! Unless you feed them like a horse.. you want to grow them "slow and steady". I wonder how many here that are showing these HUGE enclosures know how long it takes for a redfoot to get to be 10-12" SCL ??? @mamameg do you think that your life or life-style will change in the next 10-12 YEARS?

I HAVE FOUND.. FWIW - a rectangular enclosure is better than a square because they don't go from their food dish [ on one end ] to their hide area [ on the opposite end ] in a zig-zag fashion... mine have always gone in a straight line. SO - right now 15-18" wide would be plenty wide enough x 4' long will be good for the next 3-4 years.

Over the past 10-12 years of keeping and breeding.. I've changed and upgraded at least 5 times for any hatchlings from 2006. A "lifetime" enclosure now would probably over-whelm your yearling.. I'm sure!

I build for 'purpose' only : For my young/mature adults -- 32" 'wide' x 12' long - cypress mulch substrate.. a water dish and a piece of slate to feed on. One end is their sleeping area ( 4' ) the other end has a single UVB bulb in a clamp light fixture over the slate.

If I were you I would look for [ or build a 'tortoise table' in the space you have ] a 55 gallon aquarium ( foot-print.. 12" x 48" ) or maybe a lower profile "breeder' style like a 40 ( foot print.. 18" by 36" or a 75 of 18" by 48" } - the 75 would probably by ideal.. even tho' quite big for a yearling . Hope this helped ?

This has helped! She currently is in a 40 gallon and will be growing out of it in the next few months. While I'm constantly searching craigslist for 75-100 gallons, I'm also looking for a DIY design plan that I can easily add onto and keep in a central location in our house.

I just want to be sure that she will have enough room to happily thrive while indoors. And again, while being practical, ideally visually appealing since could be in either the formal living room or dining room. [emoji6]
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Tortoise Club
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South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Wow! Does the PVC piping sprinkle along the top too or is it just used to fill the water dish? I like your setup.
They are now mini sprinkler heads so that I can make it rain. (Overhead pipes)
The lower pipes ARE indeed to fill the pools and eliminate the need for a hose, etc.
 

TammyJ

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,120
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
I'm going to go out on a limb here and talk practical! I have raised hatchlings to be 6-8" -- take a wild guess how long that took? 6-8 YEARS!!! Unless you feed them like a horse.. you want to grow them "slow and steady". I wonder how many here that are showing these HUGE enclosures know how long it takes for a redfoot to get to be 10-12" SCL ??? @mamameg do you think that your life or life-style will change in the next 10-12 YEARS?

I HAVE FOUND.. FWIW - a rectangular enclosure is better than a square because they don't go from their food dish [ on one end ] to their hide area [ on the opposite end ] in a zig-zag fashion... mine have always gone in a straight line. SO - right now 15-18" wide would be plenty wide enough x 4' long will be good for the next 3-4 years.

Over the past 10-12 years of keeping and breeding.. I've changed and upgraded at least 5 times for any hatchlings from 2006. A "lifetime" enclosure now would probably over-whelm your yearling.. I'm sure!

I build for 'purpose' only : For my young/mature adults -- 32" 'wide' x 12' long - cypress mulch substrate.. a water dish and a piece of slate to feed on. One end is their sleeping area ( 4' ) the other end has a single UVB bulb in a clamp light fixture over the slate.

If I were you I would look for [ or build a 'tortoise table' in the space you have ] a 55 gallon aquarium ( foot-print.. 12" x 48" ) or maybe a lower profile "breeder' style like a 40 ( foot print.. 18" by 36" or a 75 of 18" by 48" } - the 75 would probably by ideal.. even tho' quite big for a yearling . Hope this helped ?
This is interesting to me about the size of yours after 6 - 8 years being 6 - 8 inches. I am wondering if they are from a different location originally than mine. Right now mine are 6 inches carapace length and they are 19 months old, that is, one year and 7 months. And I have not been "power" feeding them, just giving them what I have learned is a good redfoot diet. They spend about two thirds of their time outdoors in the days in what is still quite a spacious enclosure for their size, and indoors at night as it gets very cool here now - our Jamaican "winter." Any comments?
 

Jake1363

Member
Joined
May 7, 2016
Messages
33
Thanks for your input! If you don't mind, whenever you get a chance, would you snap a picture of it? Inside and out? I love to draw more ideas from others habitats!
Sorry I just seen this today. But if you still wants some pics I can take them when I get home from work today
 

Bambam1989

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Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
Sorry I just seen this today. But if you still wants some pics I can take them when I get home from work today
I do! Lol I'm in the process of designing a couple of enclosures for the future and any inspiration would be great
 

Jake1363

Member
Joined
May 7, 2016
Messages
33
I do! Lol I'm in the process of designing a couple of enclosures for the future and any inspiration would be great
OK I'll post the pics later iam also making a brand new one for a leopard iam getting so I'll be sure to post a few of that aswell
 

Redfool

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2017
Messages
379
Location (City and/or State)
Central Florida
I’ve had RFs for over 25 years and have noticed their growth rate was about 1-1/2 to 2 inches per year. They got to the “outside size” at about 4 years old. These were never power fed but always had graze hibiscus available. Humidity is a must and my watering device is a hose in one hand counterbalanced by a beer in the other. I hope at 25 years old my RFs are only at half or less of their lifespan.
 

MountainFox

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Nov 1, 2017
Messages
63
Location (City and/or State)
Raleigh, NC
@Redfool, we have similar humidity techniques, though I prefer to counterbalance with a wine glass...

I don’t have lengthy experience keeping RFs, but my observations have been the same as @Redfoot NERD. My adult RF likes to walk the perimeter of any space (his enclosure, a room, my fenced yard, etc). No matter where I put him in the yard, he makes a beeline to the fence and then walks the perimeter. He’ll cruise along the edge until he remembers that he’s a tortoise (and not training for any long distance races) and burrows into a DIY hide for a nap. When he’s just tortoising around, he never ventures into the center of the yard. He only uses the middle of a room when he’s coming up to interact with us. So with my tort, linear feet of perimeter matter more than square footage in the middle. This behavior is particularly helpful for an indoor enclosure where floor space is at a premium. I have only ever had one RF, so I don’t know if this is a common behavior, or if my dinosaur is an anomaly.
 
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