question about enclosure

[Sarah Thompson]

I just got everything I need for my indoor enclosure and I just have one question.

I know that there needs to be a warm wet side and a cool dry side, so my question is, what side should the water dish be on?

 

[Justin 15]

What kind of tortoise do you have?

 

[Sarah Thompson]

A Redfoot

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I just got everything I need for my indoor enclosure and I just have one question.

I know that there needs to be a warm wet side and a cool dry side, so my question is, what side should the water dish be on?

I'd go with warm/wet, but if you have room, I'd actually put more than one water dish in for a footed tortoise. When you say cool and dry - how cool and dry do you mean? Neither of the footed species do especially well with cool and dry.

 

[Sarah Thompson]

The cool end is at about 75

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

The cool end is at about 75

What age are we talking about? That is colder than desirable for a redfoot, especially a hatchling - I'd bump it up to 80F. They come from a climate that is pretty consistently in the 80s. Redfoots don't need as strong of a temperature gradient as some species.

 

[Pearly]

My cool/dark side is consistently at 80 above substrate and 79 inside their hides. They sleep in their hides often or on top of them which tells me that this is how they choose to self-thermoregulate.

 

[Pearly]

We keep the water dish in the bright/warm area. The evaporating water helps keep humidity up and the basking bulb keeps the water warm. I used to have to put the babies in water to encourage them to drink, now they happily get in the dish by themselves to take long drinks and often just sit for a while enjoying their bath

 

[Sarah Thompson]

My Redfoot is 4 months old almost 5 months. Thank you so much guys!