Red foot heat light wattage

kerrynn

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Hi I was using a 50 w zoomed heat light and my 3 month old Rufus was hiding a lot. It blew after a week and I got a 75w to try and he actually got up and went to his food bowl on his own! Maybe he was cold?? I gotta buy a Thermometer!
 

Taylor T.

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Your tortoise as a baby should not be colder than 80 degrees in any part of his enclosure. Is the heat bulb a red one, or a CHE (ceramic heat emitter)? Tortoises need complete darkness at night, so you should not use a red bulb. a CHE produces only heat, and no light.

You should have two digital thermometers with sensor probes (the analog ones are inaccurate) one on each side of his enclosure to ensure that you get proper temperature readings.
 

wellington

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I think you need to do a lot of improving before your baby gets sick of worse. They need temps no lower then 80 as mentioned. They need UVB light, tube flourescent is best for RF and they need humidity of 80% with a dry top layer of substrate and moist bottom layer.
Post a pic of your enclosure and give us a run down of the equipment you are using, bulbs, for heat and UVB
 

kerrynn

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I think you need to do a lot of improving before your baby gets sick of worse. They need temps no lower then 80 as mentioned. They need UVB light, tube flourescent is best for RF and they need humidity of 80% with a dry top layer of substrate and moist bottom layer.
Post a pic of your enclosure and give us a run down of the equipment you are using, bulbs, for heat and UVB
I was instructed a reptile store what to buy. I'm finding out everything I have is wrong. So no point showing a picture. I have to start over. Right now I have a 20 long aquarium and a 75 w zoo med heat lamp in a mini zoo med combo deep dome lamp fixture with a uvb bulb reptile 5.0 uvb(which I know is not right either) I will get a long bulb soon as I can. Temp and moisture is what I am fixing now. I'll be switching to a large tub soon as I can. I have cats that would love to hurt him so the aquarium is safer at the moment. I'm learning everything over again and fixing everything.
 

wellington

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I was instructed a reptile store what to buy. I'm finding out everything I have is wrong. So no point showing a picture. I have to start over. Right now I have a 20 long aquarium and a 75 w zoo med heat lamp in a mini zoo med combo deep dome lamp fixture with a uvb bulb reptile 5.0 uvb(which I know is not right either) I will get a long bulb soon as I can. Temp and moisture is what I am fixing now. I'll be switching to a large tub soon as I can. I have cats that would love to hurt him so the aquarium is safer at the moment. I'm learning everything over again and fixing everything.
If your baby is a hatchling, under a year, the aquarium will work for a while.
Sorry, you didn't find us, before you found the stores advice. Your not the only one to do this, so don't feel bad. We are here to help, so ask away when you need too.
 

kerrynn

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If your baby is a hatchling, under a year, the aquarium will work for a while.
Sorry, you didn't find us, before you found the stores advice. Your not the only one to do this, so don't feel bad. We are here to help, so ask away when you need too.
Thank you. What is the best substrate to use to keep him moist. Yes he is 3 months old so need lots of moisture
 

Anyfoot

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Thank you. What is the best substrate to use to keep him moist. Yes he is 3 months old so need lots of moisture
Simplest way is with a closed system enclosure. 2"depth of moist coir, then a layer of orchid bark and/or Cyprus mulch so the top layer dries off, then fill in and around your hide(s) with spaghnum moss. Where ever moss is don't put bark down, your tort will burry under the moss this way. For heat use a CHE on a thermostat set to 80/86f throughout 24/7. Then use a tube type uvb light set to one end over the feeding area. Don't light the entire enclosure up. The evaporation from your water dish should maintain humidity at 80/90%. Spray your tortoise a couple times a day, not the entire enclosure.

Depending on the enclosure size you may need to have 2 water dishes to maintain humidity levels. If you are constantly adding water to your enclosure to attempt to keep humidity up then you'll end up with stagnant boggy coir, that's why I don't spray the enclosure any more in a closed system.
 

lisa127

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You need to get a infrared temp gun. Personally, I would have recommended a 50 watt over a 75 watt for a 20 long aquarium as well. That's a small space.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I'd use a CHE for heat because two things will make a Redfoot uncomfortable. Temperature either too hot or too cold and lighting that is too bright while trying to get the heat within range.
Bright, hot lights will also sap your humidity level.
 

Anyfoot

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I'd use a CHE for heat because two things will make a Redfoot uncomfortable. Temperature either too hot or too cold and lighting that is too bright while trying to get the heat within range.
Bright, hot lights will also sap your humidity level.
I agree Ed. If the principal of a wild redfoot is to gorge on good foods during wet season and make do with poor foods during the dryer seasons so not to grow in arid times,(keeping humidity and growth on par) then we shouldn't create an arid area within the enclosure and feed a wet season diet. If you put the humidity gauge under a basking light it will be around 20% or so.
If some areas of South America are constantly a wet season and other areas haves wet and dry seasons then the food source would fall in with both, I would guess in the areas that have longer wet seasons the torts grow faster.
 

theguy67

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You've received great advice so far.

I've used a 20 gallon long for hatchlings (still do), and it works fine for a while. You will just need to cover the top with something. This may be a quick fix. I used plastic wrap for most of the lid, and then foil around the heat lamp. You may run into issue with your fluorescent light, unless you can find a way to mount it to the bottom of the lid. Zip ties or long twist ties may work.

If you still have issue keeping humidity above 80%, you can always add a humid hide. Just a small container filled with sphagnum moss or something similar. The tortoise will probably spend a lot of time in there, sleeping, which means it will be exposed to high amounts of moisture, especially the shell.
 

bJOYful0881

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Can someone tell me what CHE wattage I should buy for heating my red-foots enclosure at night please?
 

Blackdog1714

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I have a 100 watt BUT I have it plugged directly into a temperature controller so it does not get above 90 degrees
 

Redfoot NERD

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Read the Redfoot Caresheet @kerrynn - and adjust as needed - "Keep-it-Balanced"

A heat emitter hooked up to a thermostat = get larger than needed [ CHE ] and reduce "wattage" to adjust heat.
 
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