red foot set up

[shane1111]

i set up a enclosure thats a black pond liner thats 4' by 2' it has eco earth and im going to mix Zoo Med Excavator clay. im going to have 2 uv lights and 2 heat lamps. and a nice water dish.
i wanted a more natural set up. i want to put two 12 week olds in it. anything i should add or change?

 

[jackrat]

Turtletary.com has an excellant section on redfoot care.

 

[shane1111]

i was asking about naturali dont want a ugly set up. any one have any ideas

 

[allegraf]

Ask TerryO, she has the best natural setup.

 

[cdmay]

Ask TerryO, she has the best natural setup.

I would also recommend TerryO for advice. Her setups are functional and yet very attractive and nice.

 

[Candy]

She has beautiful natural enclosures for all of hers. I agree, Terryo.

 

[HarleyK]

if you are going to keep them in your office it's difficult to imagine how you would make a beautiful setup without spending a fortune.

 

[shane1111]

no they are going to be in my bed room. And let out to walk around in my kitchen and out side when I'm home.

 

[terryo]

Well, thank you guys, but there are lots of indoor one's here that are great. Candy has a beautiful one in her son's bedroom.
I have a small, temporary, 40 gal. breeder tank set up as a vivarium in my room for a baby Cherry Head that I might be getting soon. It's only temporary for a few weeks until I can set up a 75 gal, which I have in my living room. I have a natural wood hide filled with long fiber moss on one side with some baby tears growing in back of it that hang over the hide. Then just some tropical plants around the water dish on the other side. I use soil mixed with peat moss and sprinkle some cypress mulch on the top. I also like ground cover...so there's some creeping jenny, and sedum. It's just a quick thing that I set up so it will be established when I'm ready to use it. On top I am putting a heat emitter, 60 wt. going toward the middle, and a long tube 24 in. 5.0 UVB on the other side over a screen top to filter out some of the light. I only use glass vivariums for indoors, which I set up as natural as I can, for my boxies that are too small to go outside. So when I got a humidity loving tortoise, I used the same set up for him for when he's inside. I also like glass vivariums, so I can see them and they can see me and we can interact.

Boxie that had to stay in last winter

Pio outside last year

This is just what worked for me to hold in humidity and make it as natural as I could. It may not work for you, and like I said there are really beautiful one's if you look on the enclosure section, that you might find better suited for you. Hope this helps.



Here's some baby pictures.

Through the years I've changed it so many times, and planted so many different things. Here's when I planted some Spring mix. He loved it.

 

[shane1111]

verry nice terryo.
hear is a list of plants i want to put in.
Flowering Maple
oat grass aka cat grass
Hibiscus
Aloe
Xmas Cactus
dandelion
philodendron? are they safe?
and are those flowering cabbages ok to go in his cage?
Hen and Chicks

 

[terryo]

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp?mode=cl&col=all

http://www.africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

These are two sites that I use all the time. Don't forget to post pictures when you're done.

 

[shane1111]

hear are some pics of my my set up.
the left side is not done yet i need to put the clay in and then cover it with dirt. i have eco earth in the right half. i need to mix it with moss and some sort of potting soil so my plants can grow.. i have two lights at work i need to bring home

its nice so far. what do you guys think i can add to it?



what type of soil should i use?

 

[terryo]

Very nice. What kind of lights are you using? Remember Redfoots like low light and high warm humidity.

 

[shane1111]

5.0 uv light and im going to get one basking and heat ceramic heat emitter. its not going to be to brightly lit once i get my small trees in there
and im making a cave for them

---

do your torts munch on al the plants in the tank and do the kill alot of them when walking around the tank?

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a pretty nice tub. Where on earth did you find it?

I would mix something in with the coconut coir. Sphagnum moss or soil or something to give it a bit more substance.

 

[shane1111]

its from luguna. its a preformed fond liner/ tub

 

[tortoisenerd]

Very cool! I'd make sure those plants sit out from the enclosure 3-6 months unless somehow you found organic, as the pesticides in them can sometimes harm a tortoise.

 

[shane1111]

they were all grown in my house. and i know a flower shop that doesnt use pesticides

 

[shane1111]

update
the cage is allmost done. i still need to put the log in and add more soil sand mix.
and i was thinking about growing live moss in it and some cat grass
hear are some new pics

 

[terryo]

It's really looking great. You can get some frog moss from

http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/ca...ath=68&zenid=16ed4eb790999865ff11d3642ae751ed

I just ordered some from there. It comes dried and when you wet it, it hydrates. I've ordered it from other places and it was brown, but it came really green from here. I also use Scottish and Irish moss around the water dish in some of my viv's. If you keep it damp, and don't put it directly under the heat emitter, it will spread.