Redfoot in closet?

[JohnMcD]

I'm getting a Redfooted Tortoise this weekend and I am planning on caging it in my bedroom closet which is 5x3. The closet will have correct humidity, substrate, heat, etc. but the tortoise will also have free run of my bedroom so is not confined to the small space.
(I will also be housing it outside for 2-3 months out of the year when it is warm enough)

Id like to hear your opinions on this, keep in mind that there will be the 5x3 area with correct conditions and then for the space issue it will have my whole bedroom.

If it ends up where the tortoise isnt spending enough time in the closet with the ideal conditions, I will simply build a large table or make a pen in the basement.

EDIT: this will only be when it outgrows its bin.

 

[Laura]

How are you going to 'water proof' your closet floor? I think we need more info as to what the closet space will consist of to give you a better answer.
Also, allowing a tortoise to have free raom of a house or bedroom isnt a very good idea. Floors are very drafty, cool, and your tort will have access to anything dropped on the floor like tacks or candy or? ?? and might ingest something that will harm it.
How old is the tort you are getting? Hatchling or Adult?
5x3 might be a good size. redfoot need little light and moist warm conditions to do well.
you will get a lot of advise. If you listen to it, and pick what is good for the tort and what works best for you and your situation, you should do well!

 

[Crazy1]

I say, No Way! I helped rehab a RF that was kept in a closet. Sad, very sad. There is really almost no way to correctly provide the humidity, damp substrate and temp that it will need. And letting it have the run of your room does not help either. Their are lots of hazards on the floor, like strings, or anything that is dropped etc.. Plus you run the risk of tripping or stumbling and squashing it. And don’t get me started on the cold temp of floors, yes even carpeted floors and drafts. This is just not a good situation for any tort let alone animal. John, where are you located that it will only be housed outside 2-3 months a year?
If you have a basement and you can provide a ben when it outgrows its bin in the closet why not set that up now for it?
How large a RF are you getting?

 

[JohnMcD]

Thanks for your input! I will now not be going the 'closet/free roam' route. I was pretty much going to make a tort table in my closet on the floor. Anyways, this is exactly the type of reply I was hoping for. Im located in Chicago and I guess it would actually be out for about 5 months (about a constant 65+ degrees is good, right?). I will be raising it up in a bin (size of bin depends on size of tort) and Im not putting that in the closet. I plan on getting the smallest one I can find. I will be making the pen now that the closet isnt an option, but I want to wait until the tort is decent sized so it feels secure.

 

[Yvonne G]

A redfoot tortoise comes from the edge of the rain forest in South America. It would be almost impossible to try to duplicate those conditions in a closet. They don't need much light, but they do need a humid environment and lots of plants to hide in. You don't say how big the tortoise is. An adult tortoise would be too big for a closet. And there are too many things to go wrong for a tortoise to roam freely around the bedroom...dust balls, small bits of whatever, too cold, etc. They need their own habitat, whether its a tort table, a pen or whatever. But something dedicated to the tortoise that he can call home.

Yvonne

Oops! Sorry, I see that Laura has already spoken my mind.

 

[JohnMcD]

Its not like it was going to be a bare closet as-is, I would have lined it and whatnot and made it humid and have a light etc etc and it would be what the tortoise could call home. I did mention that I was going to get the tortoise as small as I could get it then house it in the closet/room when it was larger.

Anyways, I came with my question, and I got a great answer from each of you that I am thankful for . Also, I am not going to make the closet its home (nor my bedroom). Rather, I will make the tortoise a nice large pen in the basement for the cold months and another outside for the summer months!

(Possibly expect more posts from me if I cant find my answers with the search button! hahah)

 

[Crazy1]

John, Welcome to the forum. if you check out www.redfoots.com you can find great information there. RF need a humidity range of about 80% and temps about 85 F. redfoots.com has all that info also. And diagrams for a tort table. Hope this helps.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Why are you trying to get the "smallest one you can find"? Do you mean tort or enclosure/tub?

Please also be aware that you need the tort enclosure off the floor for heat and drafts. It should be raised, such as on legs, a table, or cabinet.

I do not agree with a constant 65 deg. More like 85 deg if you had to give a single number. They are from the warm and humid rain forest. How do you plan to accomplish the needed substrate/temperature/humidity?

Please see www.redfoots.com as it is a great site and I would basically reiterate everything they have to say. Please think long and hard about thing lifelong commitment of a pet. Space, time, money, etc.

Please find a reptile vet and take it the first week you get it for a check up. Bring your tort's fecal sample for a parasite test. Where are you getting the tort from? What age?

I am glad you are coming here and doing research. I agree with everything said above. Welcome to the forum!

 

[JohnMcD]

I meant tort I like to raise them up. Redfoots has a link to a caresheet on turtletary.com which is where I got the 65 degrees thing from.

Why are you trying to get the "smallest one you can find"? Do you mean tort or enclosure/tub?

Please also be aware that you need the tort enclosure off the floor for heat and drafts. It should be raised, such as on legs, a table, or cabinet.

I do not agree with a constant 65 deg. More like 85 deg if you had to give a single number. They are from the warm and humid rain forest. How do you plan to accomplish the needed substrate/temperature/humidity?

Please see www.redfoots.com as it is a great site and I would basically reiterate everything they have to say. Please think long and hard about thing lifelong commitment of a pet. Space, time, money, etc.

Please find a reptile vet and take it the first week you get it for a check up. Bring your tort's fecal sample for a parasite test. Where are you getting the tort from? What age?

I am glad you are coming here and doing research. I agree with everything said above. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Crazy1]

Awh, if you had read farther it said "Mid- upper 80's F is fine "in their hide".. low 80's F is ideal ambient temperature."
www.turtletary.com states:
"Once the temps are close to 70F I will take the "yearlings".. (and younger).. outside for fresh air!
They will eat and then run for cover.. they don't like the sunshine.
The adults are out for the summer as soon as it gets above 65F consistantly..
but brought in in the fall when it gets in the mid-60's or less!"
That means Terry does not take his adult outside until the lowest temp is a consistant 65F. That is the lowest temp.
Hope that helps.

 

[tortoisenerd]

That is how I would interpret it as well (as Robyn said). 65 is a good low, but not for the entire day at all! They will not digest food at that temp.

Please consider the age of the tort. A slightly older hatching or juvenile will be a lot less fragile. We have had so many sad stories of hatchlings taking a turn for the worse, even with the best care. We first timers (myself included) will make mistakes, even with the most thoughtful research. I regret getting such a young tort even though nothing has gone wrong. Missing even a year of its life out of 50-100 isn't bad. A 1 year old tort is just as wonderful as a few month old one and you get the same overall experience of watching it grow up. A good breeder will have the tiny baby pics for you too!

 

[Madkins007]

The closet does not bother me as much as it does others, but I do have a few concerns.

1. It is easy to say you can control the environment and have plans, but the reality usually proves to be trickier. You'll be going along and suddenly have really wet substrate that is also chilly, or the humidification system leaves a film on the bulbs that make them dimmer or shatter, or the walls start to mold, or...

On the other hand, 'herp rooms' can be great things- you have more air space, room to play with, etc. I would LOVE to take our big walk-in closet and turn it into a herp room- line the walls and floor with plastic, replace the closet door with a clear storm door, heat the room to 75F, humidify it to about 60-70%, turn the floor into the adult tortoise zone, shelves on the walls for eggs and babies... sorry- the fantasy was running away with me.

2. I am never happy with the idea of a main zone and a supplemental zone. To me, the main zone should be big enough to keep it happy, or it is not big enough period. The stories about the risks of 'free roaming' are too many to repeat.

On the other hand... there is something deep within us that really wants our friends to share our spaces. I suspect that your bedroom would not be too terrible a place if you take basic precautions- clean floor, good temps, no drafts, etc. An occasional stroll would probably not be the worse thing in its life.



Bottom line... the bigger the system, the more complex it is and the more things can go wrong. A bin habitat is easy to manage, a table is a bit tougher, a room is tougher yet. I would probably give the closet a try- but have a back-up plan ready to go if things go wrong.

 

[chadk]

I agree with Madkins. I think it is doable with the right planning.

You can do the floor in tile or linolium (sp) and have it go up the sides a foot or so. Have the walls painted with mildew resistent paint like you'd use in a bathroom. I'd cover the floor with several inches of soil mixed with coir or peat moss.

I'd put up a 12 inch (or taller) barrier blocking the doory so the tort could not free roam the bedroom though... This would also help with drafts.

I'd put a slate\flag stone path down the middle so you can get in and step on the stones for easy access and maintenance.

In the very back I'd put a nice humid hide with a CHE. I'd provide a ramp to get up on top and maybe have a ledge around the sides of the closet and other bridges and platforms (make sure they are safe if he falls) that will actually be like adding square feet for more room to roam and explore. You could line the sides also with planters filled with real plants. A habba-mister type thing could help with regular misting for humidity.

Anyway, just some thoughts. I'd be afraid the basement would be too cold - but could work with some planning.

 

[Millerlite]

I've seen closets made into enclosures, If you do it right its very well possible to keep a redfooted tortoise in a closet. Depending on how big it is, and how much room is in the closet, if you can fit a decent size tortoise table in it, and get all the lights in it, put substrate in it, i dont see how it can be hard to keep humidity up. If you do end up building a table outside your closet though you might be able to go bigger (i dont know how big your closet is) bigger is always better. As for outdoors babies should be outside when its 65 degrees, i do howerver know people that have kept adults out in 60 degree weather, they do have heated hides...

Just keep reading up on the redfoot tortoises and try and figure out which will be best for your tortoise. If you feel a redfoot tortoise is not something that would do good in your living situation there are different species that might be easier. just something else to think about...

 

[Maggie Cummings]

If you can create the right environment in the closet that would work out alright, but he shouldn't be allowed the run of your bedroom. He would have access to eating small things that you didn't see, cat toys, dust bunnies, safety pins etc. And the floor is too cold. If you really want to care for this animal correctly make a tort table for him and don't allow him the run of any floor...

 

[chadk]

I'm sure folks would have said I could never put my 2 water dragons and 3 snakes and a bearded in my small hall closet, but it is working great

 

[Yvonne G]

OH!! I just had the impression that the tortoise would be on the floor in the closet...not in a regular habitat. Your under-the-stair closet works out great! I really like that. Did you have to wire the closet for electricity?

I surely hope that John McD comes back and reads all the posts we've done here for him, as he's gotten some really nice feed-back, both pro and con.

Yvonne

 

[Millerlite]

Yeah i didnt really hit on this, I wouldnt let him roam, there are to many risk with that. Tortoises are reptiles which are very sensitive to different environment and environment changes. The floor has dust, cool drafts, hairs, even carpet can be a risk and can cause illness, its safer to just have a nice roomy enclosure.

 

[JohnMcD]

I have been reading your replys, after the first two posts I decided to not go with this setup (and I stated that in the 3rd post of this thread). My plans were not to just leave it on the wood floor, no form of sealing in the closet or anything.. Anyways, thanks for all of your input. I will be going to a show this Sunday to see what I can find that looks healthy and such (no, I do not expect to find anything that meets my criteria )

Thank you all for responding!

Oh, one more thing.. Chad said that he worries the basement would be too cold, our basement is fully developed with heat/air, so nothing to worry about there. What I'm trying to figure out is how I could keep high humidity in his pen , any suggestions?

 

[dmmj]

If you can create the right environment in the closet that would work out alright, but he shouldn't be allowed the run of your bedroom. He would have access to eating small things that you didn't see, cat toys, dust bunnies, safety pins etc. And the floor is too cold. If you really want to care for this animal correctly make a tort table for him and don't allow him the run of any floor...

MMMM dust bunnies are my fav snack, lol