Suggestions on sealing Pearl’s enclosure?

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Sep 28, 2020
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Hey tortoise people ? so I’m going to attempt to seal off the screen top of Pearl’s (she’s our Red Foot for reference) enclosure today so that we can get the proper humidity going on in there. She’s been acting a little sluggish, and she didn’t eat yesterday. I got bad substrate advice and she’s got some fungus action on her plastron so we are also going to do a bit of rebuilding on the inside. I’m going to add some orchid bark, and give her a better humid hide, and get rid of the monstrously big basking thingy in there. (It has a little cave hole that’s she has been desperately trying to burrow into, but her fat shell won’t fit; and she doesn’t really bask anyway.)
Before I rebuild her hide, I have some questions. She really tends to burrow right under her heat lamp, so my plan was to bury her little half log thing under the substrate, making a natural ramp situation so that she can bask IF she decides to, so the heat lamp would be directly over her hide. Yes? No?
Also, I’m kind of thinking of adding a couple live plants in there. Ideas?
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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If your RF is only happy under your heat lamp, it's likely that the rest of the enclosure is too cool.
I'd use CHE for heat. It makes the enclosure warm without drying out anything. (2 might be needed)
Once your closed chamber is complete, you may find that heating changes also.
And use a strip florescent T5 uvb lamp for both UV and the daytime source of lighting. They aren't too bright and don't cause drying.
Redfoot aren't really diggers/borrowers. But they do like a warm, humid place to sleep where they feel safe.
 
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I have one Che dome light, and that’s what she hangs out under. My biggest issue right now is how on earth I get the heat lamp to hear the enclosure from the top of its enclosed.....

I had some grand plans of putting plexi over my screens, but I can’t get anyone at the hardware store to help me and I’m super duper frustrated. So... I literally just bought some clear duct tape and am planning to seal off the screens with that, with about 1/4 of one of the screens left open for ventilation and the Che.
 

Agathaade

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It will be easier to get help if you post a picture of your enclosure and lights so people can see what you’re working with and trying to build.

When you cover you enclosure, you ideally want the lights inside it, not hanging through a hole or resting over a hole that will let the heat and moisture rise right up and out through said hole.
 
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So that ^^^^ is the bare bone enclosure before she had her substrate and everything in there. If you can see the top, it has two screen lid things and a bar in the middle.
 

Blackdog1714

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Go to Lowe’s or homedepot and get a piece of pink solid insulation get the thicker (2”). You can cut it with a steak knife and when you make a hole (hole is smaller in diameter than dome) for your dime to sit over, line the hole with aluminum foil to protect the insulation. Not beautiful but not tough to do
 
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Okay y’all, thanks for all the help! So this is her “new” digs. I taped some wax paper on the screens, and left a hole out for one Che dome. I’m monitoring the heat, and may replace the uvb light with another heat bulb (I don’t currently have the uvb on there because it seemed a bit bright for her). We’re currently at 75 degrees on the cool side of the enclosure and at 90% humidity. I replaced image.jpgimage.jpgher scary ramp water thing with a terracotta plate, and her food bowl with a smaller plate. I gave her a nice warm soak while I worked and she’s super active now ??. She thanked me by kicking her cypress mulch into the water.image.jpg
 
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Do you mean the hue of the lighting? Just a table lamp beside her enclosure. We also have a pink salt rock in the room. Unless you maybe mistook her water bowl for a spotlight?
 

1wildtiger

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Apr 27, 2020
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I have one Che dome light, and that’s what she hangs out under. My biggest issue right now is how on earth I get the heat lamp to hear the enclosure from the top of its enclosed.....

I had some grand plans of putting plexi over my screens, but I can’t get anyone at the hardware store to help me and I’m super duper frustrated. So... I literally just bought some clear duct tape and am planning to seal off the screens with that, with about 1/4 of one of the screens left open for ventilation and the Che.


I just recently bought a small greenhouse from Amazon to put over my whole table top, lights and all. It’s working great at keeping the heat and humidity up. They might have one to fit over top of yours too. You’ll just have to research it if you’re interested. ED6CBD97-9B54-4535-A648-013C0E9A0B6D.jpegE62BDF0F-61C9-4C06-9794-714F9964F012.jpegFD245340-B3A4-43EF-BC53-0AA84EFB6E3C.jpeg
 
Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
Cleveland Tennessee

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