Temporary Tub Enclosure

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RosieRedfoot

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So Rosie is my one and only tortoise (recent addition) and is a 22 month old redfoot. I've attached some pictures of her indoor enclosure. Right now she only gets temporary time outside since we don't have a pen built (yet) and we hope to build an indoor table as well.

I know the sides are a bit low, but she hasn't tried to climb out and all the corners are covered to prevent escape. Please don't be *too* rough on me, but I am open to constructive criticism! :)

Complete set-up. It is an underbed storage bin and I keep the lid on half of it to retain moisture. I have a ten gallon wire lid on the other side to prevent any attempts at climbing out in the corner. I have a 5.0 UVB bulb that I turn on for a little bit a day but know it's bad for her eyes so don't leave it on long.
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The hiding/damp side, with more of the sphagnum moss and a hiding hut. I mist the lid that stays on this side to be almost drippingly wet 2x a day. She sleeps under the fake plant burrowed into the moss.
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This is the basking/water dish/food side. She has a stone from outside that I washed with very hot water before bringing it in, and a ceramic glazed dish to bathe in. The heat lamp keeps the area by the stone about 92-95 degrees.
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She gets fed on an overturned plate and also has a cuttlebone available. I mist her and the enclosure multiple times a day, and supplement with calcium powder lightly every other day. I have her on the 2 days greens, 1 day fruit, 2 green, 1 treat fruit, then protein diet. I haven't yet chosen her protein type but would like to keep it as natural as possible.

The humidity near the basking stone is around 50-60% and is 70-80% on the covered side. The middle of her enclosure is about 80 degrees and the far end is about 77-78 degrees. The coldest the house gets is 75-76 degrees. Since my rabbits live in the same room, I can't have the heat cranked up. Her heating stone/area gets to about 92-95. The water in the dish I test the temp of after changing and it's typically around 80 degrees at coolest.

Anyway, that's her set-up for now but we're hoping to be able to build her something a bit larger. Any suggestions are welcome!
 

wellington

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Looks pretty good to me. Check out the enclosure thread. It will give you lots of ideas on building something.
 

RosieRedfoot

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I've been lurking... Just need the funds to buy building materials! Thinking of building a PVC pipe/wire outdoor pen (like a chicken tractor) to put her in outside when she's out during part of the day. I wouldn't trust it for overnight but just to get her more exercise/sun exposure.
 

StudentoftheReptile

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Good set-up for a quick fix!

I would definitely try to replace that compact florescent asap with its tube florescent counterpart. I know from experience those compacts can cause some eye damege pretty quickly in young redfoots.
 

RosieRedfoot

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I haven't been turning on the compact UVB since learning this (and only 2 days prior to that was it on). I need a paycheck before I can buy a new lighting set-up (should be this week). I've been taking her outside for an hour plus daily and she's done some basking out there. After a few minutes of basking in full sun she came back closer to me in the shade (was 88 so I was hiding) and I poured some water into my water bottle cap and held it out to her. She came over, drank it, then took off at a rapid pace to go back to the shady part and managed to find a frog! They both sat there in the moss along the house staring at one another... Pretty sure the frog was wondering where she came from, and I bet she was sizing him up for a meal since she loves to taste everything (even my brightly painted toenails)!
 
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