Well FINALLY Wheezy is home HOWEVER we did kind of figure out that it seems Wheezy is a Boy the cloaca is VERY near the tip and his tail is quite long however he holds it off to 1 side so no one ever really saw it before today so heres our trouble got him home and put him in the enclosure and figured out the peat was waaaay too deep and because of some of his deformities he can't walk through the peat and its stuck to his eyes and mouth, I took some out but he still can't quiet make it through!! this is awful now i have to find a substrate he can navigate anyone ever heard of what to do with a deformed RF that can't navigate a loose substrate and still able to hold Some humidity? Im not against misting a few times a day as I stay home and he will have a Large shallow water dish and i can also do soaks! I feel soooo bad I had to remove Most of the substrate and still its seems to deep in some spots

On a more positive note we are happy to Finally have him home

When you say peat moss are you referring to the stringy stuff or the finely processed soil type peat moss??

If you have the finely processed soil type peat moss...did you dampen the soil and then take your hand and apply pressure all over the enclosure to compact the soil so your tort has a more solid smooth surface vs loose soil type surface?????

Since wheezy is a special needs redfoot I'd imagine some of our traditional advice goes out the window

With that being said, here are some of my thoughts. For substrate, I'd suggest maybe an inch of cypress mulch. It's not terribly fine, and won't get stuck in his eyes as much as peat or other fine grade substrates. I can't imagine he'd sink into it either. If that doesn't work and he's still having issues, you may have to forgo substrate completely. Certainly not ideal, but as a special needs tort I think it's more important to make his life as comfortable as possible rather than trying to replicate a world he would be completely inadequate to survive in.

This won't hold humidity, but you can supplement that with a humidifier. I have a small ultrasonic humidifier rigged with a flexible tube that directly pipes humidity into my redfoots enclosure. Works great, but then you need to make sure ambient temps are good, too. I would recommend several different types of heat to balance everything out, which may include a basking spot, ceramic style overhead heater, and under cage heat regulated with a thermostat. I've had great success with the setup I just mentioned, but you'll probably have to do a lot of experimentation to get it right.

As for the water, definitely provide the soaks yourself to ensure his safety. As I don't have any firsthand experience with wheezy I dont know how he would handle entering and exiting a shallow watering hole. I think you should experiment and see how he handles multiple wallowing solutions and find out which is most accommodating to his needs.

Hope this helps! And I hope wheezy enjoy a long, peaceful life!

Thanks

I did dampen the sphagnum peat moss (fine substrate) and tried to pack it down he bulldozes through it and its Everywhere in his eyes mouth and stuck all over his body now including the cracks between his scutes which means i have to scrub and soak him later to get it out as I'm sure thats NOT comfortable for him.

He can navigate quiet a deep pan for soaks as he had one at the rescue to soak in it was a good soaking pan, but can't navigate the soil I was thinking about putting in 1/2 reptile carpet (i used to use it to hold humidity for my baby crested geckos so i didn't have to use a substrate that could be ingested as the babies learned to hunt and it just needs to be misted 2xday and stays damp) and the other 1/2 her enclosure peel and stick tile so its easy to clean and i was thinking of a non slippery one. What does everyone think? I really want to do whats right for him but it seems the traditional set up will not prove helpful for him (as I'm hoping everyone else realizes and understands as we make these changes I really hope I won't be judged for not having a naturalistic enclosure?) I will put a humidifier where his enclosure is to make sure there is some humidity all day long plus the mistings and having a pan for him to soak and drink. What does everyone think? He also has a 4ft UVB that runs the length of his enclosure (minus his hide box) and a basking lamp (testing temps right now i have a 100w in there which is what i use for my beardie and in an enclosed unit (with vents) my beardies temps get to around 95 degrees so we will see what his temps reach today. Is it better to put the heat lamp near his water tub so it also stays warmer and puts out some humidity as it warms?

I don't know if this will help: To hold some moisture in my hatchlings tank, in one area of the tank I use a layer of wet sphagnum moss, covered with a layer of paper towel. Maybe this will work?

(07-28-2012 08:48 AM)wheezysmomma Wrote:  Thanks

I did dampen the sphagnum peat moss (fine substrate) and tried to pack it down he bulldozes through it and its Everywhere in his eyes mouth and stuck all over his body now including the cracks between his scutes which means i have to scrub and soak him later to get it out as I'm sure thats NOT comfortable for him.

He can navigate quiet a deep pan for soaks as he had one at the rescue to soak in it was a good soaking pan, but can't navigate the soil I was thinking about putting in 1/2 reptile carpet (i used to use it to hold humidity for my baby crested geckos so i didn't have to use a substrate that could be ingested as the babies learned to hunt and it just needs to be misted 2xday and stays damp) and the other 1/2 her enclosure peel and stick tile so its easy to clean and i was thinking of a non slippery one. What does everyone think? I really want to do whats right for him but it seems the traditional set up will not prove helpful for him (as I'm hoping everyone else realizes and understands as we make these changes I really hope I won't be judged for not having a naturalistic enclosure?) I will put a humidifier where his enclosure is to make sure there is some humidity all day long plus the mistings and having a pan for him to soak and drink. What does everyone think? He also has a 4ft UVB that runs the length of his enclosure (minus his hide box) and a basking lamp (testing temps right now i have a 100w in there which is what i use for my beardie and in an enclosed unit (with vents) my beardies temps get to around 95 degrees so we will see what his temps reach today. Is it better to put the heat lamp near his water tub so it also stays warmer and puts out some humidity as it warms?

You have a special needs tort so do whatever you have to do

picture?

Thanks everyone and Thanks sooo much Bigred means a lot to have people understand

I do have a pic however his hide is still under some construction so he has a cardboard box as his hide for a few days till his hide box has had some time to cure and the kids want to put his name on it

We ended up doing 3/4 carpet and 1/4 peel and stick tiles and covered the walls in a thick plastic as to keep it waterproofed. It looks ok but will need some adjustments as its not super pretty just wanted to get him in and let him settle before we fool around anymore. Not fair to keep changing everything on him. He doesn't really use hides he prefers to be under the basking lamp or in his soaking tub (not in the photo as we had Just put him in and i snapped a quick pic before getting him totally settled.)
So PLEASE don't rake me over the coals for his enclosure its not done and its not "normal" but its whats best for him to keep him comfy and able to get around we will eventually change it again but this was to get him set up and settled then we can change what doesn't work thanks for looking also remember his soaking tub is in there now.