Can you show me how you cover your enclosures? (pics)

[dwright27]

Hi everyone,
I recently started a bioactive tank for my RF, and I'm having a heck of a time keeping the heat and humidity in. I realize that a closed chamber is likely best, but I don't have the money, the space, or the know-how to create such a structure.

For those of you who use glass tanks, I'd like to see what you're using to cover the enclosure to keep the heat and humidity at appropriate levels. I'm getting frustrated and quite worried that I'm jeopardizing my little dude's health!

Here is his enclosure.. the piece of foil is just resting up there and not really doing any good.

 

[Jodie]

Cute enclosure. I would try a tinfoil tent over it. Put the foil over the lights and everything. I think there are pics of this in the enclosure section.

 

[symplestytches]

can you go to the local hardware store and purchase a small sheet of plexiglass? I know lowe's or home depot sell the sheets for under $10, and they'll even cut them down to size.

 

[dwright27]

I have the tinfoil there now but I can't get it right. I can't get it to cover everything and stay in place. I'm feeling very dumb at the moment.

I spoke to someone from Home Depot and Lowe's and they won't cut it for me. Only wood and carpet. I just emailed a plastics company to ask them but I have a feeling they're going to charge me a ridiculous amount too. This whole thing is becoming very upsetting.

 

[dwright27]

Going to bump this because I have looked and found very few pics anywhere for this.

 

[Jodie]

I hear your frustration and don't know what you have tried, so forgive me if you have tried this. I will try to explain. I don't have and couldn't find pics. To make one sheet bigger, lay 2 sheets together one on top of the other. Roll the edge a couple of times. Then open it and you have a large sealed piece. Connect as many as you need to create a tent over the top of the enclosure. I would tape 3 sides to the enclosure and pinch it onto the 4th side.
I have a table that I needed to cover. I built a cold frame and covered it with plastic. This could work too Maybe.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Your enclosure is pretty small given the size of your tortoise, have you thought about relocating her into a larger one? If you purchased a plastic container I bet you could find one larger than those glass tanks they sell, and they're a whole lot cheaper. You could use the plastic top that goes with a storage bin and cut a hole for the lights. Plexiglass is expensive to cut in my experience, and might not be worth it for an enclosure your tortoise will grow out of. You could also just cover the top with a shower curtain, which I've used for a period of time before I made a plexiglass top to my wooden enclosure.

Do you have space outside for an outdoor enclosure?

Do you moisten the substrate? That sphagnum moss looks fairly dry. I know it's not supposed to be soaked as it can cause shell rot, but how about the stuff under it?

I would also get rid of those ornaments, I bet he would love to have more space to walk. They're cute, but not so much to your tortoise.

 

[dwright27]

Is it okay for the foil to be touching the lamp though? I saw on a python forum that someone cut pieces of cardboard and covered those with the tin foil..I just worry about the cardboard heating up too much and starting a fire. I love your spiral ramp thing there lol. I can't attach anything to the wall where the tank is, unfortunately.

 

[dwright27]

Your enclosure is pretty small given the size of your tortoise, have you thought about relocating her into a larger one? If you purchased a plastic container I bet you could find one larger than those glass tanks they sell, and they're a whole lot cheaper. You could use the plastic top that goes with a storage bin and cut a hole for the lights. Plexiglass is expensive to cut in my experience, and might not be worth it for an enclosure your tortoise will grow out of. You could also just cover the top with a shower curtain, which I've used for a period of time before I made a plexiglass top to my wooden enclosure.

Do you have space outside for an outdoor enclosure?

Do you moisten the substrate? That sphagnum moss looks fairly dry. I know it's not supposed to be soaked as it can cause shell rot, but how about the stuff under it?

I would also get rid of those ornaments, I bet he would love to have more space to walk. They're cute, but not so much to your tortoise.

Hi there,
The tank is 4 feet long; I realize it might look smaller in the pictures. However yes as he grows I will make plans to put him in something larger.
I live in Ontario and the weather is only suitable outside in the summer. Last summer I took him outside and let him walk around under close supervision, but I don't have an enclosure out there for him yet. I've been looking into that though.

At any rate, when he grows out of this tank I'm sure I'll put something else in there, so having a long-term solution for the lid would be great.

He is in a bio-active substrate. So yes, the moss is pretty dry, though I do spray it down a couple of times a day. The bottom layer is lava rock, then a sheet of weed barrier, then some bark blend, and the rest is organic top soil mixed with coco coir. I pour quite a bit of water into the corner so that it drains to the bottom and then rises slowly, keeping the soil moist enough for the isopods and worms (and springtails soon, hopefully)

I agree about the ornaments, sadly lol.. He keeps trying to fit between the two little mushrooms (it's all one piece though) and I hear the caps clang against each other (they're like bobble-heads... and the turtle is a bobble head too lol)

 

[dwright27]

I took out the ornaments.

 

[dwright27]

I can only imagine how much of a pain it's going to be to find someone to build me an enclosure later lol

 

[mikeylazer]

You can even use a thick posterboard, just cut holes for the lights and edge the holes in electrical tape to reduce fire hazard. Ive even used paper taped together and nothing caught fire and it trapped the humidity pretty well. When you said they only cut wood and carpet, i thought why not use a wooden top?

 

[leigti]

I'm glad you took the ornaments out to make a bigger enclosure. I question the use of lava rock but I think as long as you have bark and dirt on top of it you would be fine. I would keep the moss somewhat moist however. A quick easy solution would be to use a shower curtain. You can make it double or triple layered and the exact size you need it. If you're worried about the edges melting if they are too close to the heat line the edges with tinfoil. As far as a bigger enclosure, you could get large storage bins and connect them together with a little tunnel or just cut the side out and connect them together. Home Depot sells a nice 54 gallon one.Then you could cut a hole in each lid slightly smaller than The lights and heating fixtures. Line the edges of the holes with tinfoil to prevent them from getting hot.
Or you could get a large plastic stock tank. You could cover it with large pieces of plexiglass except for just where the lights and heat elements are, or use a shower curtain. This is a picture of what I did. It is not a true closed chamber because my tortoise doesn't need that but with the use of some clips I can keep it pretty moist in there. It's not pretty but it is functional.

 

[dwright27]

Thanks guys, I know I'm being paranoid. I have foil tape I can line things with as well.

I'm still looking at enclosures, mostly on this site. I didn't realize the cold frame design was called cold frame.. So that is helping! I also like the raised garden kits, but I need to find one that is expandable and available in Ontario (I really don't want to think about the shipping from Europe lol)
I actually have a shower curtain liner that has only been used once (it's way too long for our bathroom)
I didn't know what to seal wood with, but now I'm pretty sure I could use epoxy...? It's just a matter of cutting out the proper sized holes and having access to the tank.

The lava rock is in small chunks and it's supposed to allow for the growth of beneficial bacteria. But yeah there is a barrier there so the tort shouldn't be able to scratch himself on it. (should have seen my nails after handling the stuff..)

 

[dwright27]

As an aside, please forgive my grammar and lack of punctuation as I'm writing from my phone lol

 

[cmacusa3]

This was a very simple cover for a tank.

It has a hinge in the middle, I hung the long tube light in the back part that doesn't open. It stays at the temp set my thermostat on a Che and holds the humidity well.

 

[cmacusa3]

The wood around the bottom is for a site barrier for the turtle

 

[Lexiii]

This was a very simple cover for a tank. View attachment 130104View attachment 130105View attachment 130106

It has a hinge in the middle, I hung the long tube light in the back part that doesn't open. It stays at the temp set my thermostat on a Che and holds the humidity well.

Does your tort have his own iPhone?

 

[christinaland128]

I cut a hole in the lid that came with the large bin...

 

[christinaland128]

Then I have a humidifier running in the enclosure...