Closed chamber or open tortoise table

[forujade00]

I am in the process of designing and building my daughter's tortoise (Liv) a new enclosure. I thought I had the design to build a closed chamber for humidity purposes but then I read that Russians doesn't need much. So my question is should I just build an open tortoise table instead?

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[wellington]

No closed chamber for a Russian. If it is a baby then they do need a higher humidity, like 50-60% but not in a closed chamber setting. So, your open table with a humid side or hide should work pretty good.

 

[forujade00]

Re: RE: Closed chamber or open tortoise table

No closed chamber for a Russian. If it is a baby then they do need a higher humidity, like 50-60% but not in a closed chamber setting. So, your open table with a humid side or hide should work pretty good.

Thank you. Now back to the drawing board.

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[Tom]

What size and age?

Closed chambers work well for any tortoise. Heating it and maintaining the temps you want is really easy. If you don't want high humidity, just leave things a bit drier.

 

[forujade00]

I don't know how old. We purchased her at petco back in August 2013. I measured her shell, which was 4.5 inches. I never liked reptiles but she had stolen my heart. Never thought that a tortoise would have a personality. Boy was I wrong. Now I read everything I can to make sure that she is happy and healthy.

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[SnakeyeZ]

I have open top but I'm strongly considering switching to a closed enclosure (no doors though, just a high litter damn in the front).

 

[biochemnerd808]

At 4.5" your tortoise doesn't NEED as humid an environment as a baby would, but a closed chamber, as Tom said, doesn't need to be humid. It certainly will be more energy efficient in keeping the temperature steady during the winter months - tortoise tables are wonderful (I have several) but boy do I love being able to heat the entire enclosure with a 50W bulb in a closed chamber (which I have 2 of). The tortoise tables each have a 150W bulb.
There are some awesome pictures of really nice designs of closed chambers on here. My very 'low tech' version for our redfoot is a Christmas Tree bin, with a hole for the heat lamp cut into the top, and a flap cut into the top that attaches via zip ties. If you are building something anyway, and you have the skill, I'd go with the closed chamber.

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I should add that the more space you can provide for the tortoise to roam, the better. So if you are operating on a budget, I would recommend choosing more roaming space over closing the enclosure off.

 

[forujade00]

I want to thank everyone for your help.

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[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Closed chamber or open tortoise table

At 4.5" your tortoise doesn't NEED as humid an environment as a baby would, but a closed chamber, as Tom said, doesn't need to be humid. It certainly will be more energy efficient in keeping the temperature steady during the winter months - tortoise tables are wonderful (I have several) but boy do I love being able to heat the entire enclosure with a 50W bulb in a closed chamber (which I have 2 of). The tortoise tables each have a 150W bulb.
There are some awesome pictures of really nice designs of closed chambers on here. My very 'low tech' version for our redfoot is a Christmas Tree bin, with a hole for the heat lamp cut into the top, and a flap cut into the top that attaches via zip ties. If you are building something anyway, and you have the skill, I'd go with the closed chamber.

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I should add that the more space you can provide for the tortoise to roam, the better. So if you are operating on a budget, I would recommend choosing more roaming space over closing the enclosure off.

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Love all of this!

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