They were clamped on the sides and zip tied. Still made me a little uneasy though, those clamps are not the best. :/
Preparing for a red footed tort
- Thread starter mamameg
- Start date
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/quick-and-easy-enclosure.149722/
I use the bins too, this may give you some ideas too. The second one I built has the tub light screwed into the inside of the bin.
mamameg
Active Member
@cmac3 thank you for the photos! I am having a hard time finding a tub that you can see into- and having it a solid color makes me nervous I will cook her or if she flips and I can't see her! What material did you use to screw the lights into the bin? And how do I make/where can I get a humid hide? You guys are all so helpful I am so thankful for you!
If you have a 40 gal, you are ALL SET for your tort baby's first year. Fish tank is so easy to work with (for me it is anyway), mounting the lights, covering the top... turning it into a closed chamber, very warm and very humid even when your room temp is in the 60's your baby can be nice and toasty in low 80's. I would just use what's available and add to it whatever necessary. 40 gal is plenty for little baby tort. I'll try to find my old threads with pictures of my tank when it was pretty before the babies started their own demolition business
mamameg
Active Member
mamameg
Active Member
@Pearly please find an old thread! I have a screen lid and am confused on how to keep in the humidity/keep the lamps on (unless they just rest on the lid).If you have a 40 gal, you are ALL SET for your tort baby's first year. Fish tank is so easy to work with (for me it is anyway), mounting the lights, covering the top... turning it into a closed chamber, very warm and very humid even when your room temp is in the 60's your baby can be nice and toasty in low 80's. I would just use what's available and add to it whatever necessary. 40 gal is plenty for little baby tort. I'll try to find my old threads with pictures of my tank when it was pretty before the babies started their own demolition business
Easy! I Just sat my lamps on the screen, it's not that fine mesh, those don't let the UVB through, mine is large gague - big holes. I struggled with covering in between the lamps and finally found Reflectix at Home Depot in insulation section of construction stuff.
You need something that's designed to handle the heat and is safe around electricity. That Reflectics stuff is perfect. I cut it in 2 pieces to fit both parts of the screen top. Mine is hinged in the middle, so ½ is stationary and the other ½ is movable so i can open it and get in there to do stuff. So anyway, cut those 2 pieces to fit both screens and to secure it in place I used this metal adhesive tape that's on the bottom of the above picture. Again i got mine at home depot but you can get them on amazon, ebay, etc. Then once I had perfect fit I got my lamps, placed them where I wanted them and cut the openings to fit my domes and UVB tube fixture. I also cut out small hole for the fogger hose which. I'll look for that thread now but hopefully this description here gives you an idea of how I did mine.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Pearly's-40-gal-tank--covered-top.139373/ here you are! Hope this helps
Some live, but most dry. Pet stores sell those clumps of mood moss saying "it's dormant" and comes alive in terrarium, but with baby torts the high heat needed to keep them healthy is too much for most mosses to thrive .
And I have NEVER seen them trying to eat the moss. They have food there available at all times.
You are welcome! Looking forward for following your progress, and pls post pictures
mamameg
Active Member
@Pearly my supplies are starting to come in for my Lil cherry head (she comes next Tuesday!) and I am rereading the layers you made for your baby rf. I have purchased both plantation soil and sphag moss but also have charcoal from my terrarium hobby. I am wondering if you put rocks underneath your charcoal or if the charcoal was your bottom layer? Let me know thanks! ❤️
Hydroballs on the bottom, then layer of activated charcoal, then the rest
mamameg
Active Member
@Pearly I am putting everything together right now. I added a 1" layer of pea gravel (rinsed) and mixed in a tad of horticultural charcoal after reading how you put yours together. That won't disrupt breathing right? It has a slight odor (and was dusty when put in) and I wanted to double check I was doing this correctly. Please let me know, thanks!
mamameg
Active Member
@Pearly for whatever reason I could see that you "liked" my last question to you a week ago or so, but it wasn't until just now that I read your comment about hydro balls! I did no use them hoping pea gravel will be fine! Let me know about the dust! Thank you for all of your help! She comes tomorrow and I want to square away my humidity levels and air temps today. Thanks again!
mamameg
Active Member
Hi everyone! Loretta Lou is now here! For the most part she adjusting and hiding in one of her hides. I am having a hard time regulating the temperature/moisture levels of the habitat. I am using a 5% UBB, a red heat light (150) and a ceramic light (100). When I position the heat sources to each side of the tank the temps are in the mid to high 80s. When I position them together the heat side gets to 92-98, but then the other side drops to high 70s. It also gets very high moisture (high 70s to 80s) on the colder side while the hot side gets to low to mid 50's. I also took @Pearly advice and am using relextix which really helps! Let me know what I should change, thanks! 
tortmomma417
New Member
This may sound a bit silly but what did you use for the canopy? Literally just a tent top or something? I really like it!Hey there fellow Detroiter!
I started out with a large bin but they grew very fast (an ounce or two a month) so I upgraded to a raised garden bed setup. I found this Lifetime Raised garden bed with tent top on amazon. We built a wooden table base and lined it with several layers of tarp before putting down soil and a top layer or coir forest floor mix.
The enclosure is 4X4 and what's nice is I can add another one when I'm read to expand. The tent top holds in great humidity and heat. I couldn't be happier with this enclosure. View attachment 204132View attachment 204133View attachment 204134
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