You didn't cause trouble. You asked a sincere question. Don't ever be sorry about that. We are all passionate about tortoises, and sometimes when passionate people have differing views things escalate a little too easy. You did not cause or aid that. You are fine.
What really is accurate when talking husbandry? You have been around long enough to know that people have conflicting views when comes to proper care. You can tell me that your way is the right way, but the way I learned is the complete opposite. Who is right? You? Or the people that instructed me? I simply said it isn't what I learned, and it isn't what many around here advocate.
I think you are losing sight of the fact that this whole thread was in response to a question asked by someone looking to acquire a tortoise. The best thing we can do is offer advice on what is going to be the safest style of husbandry for someone that will be a beginning tortoise keeper. I don't care what they "technically" need, I simply care to give the best advice that will keep his tortoises healthy. So maybe I shouldn't have said they "need" that night box, but I still would highly suggest it.
Would you then suggest that there is a way to keep them indoors in their ideal conditions? An indoor tortoise is never in their ideal conditions. About the only tortoises I can claim are kept here in "ideal conditions" would be Russians, greeks, hermanns and marginateds. Everything else is outside their comfort zone, one way or another (too hot, too cold, too dry, etc). That doesn't mean they won't breed, but they aren't in an 'ideal' setting, and I would dare say a redfoot in Michigan just can't be in an ideal setting, unless you have a full on greenhouse that ranges from 60-95 degrees. Or should we say, 50-95 degrees?
I wasn't attacking. He said he wanted a tortoise that could handle cooler temps and was under the impression a red was better for that than a Russian. My belief is that a Russian can handle that better than a red....that's all I commented on.
I believe cats do really well in your climate.
LOL, I'd definitely say go with a bullmastiff. They are great dogs. Just make sure if you get a redfoot that you follow a good care sheet (like mine, on Reptiles Magazine's site).
Can you give me a link to your care sheet please, I can't find it. Cheers.
Redfoots like dim lighting. So your one uvb with che would be enough for visible light. A Russian likes brighter lighting than that so you would want to add some visible light.
Higher wattage uvb? A second one I'd say. And a white daylight bulb for basking spot.
