cliffords tank set up

Yvonne G

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May I make a few constructive suggestions? (Waits for an answer, but not getting one, continues anyway :p )

Sink the waterer down into the substrate so it is even with the substrate.

I see that you have a humid hide. It looks great, but bigger would be a bit better.

I would like to see more sight barriers in that habitat. Maybe a piece of driftwood, or a couple plastic plants planted into the substrate, or even a big rock.

Because your baby is sitting under the light I'm thinking the habitat might be a bit too cool for him. Redfooted tortoises can go with an overall of about 80F to 85F overall. You don't need a temp gradient from hot to cool for the RF tortoise. I would position the light fixture in the middle, then cover the whole thing to keep the heat inside.
 

cliffordtherf

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thanks for the reply! i definitely will sink the water down and add some logs or rocks too! i didnt know that redfoots dont need a gradient and i thought he might try to eat any fake plants i put in there? do you know any real plants i could add in? also i had placed him by the light so im not sure if it needs to be warmer.


also did you mean a larger hide or larger tank? i can give him a larger hide but i cant do a larger tank right now but i will be upgrading it as he grows.
 

Yvonne G

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I meant a larger hiding place, filled with moist moss. They usually don't try to eat fake plants. If you want to try real plants, you can try hosta, anything in the viola family.
 

cliffordtherf

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ok yeah i have some nice moss in both his hides and i will look into the plants :) do you have any ideas for larger hides other than the ones at the pet stores?
 

lisa127

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I got a couple of large plant pots (mine were more square shaped than round) from the dollar store. The ones I got were plastic so I cut them kind of in half and made two hides out of one plastic pot. If you find ones not plastic that is fine, you can just bury it in the substrate halfway to make a tunnel. You can also find solid colored plastic containers of any type and cut an entrance hole into it. There are many ways to make inexpensive hides.
 

cliffordtherf

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great ideas! i do like how the wood or log ones look however i know there are many cheeper ideas :) thanks for your help
 

Yvonne G

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You can always hide the hide (LOL) under moss or substrate. I had some large PVC pipe sections just laying around so I cut them in half lengthwise and that's what I use.
 

cliffordtherf

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lol good idea i am going to get a bigger hide as soon as possible! thanks for all your help
 

mike taylor

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I would like to know what types of lamps are in that fixture . Is one a heat lamp and one a uvb lamp ? If one is a uvb lamp is it a coil type ? I ask because coil type lamps have been known to cause eye problems . I would also put a screen top on the tank wrapped in tin foil with a hole just for your fixture . This will hold the heat and humidity in . This will make for a hot humid happy heathy smooth baby tortoise .
 

cliffordtherf

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i have a red heat light that is 50w which i know i need a higher wattage and i do have a coil uvb light, i have never heard anything about hurting their eyes? but i dont know alot about it. would it be better if i wraped the screen that is on there in tin foil or should it be a full screen over the whole tank, i like the small sceen just because it is easy to get into the tank and allows air flow
 

mike taylor

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Cover the complete top so it will hold in your heat and humidity . You will get air flow at feedings . The coil lights have caused tortoises and lizards to go blind. Not trying to be a bad guy just trying to save you some frustrations later . Humidity needs to be in the upper 80 ' s to 90' s . Temperature needs to be 80 to 85 all the time with the humidity . The key to this is a che on a thermostat and a completely covered top to hold it all in . If you want a smooth tortoise with no pyramiding this is how to do it . You can go to tortoise library .com and read the care sheets or tortoiseterry .org . Some say you don't need uvb with red foots but I think every animal needs some uvb even us humans to make d3 . But as long as it can get outside for a hour or more a week you will not need to have it indoors .
 

cliffordtherf

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ok i will cover the top and i need to get a new thermometer and humidity sensor. right now it is about 81degrees F right under the light so covering the top should bring it up. thank you for informing me about the coil bulb, the last thing i want is for him to go blind! my goal is for a happy healthy smooth tort!
 
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