Going to build first tortoise enclosure. QUESTION GALORE

[captain]

Hello everyone, I wanted to wait until summer to build my enclosure but I am very anxious to start now and make my baby tortoise happy with consistent humidity and heat levels.

I just had a lot of specific questions on how it all works.. I am planning on building an indoor closed enclosure. Everything I am about to ask has to do with previous research and I just want to make sure I am doing everything right

1.My red footed tortoise is about 4 months old, right now he is a small enclosure (big enough for a lil guy about the size of a 15g tank) but I was told not to put him into something too big cuz it will stress him out? Is this true?? If so, when can I upgrade him? If not, will it be okay if I move him into a better bigger enclosure?

2.Is it true that with the closed enclosure it will keep humidity and heat levels higher and as best as possible?

3. Am I right thinking his heated spot needs to be 85-95 and his humidity 90-95?? Does he need any other lighting? At night 75, room temperature is alright?

4. Right now I have a small 10.0 UVB bulb in a lamp fixture, if I made him an enclosure is this okay to use or should I get the long straight bulbs and a hood to increase the uvb in the enclosure??

5. Do I need air vents? I would prefer not.

This is what I have planned so far (haven't decided on size yet)

Use a table and build three walls and a roof of wood, and one wall of plexiglass on hinges (any other ideas on how to make this plexiglass into a door??) (won't be able to screw holes into it or cut it all basically)

Cut two circles a bit smaller than the lamp fixtures into the roof and place lamps above them I am very paranoid of them falling in so this is the only/best idea I have so far to keep them secure...any others?

6. How do thermostats work? Right now my heat lamp is on a dimmer and seems to work fine and my uvb wouldn't affect it right... so would i need a thermostat and why?? (newbie)...Also what kind of temp gun would you suggest that does temp and humidity?? I saw one by zoomed?

So with this enclosure I would need to seal it with water proof paint/stain correct? Due to humidity...Or could I use waterproof liner of some sort??

With this I would use cypress mulch and coconut coir and sphagnum moss as a substrate.

Would this work or am I missing stuff? Please any advice is helpful!
I am not very handy but am planning on going to rona and home depot to do all this.

So is he too small to do any of this or would he be okay to do this??

Sorry I have so many I just like to have for sure answers.

Thanks and its ok if you don't have all the answers, any help is goodd!

 

[pfara]

I'm fairly new to keeping redfoots but maybe this will help since beginner info is still fresh in my head:

1. Bigger is better. You won't have to keep making larger enclosures every year if you build as big as you can. The only reason big is bad is because you'll never find your tort and it's not so efficient to upkeep a massive enclosure when you only need a fraction of the space. To fix that issue, I put a barrier up to cut the size in half. Remember, torts in the wild are born into a world without boundaries. So, I don't think any enclosure we can make will be as stressful comparatively.

2. Closed chambers makes it easier and more cost effective to run an enclosure. You won't have warm humid air escape so freely in a closed enclosure which means your heating units and need to spray the enclosure will be used a lot less.

3. I believe you only need an ambient temp of the lower 80s in the entire enclosure. Some people have basking spots while some don't find their reds bask. Also, some people don't recommend temps lower than 80 in humid environments (cold+humid=bad). However, my enclosure gets down to 75 every night (winter) and I haven't had problems. Better to err on the side of caution and keep the temps up, though.

4. Is your current uvb source a compact fluorescent? If so, definitely switch to the tube. Like you said, more uvb exposure is better.

5. Air vents defeat the purpose of closed chambers. You get air exchange when you open the chambers to do daily tort chores.

6. Thermostats have a probe you place in the enclosure under the heat source. When it hits the temp you want, it shuts the heat source off. Turns it on again when under the target temp. Temp guns don't measure humidity. You can get a weather station from home depot or lowes like an Accurite to measure temps/humidity.

 

[wellington]

1-go big. The size he is in now is too small.
2-yes, closed works good on heat and humidity.
3-no, humidity around 80% temps around 80. rF don't bask a lot. But if you want too give a basking spot, then that should be around 95.
4-the 10.0 you are using now. Is it a coil type? A CFL? They are bad and causes eye problems. Get rid of it now. The long tube Florescent is what you want now and in the bigger enclosure.
5-air vents are not needed. There is enough air exchange when you open and close for feeding, cleaning. Watering, etc.
Everything else sounds good. Be sure to keep the top layer of substrate dry, while the underneath is damp, for humidity. This will help prevent shell rot that they are more prone too then some other higher humidity tortoises.
Also, be sure to make him an outdoor enclosure for those nice warm days. The sunshine is the best thing available for tortoises and it's free.

 

[captain]

thank you everyone! please keep me any tips you have on building this stuff