Indoor Enclosures for Adult Redfoot?

[dwright27]

Good morning everyone,

I keep looking at all the wonderful enclosure threads that others have posted, but most of them are for babies or juveniles or were posted a really long time ago. I would love to get some more ideas for a "final" enclosure for a single adult redfoot. I have someone that can make one for me (finally!) but I am having a hard time explaining to him what it is that I want/need. I was originally thinking an "L" shape if that might save a bit of space... I want to have something as big as possible without having to relegate my tort to the basement (it's an unfinished basement that we spend zero time in, except to do laundry).

My other concern is that when we move, I need to be able to either disassemble the enclosure or it needs to somehow fit through the front door (which is not very large).

I appreciate any ideas, thank you.

 

[Alexio]

I personally would try to keep it simple here and use 4*8 sheets of plywood to make a 4*8 enclosure. You just need a frame of some sort 2*4s or 4*4s work nicely for frames depending how durable you want it. I always recommend using pvc board even though its more expensive it will last a lot longer and require less "finishing" . then when your ready to move just take the enclosure apart.
My concerns with building an L shape is that it might be harder to build and make closed.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Most members have their adult Redfoot tortoises outdoors. Simply because of the space needed to comfortably keep one. It would need to be an 8x8 foot enclosure or larger. Smaller torts are easier to keep inside.
Sure. Some still keep adult tortoises jammed inside of an aquarium. But that's just nuts.
An "L" shape would seem ideal. As long as both side of the L will go through your door when you move it. That should be easy. You can make the L very wide and just 20" tall. The 20" will fit through the door and it could be over 4' wide with no issues.

 

[dwright27]

I personally would try to keep it simple here and use 4*8 sheets of plywood to make a 4*8 enclosure. You just need a frame of some sort 2*4s or 4*4s work nicely for frames depending how durable you want it. I always recommend using pvc board even though its more expensive it will last a lot longer and require less "finishing" . then when your ready to move just take the enclosure apart.
My concerns with building an L shape is that it might be harder to build and make closed.

The guy that will be building it says he is fine with doing an L shape. I worry about it being a full 4' wide but if I did the L shape I could still have the same square footage maybe?

Most members have their adult Redfoot tortoises outdoors. Simply because of the space needed to comfortably keep one. It would need to be an 8x8 foot enclosure or larger. Smaller torts are easier to keep inside.
Sure. Some still keep adult tortoises jammed inside of an aquarium. But that's just nuts.
An "L" shape would seem ideal. As long as both side of the L will go through your door when you move it. That should be easy. You can make the L very wide and just 20" tall. The 20" will fit through the door and it could be over 4' wide with no issues.

I live in Ontario so keeping her outside year-round is not possible. I'm hoping 20" would be tall enough, as I have her on a bioactive substrate so it needs to be pretty deep to hold the layer of lava rock plus the dirt/coco coir.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The guy that will be building it says he is fine with doing an L shape. I worry about it being a full 4' wide but if I did the L shape I could still have the same square footage maybe?



I live in Ontario so keeping her outside year-round is not possible. I'm hoping 20" would be tall enough, as I have her on a bioactive substrate so it needs to be pretty deep to hold the layer of lava rock plus the dirt/coco coir.

Yes. I was picturing maybe two 6 foot lengths that were 4 wide by 2 tall. Joined at the ends into an L. That would be 48 square feet of floor space and it could still be dismantled and carried through any door as two 6x4x2 sections.
For that matter, two 6 feet long, six foot wide and two feet tall sections would still fit through a door. the key would be the two foot height. You don't need any more and your door would be wide enough to exit sideways.

 

[dwright27]

Just need to figure out where, that's all. I can do the 8 feet long but the 4 ft wide part is what's concerning me. It's going to take some MacGyver-ing I suppose. It's tough not seeing many of these enclosures indoors.

 

[MPRC]

I'm interested to see what you come up with. Currently my house is a mess of rubbermaids, kiddie pools and other temporary madness until we can move.

I know that some people have made double decker enclosures to maximize space. Sometimes the torts utilize them, sometimes they don't. I'd say 4 of my 6 would as they will climb anything they can. Maybe something to consider.

 

[dwright27]

I'm interested to see what you come up with. Currently my house is a mess of rubbermaids, kiddie pools and other temporary madness until we can move.

I know that some people have made double decker enclosures to maximize space. Sometimes the torts utilize them, sometimes they don't. I'd say 4 of my 6 would as they will climb anything they can. Maybe something to consider.

I've been told that more than one level can be dangerous..? But I'd still be interested in seeing something. My problem is also the "what happens when we move" thing... I need something that can come apart and be put back together again.

 

[Mcgorman2]

Did this ever happen? Can we have an update? Pictures?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

As large as possible without any predetermined size.
Larger, older Redfoot don't climb as much or as well.
I had a few adult females outside in a 20 foot square pen. Squares are a bad shape for younger tortoises because they can climb up in the corners. But I never lost a tortoise in that pen....And it had 2, two by six side walls. Just 12 or 13" tall.

 

[crimson_lotus]

I am currently having an indoor enclosure made for my redfoot. Disassembling and fitting through the door (most are 28 inches wide, I believe) were also my priority. What we ended up doing was a 3 piece that fit together to form a 4 x 8 enclosure with a balcony. Once the enclosure is complete, I am happy to share pictures. Should be done this month!

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's what one of our members, Candy, had her husband put together for her RF tortoises:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/heres-dales-new-enclosure-picture-heavy.11023/

Years ago we found it easier to use tiny pics or photobucket to post our photos, now, in hind sight, it was a bad decision. The photos are blurry because photobucket has fixed it so , but maybe you can still get the idea.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's an idea putting two Zoo Med tortoise houses together. Two together makes it 6' long:

 

[Yvonne G]

This is a Christmas Tree Storage Bin mfg'd by Iris:

It's about 5' long and might work in a pinch for your RF tortoise.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's one that's 8'x3':

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never kept full grown tortoises in the house. When I had full grown tortoises that needed special attention, I set them up in cinderblock shelters on the car port, where I had more room:



First I put down a sheet of plywood on the cement, then I stacked cinderblocks three high around the perimeter of the plywood. I then lined the inside with sheet styrofoam and protected that with more plywood.

 

[Alex Z]

This is our new 3 level tort complex. It's 8x3. Gideon the Russian tort lives on top. The next 2 levels is our 4 redfoots. 3 juvis in the 2nd floor and the bottom is red, our 5yr old redfoot.