Drakkos
New Member
I am new to the tortoise world, though I have always admired them from afar. In October I decided it was time to start researching and looking into getting a little bundle of joy of my very own. I picked the Red-Foot due to my love of the colors, and since I live in Florida, it is a similar climate and hopefully will be easier for my first tort. My grandfather does woodworking in his retirement and wanted ideas for a birthday present, so I asked him to build me a tortoise table!
He built it so I could piece it together and be easier to transport up to my home in Orlando, then insert the screws on the edges.. The bottom sits in the lips and is a piece of plywood that has been painted over to be waterproof. The long way facing the camera in the second photo is plexiglass, though I haven't taken off the paper yet.
Now, as you can see, this thing is huge. 3'x6', however I am getting just a little baby tortoise. I worry this enclosure will be almost too big. Should I block off like a third of it for a bit until he gets bigger, or is this size okay? Also, I currently just have one large zoo med lamp powered with a powersun. Will I need additional heat lamps, or mercury bulbs? Or can I just use regular heat bulbs and the powersun covers the UVB. I plan to take him out at least once a week for about 30 minutes, if that makes a difference.
Also, any substrate recommendations? I was thinking cypress mulch with a bit of spaghum moss on the edges, but should I put some soil down and then layer it with some mulch?
Thanks for any help!
He built it so I could piece it together and be easier to transport up to my home in Orlando, then insert the screws on the edges.. The bottom sits in the lips and is a piece of plywood that has been painted over to be waterproof. The long way facing the camera in the second photo is plexiglass, though I haven't taken off the paper yet.
Now, as you can see, this thing is huge. 3'x6', however I am getting just a little baby tortoise. I worry this enclosure will be almost too big. Should I block off like a third of it for a bit until he gets bigger, or is this size okay? Also, I currently just have one large zoo med lamp powered with a powersun. Will I need additional heat lamps, or mercury bulbs? Or can I just use regular heat bulbs and the powersun covers the UVB. I plan to take him out at least once a week for about 30 minutes, if that makes a difference.
Also, any substrate recommendations? I was thinking cypress mulch with a bit of spaghum moss on the edges, but should I put some soil down and then layer it with some mulch?
Thanks for any help!