I recently ws given 7 yr old redfoot. he has bene kept in a small 90 x 45 enclosure for the last 4 years and before that apparently wasm ill treated before the lady I got him from took him in.
I was just told to put his lamp on in the day, off at night and leave the heat pad on in the hide.
he had bagged pellets as bedding.
I have since come on here and realised that changed need to be made.
I have changed bedding to coco coir
I m halfwy through making my larger enclosure, which i will be placing the existing closure inside and removing the glass front screen. I have also ordered a larger water bowl as i feel the one he has is too small for him to climb into fully. he has probaly had it since he was tiny.
I am getting "cloche" to go over thetop as i feel it will be easier to make to size
The new enclosure will only be 4 foot x 3 foot but it is still more than double the size of his existing one so will be better for now. we do take him out each day for a walk around our room and also give him a bath in the big bath most days where he can walk around. I am adding his existing enclosure inside the new one, so that when we go on holiday i can just keep him in the old one for a week by removing it and adding the glass back.
Come summer i will be making an area in our back garden where he can go outside during the day and just come in at night
So i am aware that the indoor set up will not be as big as some of you would like but I am making improvements and he will have far more than he had, he also seems very happy with us and is somewhat affectionate. So i would be grateful for advice on what I have asked rather than being told he needs a bigger enclosure. I do not have the room inside, but s i said come summer he will have a large one outside. He is not as active atm anyway
This is the cloche i am thinking of putting over to aid humidity.. its 45cm high so will be enough room for a lamp to stay at the side where it is now
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-POLY-...W-PROTECT-PLANT-1-5M-X-45-X-42cm/264680965494. I will cut it down to size. It will not cover the entire enclosure but will leave some space for him to be not covered, which will then not be such major shock to him. he doesnt appear to like change too much. he was not impressed when i changed his bed to coco coir from bagged pellets!
So, will that cloche be ok over his existing home which is only 90cm x 45cm and leave the rest 90 x 75 open? It is in the recess under my stairs so is enclosed in some way. It would mean he'd have an area of humidity and one a bit drier which would not be such a massive shock as enc losing it ll in one go.
Which lamp/heat emitter should i get and how would it work? (need to know wattage etc) The lamp i have now, i have no clue what it is. His previous owner just told me to sk t the pet shop! I have no idea of wattage or anything! I have been reading the mercury vapour lamps may be an idea? would it be 80 or 100w for his enclosure ( about 4 foot by 3 foot)
He has a heat pad in his hide. very low watt
plus the coco coir is very damp. Should it be like that? I m worried about him getting shell rot when he has always had a bone dry substrate. you cannot ring any wet out of it or anything and it does dry up a bit under the lamp but is damp in his hide. (there is a very low watt heat pad behind a glass screen on the wall of his hide)
I do want to try and get things sorted for him so would be grateful for the advice. I still am unsure what exactly to get
I have just ordered a larger pool for him too as he doesn't fit in the existing one properly! We give him a bath in the big bath most nights but id still rather he had a larger pool
Thanks in advance
I was just told to put his lamp on in the day, off at night and leave the heat pad on in the hide.
he had bagged pellets as bedding.
I have since come on here and realised that changed need to be made.
I have changed bedding to coco coir
I m halfwy through making my larger enclosure, which i will be placing the existing closure inside and removing the glass front screen. I have also ordered a larger water bowl as i feel the one he has is too small for him to climb into fully. he has probaly had it since he was tiny.
I am getting "cloche" to go over thetop as i feel it will be easier to make to size
The new enclosure will only be 4 foot x 3 foot but it is still more than double the size of his existing one so will be better for now. we do take him out each day for a walk around our room and also give him a bath in the big bath most days where he can walk around. I am adding his existing enclosure inside the new one, so that when we go on holiday i can just keep him in the old one for a week by removing it and adding the glass back.
Come summer i will be making an area in our back garden where he can go outside during the day and just come in at night
So i am aware that the indoor set up will not be as big as some of you would like but I am making improvements and he will have far more than he had, he also seems very happy with us and is somewhat affectionate. So i would be grateful for advice on what I have asked rather than being told he needs a bigger enclosure. I do not have the room inside, but s i said come summer he will have a large one outside. He is not as active atm anyway
This is the cloche i am thinking of putting over to aid humidity.. its 45cm high so will be enough room for a lamp to stay at the side where it is now
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-POLY-...W-PROTECT-PLANT-1-5M-X-45-X-42cm/264680965494. I will cut it down to size. It will not cover the entire enclosure but will leave some space for him to be not covered, which will then not be such major shock to him. he doesnt appear to like change too much. he was not impressed when i changed his bed to coco coir from bagged pellets!
So, will that cloche be ok over his existing home which is only 90cm x 45cm and leave the rest 90 x 75 open? It is in the recess under my stairs so is enclosed in some way. It would mean he'd have an area of humidity and one a bit drier which would not be such a massive shock as enc losing it ll in one go.
Which lamp/heat emitter should i get and how would it work? (need to know wattage etc) The lamp i have now, i have no clue what it is. His previous owner just told me to sk t the pet shop! I have no idea of wattage or anything! I have been reading the mercury vapour lamps may be an idea? would it be 80 or 100w for his enclosure ( about 4 foot by 3 foot)
He has a heat pad in his hide. very low watt
plus the coco coir is very damp. Should it be like that? I m worried about him getting shell rot when he has always had a bone dry substrate. you cannot ring any wet out of it or anything and it does dry up a bit under the lamp but is damp in his hide. (there is a very low watt heat pad behind a glass screen on the wall of his hide)
I do want to try and get things sorted for him so would be grateful for the advice. I still am unsure what exactly to get
I have just ordered a larger pool for him too as he doesn't fit in the existing one properly! We give him a bath in the big bath most nights but id still rather he had a larger pool
Thanks in advance