Need help with new tortoise enclosure

[Yus]

Planning to build an 8x4 enclosure for my redfoot, need some advice on insulation, mounting tube lights and how many I should get? Substrate?
Right now she’s in a temporary house (kiddie pool) with cypress mulch and coco coir, has CHE for her heat and 2 uvb bulbs, with some tinfoil around the heat lamp and window insulator plastic around the rest of the tank to keep heat + humidity in

 

[wellington]

How big is she? A 4x8 is too small for an adult RF, it's the minimum for an adult Russian which is much smaller

 

[Yus]

How big is she? A 4x8 is too small for an adult RF, it's the minimum for an adult Russian which is much smaller

She’s like 7 inches long, almost 3 years old

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Am I right, that you are in Canada and outdoor time for her is at best limited, if at all possible?

For a 7-inch Redfoot 8x4 ft. well-thought enclosure will work for a while. But as she grows you will need a lot of room space - perhaps 100 to 200 sq.ft.

For substrate plain cypress mulch or orchid (fir) bark are fine.

For UVB - T5 HO long tubes are the best. With 4x8 one will be enough hanged over 1/3 of the enclosure.
You will also need ambient lightning (LED strips are fine for that). If you plan to use live plants in the enclosure (and I think you should) - LEDs should be bright and "full spectrum". I use Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED bars, which are expensive but worth their price.

Heating gets tricky in the large enclosures. Radiant heat panels are good for enclosures 2-2.5 ft. high, but you may use ceramic heat emitters too (I would go with more low-wattage heaters, than 1-2 high-wattage).

What materials do you plan to use to build an enclosure? Expanded PVC sheets likely won't need an additional insulation. I use cheap 1.5" polystyrene sheets mounted from outside of my enclosure and they work fine in room temperatures in 60s.

 

[Yus]

Am I right, that you are in Canada and outdoor time for her is at best limited, if at all possible?

For a 7-inch Redfoot 8x4 ft. well-thought enclosure will work for a while. But as she grows you will need a lot of room space - perhaps 100 to 200 sq.ft.

For substrate plain cypress mulch or orchid (fir) bark are fine.

For UVB - T5 HO long tubes are the best. With 4x8 one will be enough hanged over 1/3 of the enclosure.
You will also need ambient lightning (LED strips are fine for that). If you plan to use live plants in the enclosure (and I think you should) - LEDs should be bright and "full spectrum". I use Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED bars, which are expensive but worth their price.

Heating gets tricky in the large enclosures. Radiant heat panels are good for enclosures 2-2.5 ft. high, but you may use ceramic heat emitters too (I would go with more low-wattage heaters, than 1-2 high-wattage).

What materials do you plan to use to build an enclosure? Expanded PVC sheets likely won't need an additional insulation. I use cheap 1.5" polystyrene sheets mounted from outside of my enclosure and they work fine in room temperatures in 60s.

Thank you lots of good advice not sure what I want to build the enclosure out of yet I’ve been seeing galvanized steel flower beds or things like that on Amazon, my main concern is a good way to make a tent because since I started using a tent style setup the heat and humidity has been perfect for her, how would making an enclosure from expanded pvc work?? Thanks again

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you lots of good advice not sure what I want to build the enclosure out of yet I’ve been seeing galvanized steel flower beds or things like that on Amazon, my main concern is a good way to make a tent because since I started using a tent style setup the heat and humidity has been perfect for her, how would making an enclosure from expanded pvc work?? Thanks again

Here is an example of PVC enclosure: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/b...-pvc-enclosed-chamber-–-for-beginners.159220/
If you are on DIY side and can find cheap PVC panels - that's definitely a way to go. There are some brands in US who make such enclosures (like Kages, Animal Plastics), maybe you can find one in Canada (I'm afraid postal expenses will be too high, when ordering from US).

I've seen plastic garden bed kits made by Lifetime (set of two 4x4 ft. with a tent) priced around 100USD.

Great tents are "portable greenhouse top". They aren't perfect at holding heat but way better than "open tables".

Some keepers build a frame out of PVC pipes and cover it with plastic sheets or films. That's another good option as such frame can be made with custom size and is rigid enough to hold some insulation as well.

And another option are hydroponic grow tents (like AC Infinity) - they are rather large ones (like 8x8) if you want to build a room-sized enclosure.