New closed chamber!

[J H]

I just moved Bob into his new house! It's 6'x30"x30" closed chamber. What a difference from the temp 55 gal aquarium The 55 was hard to hold humidity / heat even with foil on the top. The new enclosure has 7 live plant that are safe / edible and about 4" of dirt then an 1" of Cyprus mulch. No prob with humidity or heat. 1 100watt Che keeps a warm spot of 90-95 degrees and everywhere else is 80 degrees. It's been running for about a week and I have not had to add any water yet for humidity. I will post pics soon. The exterior is not finished totally yet. The humidity is at 90 to 98%. I actually crack the lid sometimes to dry windows a little. Is that to high of humidity to have 24-7?

 

[TMartin510]

Depends on the kind of tort I guess! Can't wait to see your enclosure!

 

[J H]

It's a rescue 7 or 8 year old red foot. He's alittle over 8" SLC. Plexiglass on front / side / top

 

[J H]

Was in a 3' x 2' (prob a little smaller than that) vivarium with a yellow foot about 5" or 6" long. Humidity was ambient (about 40 to 50%). Will he reach full size potential at this point or is he permanently stunted?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

40% humidity will cause shell pyramiding but diet and exercise level would dictate the final size.
If he is already small for his age, he may stay a little smaller.
Any tortoise without really good conditions when young might be a little unusual when they become adults. Two of my seven redfoot adults are very pyramided and they are all Florida born and grown. And I have a stunted female who grew up in a ten gallon fish tank on pine shavings eating iceburg lettuce. She is quite a bit smaller than she should be...Though she is now healthy.

 

[teresaf]

ive not had a redfoot but I'm thinking 75-80 humidity would be better. She's an adult almost. Definitely keep those temps above 80-85 to guard against ri

 

[ZEROPILOT]

80 to 85 is great for a Redfoot and my adults live in about 60% humidity. This time of year it is generally higher.
Babies require much more humidity.

 

[J H]

I crack the lid to bring it down. Im hoping when the dirt dries out some I can keep it in the 70-80% range. Che is on a thermostat so temp stays steady all the time. Does 8 1/4 inches seem small for a 7-8 year old?

 

[tortdad]

I crack the lid to bring it down. Im hoping when the dirt dries out some I can keep it in the 70-80% range. Che is on a thermostat so temp stays steady all the time. Does 8 1/4 inches seem small for a 7-8 year old?

I would not call that too small for an 8 year old. The higher humidity will not hurt an adult but lower is perfectly fine. Just keep the temps above 80 day and night if you're going to keep humidity levels that high.

 

[J H]

Off topic but I've read a lot of posts about keeping red foot pairs. Some say it's fine others say not to. If I got 1 more (red or yellow foot) should it be a male or female? Bob is definitely a male. I don't really want to breed so I'm thinking male. I have a larger out door pen for the summer days in Minnesota. I know they all have different personalities but in general do they get along

 

[pfara]

Off topic but I've read a lot of posts about keeping red foot pairs. Some say it's fine others say not to. If I got 1 more (red or yellow foot) should it be a male or female? Bob is definitely a male. I don't really want to breed so I'm thinking male. I have a larger out door pen for the summer days in Minnesota. I know they all have different personalities but in general do they get along

I keep tortoises with the intent of making them happy. My happiness is secondary and comes from seeing them grow up healthy. So, I'm along the lines of "one tortoise or 3+". I don't believe single bachelors want a roommate. But, I have very limited experience and don't speak tortoise. I just think that pairs = competition. If you get a female, you *can* risk her mental health (and you mentioned you don't want to breed). If you get a male, they might not be compatible. If you want two, keep 'em separate. To do so, you'll need the space, time, and money to keep up with two large indoor enclosures.

At this point, I'm praying that mine are all female. They grew up together and have no issues co-existing. I never had to quarantine them. However, if one or more turn out to be male, you can bet that I'll be saving up money to add a new room to the house for multiple enclosures lol.

It's truly up to you. This is just my opinion.

 

[Spencertretter]

It's a rescue 7 or 8 year old red foot. He's alittle over 8" SLC. Plexiglass on front / side / topView attachment 144557View attachment 144558View attachment 144559View attachment 144560

What kind of tree is that?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

What kind of tree is that?

Looks like what is commonly known as a Ponytail Palm (not actually in the palm family), Beaucarnea recurvata.

 

[Spencertretter]

Looks like what is commonly known as a Ponytail Palm (not actually in the palm family), Beaucarnea recurvata.

Thanks!!!

 

[RosieRedfoot]

I just built a similar enclosure and mine's staying around 82 F for overall, 88-92 basking area, and 80% humidity. I have to keep mine open a crack otherwise my heat and humidity keep rising to 85 F and 99% humidity with everything dripping!