New indoor enclosure for redfoot pair - critique please

reptoman

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I recently acquired 2 small redfoot torts. I have them in some cypress mulch and orchid bark with a few hides, water dish, and basking area with a reptisun 10.0 UVB. I built a larger enclosure and would appreciate some input as to what you think about it. The inside dimensions are 60" long by 24" deep by 14" tall. The bottom is PVC shower pan liner with a PVC 3/4" x 3 1/2" trim board and silicone caulking to keep from leaking. For substrate, I was planning to use coconut fiber and orchid moss in the new enclosure and setup the heated area on one end and leave the other as a cooler area. Right now the slate tiles are 92F under the basking bulb, and the other end is 79-81F Please let me know if you have any questions on the construction details or if you see any flaws in my plan.

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Turtlepete

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Looks excellent! The basking and side temperatures are within a good range. If your reds are small, I suggest leaving a nice big fluffy pile of spaghnum moss under one side of the heat lamp. Thats where young ones love to spend their time.
Add a couple hides, a nice big wading bowl, maybe some natural plants, cypress mulch, and it will be a great habitat! Do keep in mind they will outgrow it, of course, but for some 4-5" tortoises this looks great.
 

reptoman

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Thanks! They are just over hatchling size so around 3 - 4 inches right now. I will post more pics when I get it decked out with substrate plants etc.
 

Yvonne G

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I happen to like turtletary.com's info on RF tortoises, and he says you don't need a temperature gradient. He says that having the whole habitat 80F degrees is just fine.

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reptoman

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enclosure_leftside_062814_1.jpg enclosure_rightside_062814_1.jpg enclosure_started_062814_1.jpg Thanks for the replies. Here is what I have so far. Coco fiber substrate with orchid moss in the hides and in a few spots along the sides. I plan to keep the single tortoise in there for now and build another one down the road. I still have the original setup that should be fine for one for some time. I put a potted rosemary in there as I heard they may eat that. I plan to get some dandelion and maybe mustard greens planted inside the enclosures when I can find it.
Yvonne, I read their info on there a while back too. I still need to have the basking light in there to make sure the rest of the enclosure stays as close to 80 as possible. I have seen both torts basking under the light a different times and sometimes together although rarely. They mostly stay buried in the moss and come out when I put food down and occasionally bask.
 

reptoman

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I read the thread that stresses concern over one being more dominant than the other when you house a pair together. I see that in this pair but have not witnessed anything I would call aggression. The one in my avatar pic that is more yellow (right side) on the shell is definitely bolder than the other. He (or she) comes out first every time to eat but I make sure to put down more food once he is done then the other is sure to get plenty.
It took a couple of hours on a Saturday to put this enclosure together and I have plenty of room under the chameleon cage drain tables to put a few more tortoise tables like this one so I plan to build another and keep them apart. The other enclosure I started with is about half the floor space of the new one but still suitable for a single baby.
 

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Turtlepete

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I read the thread that stresses concern over one being more dominant than the other when you house a pair together. I see that in this pair but have not witnessed anything I would call aggression. The one in my avatar pic that is more yellow (right side) on the shell is definitely bolder than the other. He (or she) comes out first every time to eat but I make sure to put down more food once he is done then the other is sure to get plenty.
It took a couple of hours on a Saturday to put this enclosure together and I have plenty of room under the chameleon cage drain tables to put a few more tortoise tables like this one so I plan to build another and keep them apart. The other enclosure I started with is about half the floor space of the new one but still suitable for a single baby.

Personally, I would much more recommend that if you are going to build another enclosures anyways, just attach the two if possible and keep them together. I've kept red foots in pairs, groups, etc.. for as long as I've had red foots....I've never, not once, seen or experienced any kind of aggression. None of the animals suffered from it, not even a little bit. Agression with red foots is the exception, not the rule.
If you of course just want to keep them apart that's completely fine. But it is highly unlikely that anything...at all...will come of housing them together. Especially if you made an even larger enclosure, assuming you have the room.
 

reptoman

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I put them both in the new enclosure and they seem to be acclimating great. They both eat fairly quickly after I put the food in and have each found their own hide. I will work on getting another enclosure built to accommodate their growth in the near future. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments.
 

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