RedFoot Enclosure Questions?

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DaisyDuke

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I sort of asked this before but I have such a specific question and didn't get much feedback on it. I have a hard time keeping up the humidity [yes I have gone through all of the threads on humidity a year ago :p and tried everything] I read that all glass was best for this. I am wondering would it be best to make a habitat using all glass walls and a wooden bottom [covered in pond lining] or should I just buy another tank of all glass?
 

Yvonne G

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If you start by pouring a whole pitcher of water, and maybe even more than a pitcher, depending upon how large your habitat is, then partially cover it, you should raise the humidity. It really does no good to just spritz water over the top. That evaporates too quickly. You need to start with WET substrate, then add more water when it starts to dry out.

Take a look at the heat ropes in madkins007 tortoise library links. That's another good way to add humidity to the air.
 

lynnedit

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That's true. Those heat ropes are waterproof. Heating moisture really raises humidity. Adding plants helps too.
 

oscar

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You might want to reduce the opening to your enclosure, that seems to
help me keep the humidity higher in my red foot enclosures. With our forced air furnace running during the winter months really drys out our house and makes it the worst time of year for me keeping the humidity up. I also would
suggest using an indoor outdoor temperature and humidity gauge it will let
you monitor what the humidity actually is in your enclosure.
 

DaisyDuke

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Thank you all for the tips but I really wasn't wanting to turn this into another discussion about humidity. That's kind of what happened the last time I asked a similar question. I have gone through tons of threads on here and did lots of research about humidity over the last two years. I have plants, I have poured water, I do monitor it with humidity and temp gauges, etc. Heat ropes was suggested last time, I am getting them.

Do any of you have advice on my question? I really need to figure out how I am going to go about the new habitat. I just want to go with the best option for holding in humidity as far as the enclosure itself goes. Am I not asking this right, lol?

I am sorry if it is confusing, I don't know how to word it any other way aside from what is the best option for an enclosure. A wood bottom with glass all around or just buying a tank already made?

I really want to get this done within the next week or two:)
 

philthyturtle

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DaisyDuke said:
Thank you all for the tips but I really wasn't wanting to turn this into another discussion about humidity. That's kind of what happened the last time I asked a similar question. I have gone through tons of threads on here and did lots of research about humidity over the last two years. I have plants, I have poured water, I do monitor it with humidity and temp gauges, etc. Heat ropes was suggested last time, I am getting them.

Do any of you have advice on my question? I really need to figure out how I am going to go about the new habitat. I just want to go with the best option for holding in humidity as far as the enclosure itself goes. Am I not asking this right, lol?

I am sorry if it is confusing, I don't know how to word it any other way aside from what is the best option for an enclosure. A wood bottom with glass all around or just buying a tank already made?

I really want to get this done within the next week or two:)

heres what i did. I have a wooden box lined with pond liner. i use sphagnum moss as substrate soaked in water and misted once daily with warm water. to keep my humidy levels up I have a cover over almost all of the habitat and have a jar inside my habitat that i fill with hot water daily and use an airstone inside it to keep the whole box humid. on my bigger habitat i use two jars with airstones in it. works really well for me

the reason i used wood is cuz glass stressed my redfoot. it would always hit it with its head thinking it could go outside.

I also linned the bottom of my cover with the same liner
 

Geochelone_Carbonaria

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Madkins007

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I would use polycarbonate (Lexan) plastic instead of glass- most of the benefits but lighter and easier to work with.

You may want to try something like my 'Tortarium'. It uses a slab of MDF wood as the base (mine is 48x20), then some thick Plexi on the sides (20" high) for some structure (but the original plan was to use more MDF and then cover it on the inside with moss, vines, waterfall, etc.- I just scored some cheap thick Plexi at the last minute). Some 48x20 polycarbonate, fairly thin stuff from Home Depot makes the front and back, and smaller pieces make three lid sections.

A piece of plain ABS plastic made the original bottom lining, then everything was caulked, screwed, and glued together. The bottom is going to be replaced with something more resistant to constant low heat as the ABS warped all over the place.

Polycarbonate is great to work with- it cuts, drills, etc. a lot like wood, and you can use Superglue to reinforce joints. (The reason the ends were thick plastic was to give me something to screw the front and back into.) There is also a framework of angle irons screwed onto the two end walls, and another piece across the top to hold lights and CHEs.

There are pictures of the whole thing somewhere around here, danged if I can find them!

If I was doing it again, I would probably do it as a 'box in a tray'. Make a wooden tray with sides about 4" high (and hand grips cut in key locations), and paint/stain the sides up nice, then build a fairly light-weight plastic box (bottom, sides, top- all glued and caulked)that fit inside the tray perfectly. That way, the tray provides structure and strength and the plastic box can be lighter and more watertight.

I would do this because the Tortarium was built to be light and fit on a specific table top- which was great until it was time to move it into a different room and I had to stand it on end to accomplish that. It almost broke in half during the maneuvers.
 

DaisyDuke

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My tortoise has an all glass tank right now and it hasn't been a problem for him [thank God]. He doesn't bump into it or try to get out. I was worried about that when I first got him. But was lucky he hasn't had those issues. When he sees someone he likes through the glass he walks up to it and stares at them:p
Where do I get an airstone? I've never heard of them. How do you keep the jars from tipping over? Are they large jars or small? I want to try your idea.

Mike, thank you for the link. That is awesome and has so much useful information. I am taking notes:)

Mark, as always you're awesome. My step-mother works at a plexi glass company so I can get it for close to nothing. I'm going to do your "If I was doing it again" idea. It's along the lines of what I was thinking and I too need something lightweight. Is pond liner the best to line the wooden tray with? Or would it be fine since it's just a tray?

Again, thank you all so much. This has all been more helpful then words an express:D
 

Ivyboo

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philthyturtle said:
heres what i did. I have a wooden box lined with pond liner. i use sphagnum moss as substrate soaked in water and misted once daily with warm water. to keep my humidy levels up I have a cover over almost all of the habitat and have a jar inside my habitat that i fill with hot water daily and use an airstone inside it to keep the whole box humid. on my bigger habitat i use two jars with airstones in it. works really well for me

the reason i used wood is cuz glass stressed my redfoot. it would always hit it with its head thinking it could go outside.

I also linned the bottom of my cover with the same liner

This may be a stupid question, but is the air stone normally for a fish aquarium? Do you just use the stone or the pump that makes the bubbles to? I'm going to try this in my enclosure. Also I have the same question as the previous person...how big of a jar to prevent tipping over?
 

Madkins007

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Tray idea- the based of the tray would just be wood or a similar material that is strong, but light. You could raise the tray bottom a little, as long as you gave it some support underneath, to better protect whatever it sits on. The plexi 'box' is what would protect the tray and hold all of the water- think of it as a plastic fishtank.

If your step-mom can arrange it, see if they can weld the box or offer you really god advice to build it (that you could share with us!)

Humidity jar- the size of the jar is not critical- I think a 32oz jar, or even a strong plastic drinking bottle (the typical Nalgene-style things) would do nicely! If it is just an airstone in it, then tipping is not a critical emergency- but it could be if there is a small heater in it as well.

There are lots of ways you could secure it, depending on how things are set up. In my plexi-walled habitat, it would be a piece of cake to drill small holes and make a simple wire 'cage' to hold the bottle tight to a corner. You could epoxy the bottom of the jar to a piece of strong plastic or metal or whatever that is more than twice as wide than the bottle is tall and bury the base to act as an anchor- if it is wider in all directions than the bottle is high, it will be really tough to knock over.

In a glass aquaria, I would silicone glue several small D-rings on straps- like those used for hanging pictures- in the area of the jar and 'lace' it in so the weight is spread over several anchors. Or, I would wrap some heavy wire around the neck of the jar, below the threads, really tight, then use the wire to hang the jar from the top edges of the tank.

The airstone is just a plain aquarium stone, but keep in mind- the bigger the stone and the bigger the pump, the more humidity it creates. Even much more so if there is a heater in there. Also keep in mind that the heater does not have to get the water hot- just a few degrees hotter than the air is all you need.
 

philthyturtle

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Ivyboo said:
philthyturtle said:
heres what i did. I have a wooden box lined with pond liner. i use sphagnum moss as substrate soaked in water and misted once daily with warm water. to keep my humidy levels up I have a cover over almost all of the habitat and have a jar inside my habitat that i fill with hot water daily and use an airstone inside it to keep the whole box humid. on my bigger habitat i use two jars with airstones in it. works really well for me

the reason i used wood is cuz glass stressed my redfoot. it would always hit it with its head thinking it could go outside.

I also linned the bottom of my cover with the same liner

This may be a stupid question, but is the air stone normally for a fish aquarium? Do you just use the stone or the pump that makes the bubbles to? I'm going to try this in my enclosure. Also I have the same question as the previous person...how big of a jar to prevent tipping over?

yeah it is. I actually just placed it in a corner making a spot for it using pieces of wood. sort of like a small box for the jar so it wont tip ever.
 
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