Repatarium?

[stardust11]

Hello Everyone! I do not own a tortoise yet but have been doing alot of research and feel I am ready to buy. I have decided to go with a red foot and I am super excited. I just wanted to know if anybody has experience using these reptariums? One website recommended them for a starter habitat but I have not been able to find any reviews online. It looks like a nice option because it is not as stuffy as an aquarium. I plan on having my grandfather build me a turtle table and would only use this through this up coming winter. What do you think? Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Stardust11:

Welcome to the forum!!

Is this what you are referring to:

http://www.reptarium.com/

I think its a lot of money for a temporary, winter time habitat. You would do better to buy a cheap, plastic tote of some sort. Its getting on towards Christmas time and the Christmas tree storage bins should be coming available soon:

http://www.stacksandstacks.com/extr...m_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase

This one is $40, but you can find smaller ones a little cheaper. But don't go too small. Just remember, bigger is better.

 

[stardust11]

Yes that is was I was referring to but the website I found had a 38 gallon for only $25. Do you think this would be safe for him/her with their little nails? Also how long would a 38 gallon be sufficient for a red foot?Thanks for the welcome!

 

[Edna]

Yes that is was I was referring to but the website I found had a 38 gallon for only $25. Do you think this would be safe for him/her with their little nails? Also how long would a 38 gallon be sufficient for a red foot?Thanks for the welcome!

I wouldn't want to put my torts in a reptarium for several reasons. First would be, as you mentioned, their claws. My tortoises occasionally try to climb the walls, and with a smooth plastic or glass (or wood) wall they don't get anywhere. A tortoise could climb pretty high on a mesh wall and then fall, or a stronger tort could break through the mess. Another factor is humidity. I am trying to keep my tort enclosures at about 80%percent humidity, about 70% increase over the background humidity of my home, and the solid walls of a tank or tub help me with that. A further consideration is accessibility. I like to handle my torts some, and it's really easy to just reach into the tank and pet, pick up, hand feed, whatever. The reptarium looks more suited to snakes, I think.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

A healthy tortoise will go through that mesh-screen pretty easily...my daughter's two box-turtles only took a couple of hours to shred one wall beyond repair!

 

[stardust11]

Yes that is was I was referring to but the website I found had a 38 gallon for only $25. Do you think this would be safe for him/her with their little nails? Also how long would a 38 gallon be sufficient for a red foot?Thanks for the welcome!

I wouldn't want to put my torts in a reptarium for several reasons. First would be, as you mentioned, their claws. My tortoises occasionally try to climb the walls, and with a smooth plastic or glass (or wood) wall they don't get anywhere. A tortoise could climb pretty high on a mesh wall and then fall, or a stronger tort could break through the mess. Another factor is humidity. I am trying to keep my tort enclosures at about 80%percent humidity, about 70% increase over the background humidity of my home, and the solid walls of a tank or tub help me with that. A further consideration is accessibility. I like to handle my torts some, and it's really easy to just reach into the tank and pet, pick up, hand feed, whatever. The reptarium looks more suited to snakes, I think.

Thanks for the info. It sounded to good to be true but a website recommended it as a starter habitat. So what would you recommend as an ideal starter habitat for a baby redfoot? What size and how long would it be before I should get something bigger? Also I've seen alot of posts about sick turtles. Are there any warning signs I should look for before I buy my redfoot? Thanks for your time.

 

[Edna]

[/quote]
Thanks for the info. It sounded to good to be true but a website recommended it as a starter habitat. So what would you recommend as an ideal starter habitat for a baby redfoot? What size and how long would it be before I should get something bigger? [/quote]

Glass tanks are prettier, plastic tubs are cheaper. Right now I'm using a 58 quart Sterlite tub for a pair of baby leopards. The floor area is 30"x18". It will get us through this winter, but they'll need something bigger by next winter. I'm thinking about one of the medium Vision tubs, as that would be a good jump in size, without being too big for my house. My other tank is a 20 gal long with one juvenile Hermann in it. He's small, but I wish even now that I had purchased the 40 gal breeder tank instead. The floor area of a 40 g breeder is 18"x36". As Yvonne said, the bigger the better. And as you're planning on only this winter before you size up, go with the less expensive choice.
Looking for a tortoise: I look for a trusted source first. Other than that, I'll defer that part of your question to those with more experience.

 

[Madkins007]

If you go to the Tortoise Library in my signature below, there is an article on Red-foot care that uses a plastic tub as an example.

Most big plastic tubs would be good for a year, maybe two for one tortoise- up to about 5" long or so. The REALLY big tubs, like those for Christmas trees, can work for longer.