Soon to get a RF tortoise

[Alison Gammage]

Hi, I'm planning on getting a red foot soon and am currently doing research. I am planning on building an enclosure for it and I have some questions, if anyone has any answers that would be much appreciated.

1. How big should an enclosure be for a full grown red foot be? (I only want make one and I heard that 4' by 6' is good)
2. Does the enclosure need to be sealed? (I was going to make the lid out of screen)
3. What wat should the bulbs be? (I'm just confused about bulbs in general tbh)
4. How do I make the enclosure humid?

This is similar to what I want to build, but with the screen covering the whole top. (As I have cats)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

For an adult.
An enclosure of 8'x8' would be considered the smallest acceptable size.
You're going to need something with a sealed or semi sealed top to keep in the humidity.
I STRONGLY suggest you get the housing etc correct before you bring home a tortoise.
Read through our Redfoot section.
Itll explain what you're going to need.
Temperatures of between 80 and 88.
UVB lighting in the form of florescent tube(s) and CHE for warmth.

 

[Alison Gammage]

For an adult.
An enclosure of 8'x8' would be considered the smallest acceptable size.
You're going to need something with a sealed or semi sealed top to keep in the humidity.
I STRONGLY suggest you get the housing etc correct before you bring home a tortoise.
Read through our Redfoot section.
Itll explain what you're going to need.

Thank you. I am 100% going to make sure my enclosure is ready before I
get a tortoise. And 8 by 8 feet? Is that the same as 55 gallons?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

No
A 55 gallon aquarium is like 16" by 24". 10' x 10' is about the size of a small apartment bedroom.
Keeping an adult Redfoot 100% indoors is not so simple.
Better to have an outdoors enclosure, if possible for the warmer months and as large an indoors enclosure as you are able to have.
Although Redfoot are not too large, they need room.
There are members here with much smaller enclosures and a lot of them successfully keep Redfoot.
But since you asked....I don't like the idea of small areas as a forever enclosure.

 

[Alison Gammage]

I live in Canada so keep it outside isn't really an option. How much smaller do other members have?

 

[jsheffield]

I've heard 8'X4' talked about ... so 32 square feet is probably a good place to start the discussion.

Jamie

 

[Alison Gammage]

Okay thanks

 

[rmn813]

Hi, I'm planning on getting a red foot soon and am currently doing research. I am planning on building an enclosure for it and I have some questions, if anyone has any answers that would be much appreciated..

Allison, you don't want place a hatchling RF in the same size enclosure as an adult. Babies need smaller spaces. Helps them feel secure. Please research closed chamber enclosures. That's the best way to go for an RF indoors.

 

[Alison Gammage]

Okay thx

 

[TheWaveCarver]

I would highly recommend going with a greenhouse style setup. Have the greenhouse sit on the pond liner so that you dont have moisture seep into the wood or carpet. Then I placed a tub inside the greenhouse. After about a week, water builds up on the pond liner. I soak it up with sponges and empty into a bucket.

If you could build a platform on a slight tilt you could get water to drip into a bucket versus having to empty every water build up every week. Your Redfoot should be kept in humidity over 80% as to prevent pyramiding. Can be very tough to accomplish. I recommend looking at greenhouses on amazon. Some are really cheap.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Alison:

Here's a picture of the enclosure Candy made for her RF tortoise:

 

[natureguy]

Hi, I'm planning on getting a red foot soon and am currently doing research. I am planning on building an enclosure for it and I have some questions, if anyone has any answers that would be much appreciated.

1. How big should an enclosure be for a full grown red foot be? (I only want make one and I heard that 4' by 6' is good)
2. Does the enclosure need to be sealed? (I was going to make the lid out of screen)
3. What wat should the bulbs be? (I'm just confused about bulbs in general tbh)
4. How do I make the enclosure humid?

This is similar to what I want to build, but with the screen covering the whole top. (As I have cats)

Hi, I'm planning on getting a red foot soon and am currently doing research. I am planning on building an enclosure for it and I have some questions, if anyone has any answers that would be much appreciated.

1. How big should an enclosure be for a full grown red foot be? (I only want make one and I heard that 4' by 6' is good)
2. Does the enclosure need to be sealed? (I was going to make the lid out of screen)
3. What wat should the bulbs be? (I'm just confused about bulbs in general tbh)
4. How do I make the enclosure humid?

This is similar to what I want to build, but with the screen covering the whole top. (As I have cats)

I do believe that with such limited space the answer is staring you in the face! Why not build a two story duplex? Have a pig-blanket (heating pad) on the bottom and extra lighting if needed there. Then on top could be the normal lighting. Such a two story could nearly double your useable floor space!

If you are concerned about holding in maximum heat and moisture you can make a very easy to handle cover using a 1"X 4' X 8' sheet of the better insulation material such as "Thermasheath-3". Styrofoam is not very good and breaks easily. To add even more insulation and make the wood completely moisture proof and non-toxic you can paint the inside SURFACES with a liquid rubber seal like "Flex-Seal". (about $34 Qt.) The premium stuff like "Pond Armor" is about $70 per 1.5 qts. However this comes in a variety of colors green, grey, white, 2 shades of blue & clear. Both of these products create a completely non-toxic coating when completely dry. If done properly you can literally hold water once sealed... though all you need is a good coat for the moisture. The insulation sheet has a thin layer of foil on it that will eventually tear when bruised. A coating of the rubber paint is the best bet... although you could simply adhere something along the line of 6 mil plastic material using a brush on contact cement. A hydroponics store has plastic that is black on one side and white on the other. It is also more durable (and expensive). About 50 years ago I used Asphalt paint... however it ain't what it used to be!!! It looks pretty toxic to me!
If you should want to go with a poly plastic you must realize that it has to withstand the tortoises! A 20 mil to 30mil PVC pond liner would work. Do not get the 45 mil EPDM or rubber liners! Although thicker and usually more expensive they would not be as resistant to continual scratching as the PVC.
A simple way to increase humidity would be to have a FIXED container of water on the pig blanket pad. Another way used for other herps is to use a small aquarium heater in a fixed, well protected container ABSOLUTELY MUST BE KEPT FULL AT ALL TIMES. Believe there are also misters available used for Terrariums needing a tropical environment.
Be sure to provide circulation. There are inexpensive "desk-top" fans that you could rig. There are also really excellent fans used for indoor hydroponic setups. They are extremely quiet and efficient. Of course they probably are a bit expensive!
I am sure that by now you have more suggestions than you can handle! Best of luck!

 

[natureguy]

Thank you. I am 100% going to make sure my enclosure is ready before I
get a tortoise. And 8 by 8 feet? Is that the same as 55 gallons?

Allison, to give you an example of "floor space" a 55 gal aquarium has hardly 5 sq. ft of area while 8' X 8' is 64 sq. ft. With sides about the same height as the aquarium would be the equivalent of a 720 gal aquarium! Just another way of comparison...
Try my concept of making a duplex. That would give you nearly the same "floor space" in an area about 4ft X 8ft. Also there is nothing wrong with getting a visible top using plexiglass or acrylic cut in two pieces approx. 4ft X 4ft. It can be drilled and fastened to each other or to a wood divider in the center with hinges that open 180 degrees. Allows for opening either side, but might be cumbersome to remove altogether. Going one step farther instead of having a wood "door" at each end on the lower level you could use the clear materials.
As a matter of design why not have clear panel access from one side or the other ie. like a double slider door. This may be more aesthetic as well depending upon how you arrange and view the whole piece.
You would probably need a good wood worker to build such a structure but is totally doable!

 

[Covey88]

Allison, to give you an example of "floor space" a 55 gal aquarium has hardly 5 sq. ft of area while 8' X 8' is 64 sq. ft. With sides about the same height as the aquarium would be the equivalent of a 720 gal aquarium! Just another way of comparison...
Try my concept of making a duplex. That would give you nearly the same "floor space" in an area about 4ft X 8ft. Also there is nothing wrong with getting a visible top using plexiglass or acrylic cut in two pieces approx. 4ft X 4ft. It can be drilled and fastened to each other or to a wood divider in the center with hinges that open 180 degrees. Allows for opening either side, but might be cumbersome to remove altogether. Going one step farther instead of having a wood "door" at each end on the lower level you could use the clear materials.
As a matter of design why not have clear panel access from one side or the other ie. like a double slider door. This may be more aesthetic as well depending upon how you arrange and view the whole piece.
You would probably need a good wood worker to build such a structure but is totally doable!

Do you have pictures of your concept? I would love to see.