Tortoise Enclosure

[Trae Hazelrigg]

Hey guys,

I’m finishing up my tortoise table for my baby redfoots and I had a question! Are you guys putting any sort of lining down inside your tables or are you putting your substrate like top soil and coco coir straight onto the wood? I was thinking maybe have some lining down would help keep in humidity but I do live in Maui where it’s constantly like 80% humidity so maybe I don’t need to worry about that! Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks guys!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Yes, some sort of liner is recommended to protect the wood. A sturdy shower curtain or some pond liner could be used.

Top soil is not recommended as a substrate. The three safest ones are soil like coco coir, orchid fir bark and cypress mulch.

 

[Trae Hazelrigg]

Sweet! Thank you!

What’s the issue with top soil? I always figured that was most like what they would be walking around on in the wild.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Sweet! Thank you!

What’s the issue with top soil? I always figured that was most like what they would be walking around on in the wild.

The issue is that there is no way you could know what plants were composted to make the top soil, possibly toxic plants. Also, commercial compost could contain things it isn't supposed to like plastic. And lastly, it could contain fertilizers or pesticides.

 

[Trae Hazelrigg]

Yea definitely better to be safe than risk my tortoises health. Coco coir it is! Thank you

 

[Maggie3fan]

Fine grade orchid bark is the best for Redfoots...I don't like coir as its messy...orchid bark holds water the best and I lined 3 wooden tort tables with shower curtain liners 21 years ago, and the RF one just started leaking...this is my very favorite Layla photo, a she has expressed her feeling about an empty food dish. Also note how wet the substrate looks

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I will say despite your climate, it’s almost impossible to keep humidity where needed for a baby tortoise in an open top like that, another this is you say ‘red foots’, is it two you planned to get? tortoises can’t live in pairs, breeders sell them like this too often, especially red foots, tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

Hopefully you find these threads useful to go over!

This housing thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check these because people are often sold the wrong ones), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for red foots(only way to maintain the humidity you need indoors), appropriately maintaining the humidity(they are prone to shell rot so this is important! No misters or humidifiers), safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, a diet list and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Young red foot/ cherryhead set up

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information on an effective example of a starter enclosure for a red foot/cherry head😊 Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chambers, some definitely work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help!

 

[Trae Hazelrigg]

Thanks for the information! It was more than I was expecting so thank you!