Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wanted to share with you all some pics of our new Redfoot indoor enclosure, which is a real dream come true!
As I mentioned in an earlier post it is a wood structure, that is completely lined with acrylic and has an acrylic dome. It is equipped with 3 ceramic heat emitters (250 W each), two mrcury vapor lamps (160 W each), two reptile basking lamps (100 W each), an infrared night lamp (100 W) and an automated misting system.
For the moment a small divison wall separates an area for my 4 year old female Kathrin and the area for the two 9 months olds, Clementine and Abby, and the 4 months old Cherryhead Sabrina.
I am living in Canada and my Redfoot have to spend most of their time indoors. Thus we tried to give them a habitat, that comes as close as possible to what they would encounter in nature.
Sorry, that I use multiple posts, but I still have to learn the 'multiple pics' way (I know, it has been explained before...).
Hope you enjoy the pics!

Gaby

The first one is a full view on the enclosure (just the cabinet doors below still have to be built):

This is a diagonal view of the enclosure!

This is a view through the longer part of the enclosure:

This is the section for the 3 babies:

This is a view on the section for 4 year old Kathrin:

4 year old Kathrin checking out one of her new hiding places:

And this is one of the babies, 9 months old Clementine:

nm

np

What a gorgeous setup, one of best looking indoor setup I've seen. The only thing I would be concerned about is air circulation. I'm not sure but it looks the only opening is at along the top where the enclosure is most narrow. The addition of a couple of fans at one end of the enclosure, while drilling some holes in the acrylic in the other end would create some cross ventilation for very little in terms of cost (about $20 for the fans at Princess Auto). Add a fan speed adjuster(a potentiometer) and you have a simple way to vary the humidity.

Just a couple of ideas from a fellow canadian tortoise owner
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

It maybe doesn't show in the pictures, but the upper part is actually half the width of the enclosure, so 16 inches wide. The wire shelfing used has acrylic shields layed on top with little supports to make it like a blind when closed. So there is air exchange even when everything is closed. But during the day we keep a good part on each end fully open for the very reasons you mentioned.
And as we are going we might see, that even more ventilation will be needed. Theoretically the whole top can be open.
Ventilators just make me worry a bit in term of drafts and also to stir around the air in a way, that the temperature gradient gets lost. Do you personally use ventilators?
There are quite a few things that will need adjustment over the time I guess.
Thanks very much for the input!
Gaby

I use a large box type enclosure for my approx 3-4 year old(don't know her exact age). Its 3.5ft by 5ft with 24" sides.

I think your right about balancing the temperature variance and ventilation. I had something along the idea of a couple of computer cooling fans. They don't move huge amounts of air and may not have a big effect on the gradient you have setup.
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Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

Awesome setup. I want to live there!

!!!WOW!!!

Me, too, I want to move in!
Blueprints/diagrams?? How long did it take to build?

Very impressive!

My husband made drawings with all the measures of the parts, that had to be cut from the wood and acrylic, and how to fit them into the available size sheets (4' X 6' I think).
They are just hand drawings though, but if he still has them (he is out of town right now)I might be able to scan them in, if you are really interested (please e-mail me privately).
The enclosure measures 8' (long side) and 5.5' (short side) long and 32" deep.
It has a built in egg laying box in the corner (wishful thinking...), that is covered with an acrylic sheet for now.
The enclosure is completely lined with acrylic, that has been sealed on the edges with acrylic sealer and aquarium silicone on top, to make it really waterproof.
My husband has spent quite a few weeks with a couple of hours on most evenings and some weekend hours as well. There were also delays because of not available materials and other little problems. But definitely this is quite a project.

Thanks for your nice comments,
Gaby

Hi,

How big is this enclosure? I would imagine it is very
large to have all of those lights. I will be looking again
to expand Peabody's house this spring and am looking for
ideas. Also, are those real plants of fake? And if they
are real, can you tell me what kinds you have used?

Thanks so much and great job!
Linda

The longer side of the enclosure is 8' long, the shorter one 5.5' and it is 32" deep. The actual enclosure part is about 40 cm high in the front and the back wall is 1 meter high. The flat part of the dome on top is 16" wide and then angles down to meet the front part of the pan.
If you go back to my post from Dec.22,2003 you will see more pics from the 'construction phase' and descriptions on how it was built.
The plants are all fake. I was planning on putting real ones too, but with printing out yet another x number of edible plants and toxic plants lists, I still get very variable answers.
Pothos seems to be fine on most lists, but still not good on others, Ficus benjaminii would be nice and seems to be acceptable for lots of herps,- but tortoises specifically,- I don't know, Yuccas seem to be generally o.k., but I do not know the scientific name of the species I have at home, so again,- which ones are o.k.? In the nurseries tropicals are often simply identified as such or f.i. Yucca, without latin names.
And my torts will just eat anything green,- especially on a boring day inside...
So I just decided not to take any chances. There are actually some quite good looking fake plants available, as you can see, and on top they are maintainance free and don't get stripped down.

Thanks for your nice comments,
Gaby

LOL!! I was just gasping at first when I saw some of what you planted in there thinking this is toxic and that is toxic and that gorgeous plant is going to get trampled and eaten and I then I said HOLD IT!! Anyone who has gone to this much effort to make such a magnificent enclosure (and I sit here dethrowned and jealous as I have finally met someone who can blow my imagination with enclosure out the door!!) has done their homework and knows not to plant toxic things. In the closer photos I saw that I was right. Kudos to you!!! This is a masterpiece.

Looks Awesome!! What substrate are you using?

I use one to three inches of 'Forest bark' from the petstore covered with a good layer of spaghnum moss (from the garden center). The spaghnum moss acts like a sponge and can take up a lot of moisture from the misting system, which helps keep the humidity up.
The bark in the bottom helps for aeration and takes up some moisture too.
In order to keep it bug and fungus free I bake the substrates in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour. I moisten it well before, place it in a single use aluminum (turkey) roasting pan and cover with some aluminum foil with holes punched in. An extra step, but well worth the effort!
You might imagine, that I did a lot of baking to fill this enclosure (20 hours plus...)!
With a total of 2 - 4 inches of substrate everybody is able to dig in and keep well hydrated, which is especially important for the babies.

Gaby