A Towel! :D

[Lunartwist]

So I was wracking my brain again and again, trying to figure out how to get more humidity into Viola's enclosure. Then a few days ago, I was reading on a tegu forum, how people keep humidity in their tegu's enclosure if its open on the top .... a towel! Just clip a towel over half the enclosure, dampen it (not soaking wet) and enjoy! Supposedly it helps keep the overall humidity higher and people on the tegu forum rave about it.

So I'm trying it! I bought a nice, white, clean towel and clipped it with sturdy chip clips to either side of the rubbermaid. The light has been situated more over the water dish, and the towel covers just about half of her enclosure. I haven't dampened it yet (Viola's outside in the sunshine) but when I have to leave for work tomorrow, I'll dampen it and see how it works!

If it works, this may just be the breakthrough that we needed! I'll keep you guys posted.

Also, apparently, if you need a humid hide, attaching a wet sponge to the inside of the hide (on the top) considerably raises the humidty.

[welovevader]

Interesting....

Did you find a home for your other RF?

[Lunartwist]

Oh! Yes!
Reno actually went to a very good friend of mine, who has been drooling over her for a while. She's just as obsessed with reptiles as I am. So I re-homed Reno with her, but I still get to see her when I want. She's getting huge! And I get to send all the cactus over to her, since Viola decided she hates it right after I bought like 4 large pads of it. Way to go, miss picky! DX

[welovevader]

Well, that's good you were able to send her to a good home. Did you get them as hatchlings? I can't remember. 

[Lunartwist]

Yes. That didn't seem to get along very well. They didn't fight or bite or anything, but they ignored each other and wouldn't go to the side of the rubbermaid that the other was on, and got pushy with food and they used to get pushy with soaking time and I freaked out when one of them stepped on the other's head IN the bath. DX So I think they just deserved more space. Viola isn't any the wiser, and seems to enjoy her private time more.

Viola was from the pet store I used to work at. I got her for pretty dang cheap because my manager allowed me to combine a 50% off coupon with my associate's discount (20%), so I decided to get her. :3

Reno was a CL rescue. When I got her she had mild shell rot and URI. After a few months of being treated (which was super hard, as she was  STRONG little fighter) she got better. Now she lives happily in a 55gal rubbermaid at my friend's house who is taking very good care of her. (she texts me all the time with cute things that she does)

[welovevader]

That's good that they can now each be queen over their own little domains. I've been toying with the idea of getting one from Vicki Hale, but she and both agreed that given where I live (super dry 99% of the time), it would be extremely difficult/expensive to try to raise one. She's gotten me thinking Leopards, but I'm still trying to figure out some "long term logistics" on that idea. For now, though, I have my RTs to love.

[Irwin4530]

AWSOME IDEA with the towel...thanks for sharing that!

Robbie....vicki has some BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY babies, I get all of mine from her.
I know what you mean though about long term logistics 

[Irwin4530]

Also......I dont know your land situation, but did you ever think about one of those greenhouse kits for a red-foot?

[welovevader]

Also......I dont know your land situation, but did you ever think about one of those greenhouse kits for a red-foot?

That's a very interesting idea! I'll look into it, but water up here is pretty limited (at least for us) ; the well hasn't been pumping much, if any as of late. We're mainly going off of our 1600 gallon holding tank. Idk, we'll see....

[welovevader]

Something just occured to me. Would they'd be able to get any/suffecient UVB in a greenhouse? The glass would filter it out, wouldn't it?

[Irwin4530]

I believe it would filter most of it out....but you could always continue use of the PowerSun.
or a shed with a humidifier?
Maybe a bit to much of an undertaking.......but never hurts to dream   

[welovevader]

Maybe a bit to much of an undertaking.......but never hurts to dream   

No, it sure doesn't. 

[Lunartwist]

Thankfully in Western Washington, the outside humidity is fairly high. Especially since its a 5 min drive from here to the ocean. However the heat lamps just suck the humidity from those rubbermaids..

I guess the only problem with a low humdity area is when you'd be putting them outside...Otherwise you can just keep the humidity up via misting, towels, foggers, etc?

Leopards however are so cute...Probably easier to keep too. Less misting and worrying about humidity..and easier to feed! Hay and grass are so cheap...

[welovevader]

Yeah, I could keep one pretty well moistend until he/she would outgrow a table. But then would come the problem of being outside. I wonder how long it would take for that to happen. How quickly do they grow?

[Lunartwist]

Not very quickly. It was hard to find a reliable growth rate estimation. They tend to grow in an "S" curve from what info I could find, where the first 2-4 years of their life they grow very slowly, possibly only 1/2 - 1 inch per year in length. However once they pass that, they grow relatively faster, getting to breeding age at around 6-8 inches, which can take many, many, years, and then grow slowly again after that. I guess, in short, they don't grow very fast at all. Certainly much, much slower than something like, lets say, a sulcata.