Rocky is a Redfoot Tortoise (Geochelone carbonaria). His ancestors hail from South America but Rocky was captive bred in Rhode Island by some very nice people who take very good care of their tortoises.
We drove over to Rhode Island and picked Rocky out on January 9, 2000. He had hatched on Dec. 28, 1999. He was very tiny, about 2 inches long and not as wide. We met his parents and took some pictures of them which you can see if you click on the photos link to the left.
We
have finally figured out how to keep the humidity up in his enclosure here
in dry, wintery Connecticut. He is kept in my "reptile room" that is maintained
at a temperature of 80 degrees all the time. He is in a large sweater box
with cypress mulch that is inside a 33 gallon glass breeder tank that has
a screened cover. Next to the sweater box but inside the glass tank I have
placed a small kitty litter pan full of water. I have an inexpensive air
pump attached to an airstone in the water bubbling constantly. I put tin
foil on over 70% of the screened top to keep the humidity in. This setup
keeps the humidity at 60% during the day and 85% at night when there are
no lights on. I think this is a fabulous way to maintain high humidity
hatchlings. We will have to play it by ear when he outgrows the sweater
box.