Baby red foot advice

Magstacy

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Hi, my name is Stacy and I recently got a baby red foot tort (May 30, 2019). I just want to know how much they are supposed to eat? He doesn't seem to eat very much and only pooped once since I got him. He eats a lot more if I hand feed, but I don't want to make that a habit. I feed him the pretty pet tortoise food and I add water to soften and sprinkle on the calcium powder. He is really active and likes to explore. I give him a warm 30 minute soak everyday. I also have the UVB/UVA lamp and a heat lamp that I leave on during the day. Is there any thing else I can do or is he just getting used to his new home. Thank you for your time
 

Yvonne G

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Hi and welcome!

Your new baby should be getting greens with the occasional fruit and animal protein. If you want to feed the pellets, that should be occasionally, not the main diet. Here's an idea of what sort of greens you can feed: Grape Leaves, Dandelion Greens, Curly Endive ( not Belgian ) / Chicory,
Escarole, Collard Greens, Hibiscus (blooms & leaves).
 

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Welcome
I'd throw away the PRETTY PETS altogether or at most, feed it very sparingly.
That garbage should never be the main food source.
Redfoot can eat the largest amount of different foods than any other species. There's no reason to not have at least a half a dozen food choices easy to get wherever you are and whatever the season.
They eat greens, fruit, flowers and even insects, eggs and animal protein.
Can you give us some more information?
Maybe some photos of the enclosure, your lighting, your heating and the animal itself?
We can then give you a lot more suggestions.
In the meanwhile, check out one of our Redfoot care threads and check out the foods list. Chances are that there are better choices than that Pretty Pets growing wild in your yard or very close by for very little money.
Feeding a Redfoot is easy. But the key is variety and quality.
(I see you are in Hawaii. Your food choices should be very easy there. I'd start with hibiscus leaves and flowers)
 

Magstacy

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Jun 4, 2019
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Hawaii
Hi and welcome!

Your new baby should be getting greens with the occasional fruit and animal protein. If you want to feed the pellets, that should be occasionally, not the main diet. Here's an idea of what sort of greens you can feed: Grape Leaves, Dandelion Greens, Curly Endive ( not Belgian ) / Chicory,
Escarole, Collard Greens, Hibiscus (blooms & leaves).


Thank you so much for responding! He's now pooping like every other day and is getting used to his new home. I will go out and buy all of the greens and some fruit!
 

Magstacy

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Jun 4, 2019
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Welcome
I'd throw away the PRETTY PETS altogether or at most, feed it very sparingly.
That garbage should never be the main food source.
Redfoot can eat the largest amount of different foods than any other species. There's no reason to not have at least a half a dozen food choices easy to get wherever you are and whatever the season.
They eat greens, fruit, flowers and even insects, eggs and animal protein.
Can you give us some more information?
Maybe some photos of the enclosure, your lighting, your heating and the animal itself?
We can then give you a lot more suggestions.
In the meanwhile, check out one of our Redfoot care threads and check out the foods list. Chances are that there are better choices than that Pretty Pets growing wild in your yard or very close by for very little money.
Feeding a Redfoot is easy. But the key is variety and quality.
(I see you are in Hawaii. Your food choices should be very easy there. I'd start with hibiscus leaves and flowers)

Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it! I'm going to go out and find all of the different greens and fruits. I can post pictures tomorrow when I have more time. He is now pooping every other day and is much more active. He sometimes likes to spend time in his water dish even after I soak him. Is that normal?
 

Toddrickfl1

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Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it! I'm going to go out and find all of the different greens and fruits. I can post pictures tomorrow when I have more time. He is now pooping every other day and is much more active. He sometimes likes to spend time in his water dish even after I soak him. Is that normal?
Perfectly normalScreenshot_20190618-175449~2.png
 

ZEROPILOT

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Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it! I'm going to go out and find all of the different greens and fruits. I can post pictures tomorrow when I have more time. He is now pooping every other day and is much more active. He sometimes likes to spend time in his water dish even after I soak him. Is that normal?
Yes.
 

Magstacy

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Jun 4, 2019
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Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Welcome
I'd throw away the PRETTY PETS altogether or at most, feed it very sparingly.
That garbage should never be the main food source.
Redfoot can eat the largest amount of different foods than any other species. There's no reason to not have at least a half a dozen food choices easy to get wherever you are and whatever the season.
They eat greens, fruit, flowers and even insects, eggs and animal protein.
Can you give us some more information?
Maybe some photos of the enclosure, your lighting, your heating and the animal itself?
We can then give you a lot more suggestions.
In the meanwhile, check out one of our Redfoot care threads and check out the foods list. Chances are that there are better choices than that Pretty Pets growing wild in your yard or very close by for very little money.
Feeding a Redfoot is easy. But the key is variety and quality.
(I see you are in Hawaii. Your food choices should be very easy there. I'd start with hibiscus leaves and flowers)

I finally got some time to upload my pics.
 

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ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Please don't get discouraged.
But a couple things pop right out at me:
1) The UV light you seem to be using is a spiral, coiled compact UVB. That is highly UNrecommended. Instead, I'd seriously replace it with an 18" florescent strip lamp with a 5.0 reptile tube.
2) The red heat lamp makes EVERYTHING red. Redfoot home in on red things and they eat red things. Sometimes they eat substrate and other things they shouldn't....because its red.
3) the lighting in general may be too bright. Once you install the florescent lamp and get a CHE to replace the red heat lamp, the light level will go down to a decent level.
4) the open top needs to be closed. Closing it would keep in heat and humidity. I'd use plexiglass to do this. But other options are out there. I like plexiglass because you can drill holes in it and then mount your florescent tube fixture to the INSIDE, or underside of the top.
It's rough getting it all dialed in. But once you've got it, everything will get simple.
I know that initially purchasing the wrong stuff sucks.
Pet stores love selling it. But much of it is just wrong for a tortoise.
That's why it's always so nice to talk with newbies that haven't yet wasted money on junk.
Don't feel bad though. Because most of us did just what you've done at some point.
 
Last edited:

Magstacy

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Jun 4, 2019
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Please don't get discouraged.
But a couple things pop right out at me:
1) The UV light you seem to be using is a spiral, coiled compact UVB. That is highly UNrecommended. Instead, I'd seriously replace it with an 18" florescent strip lamp with a 5.0 reptile tube.
2) The red heat lamp makes EVERYTHING red. Redfoot home in on red things and they eat red things. Sometimes they eat substrate and other things they shouldn't....because its red.
3) the lighting in general may be too bright. Once you install the florescent lamp and get a CHE to replace the red heat lamp, the light level will go down to a decent level.
4) the open top needs to be closed. Closing it would keep in heat and humidity. I'd use plexiglass to do this. But other options are out there. I like plexiglass because you can drill holes in it and then mount your florescent tube fixture to the INSIDE, or underside of the top.
It's rough getting it all dialed in. But once you've got it, everything will get simple.


No, of course not. I want to get things right. I got all the lights and stuff from the pet store. Its a family owned pet store and they wouldn't sell me the tortoise unless I bought all of those things. They just picked it out and said that was what they used for their tortoise. But okay, I will try to find these things. THANK YOU
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Walmart sells an 18" "under counter" florescent light fixture for about $10.
I use them. Pop out the tube that comes with it. And pop in a $20 18" 5.0 reptile tube.
For the CHE, make sure you get a ceramic insulated dome fixture that is capable of the CHE wattage. It gets hot.
The fixture and the CHE...$10 EACH.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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No, of course not. I want to get things right. I got all the lights and stuff from the pet store. Its a family owned pet store and they wouldn't sell me the tortoise unless I bought all of those things. They just picked it out and said that was what they used for their tortoise. But okay, I will try to find these things. THANK YOU
As little as 10 years ago, these things were still accepted as being ok.
But for many, many reasons, we've learned that they are not.
The pet shop owners may actually be good and well meaning folks without the latest knowledge learned the hard way.
Best of luck to you.
 

Magstacy

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Joined
Jun 4, 2019
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6
Location (City and/or State)
Hawaii
Walmart sells an 18" "under counter" florescent light fixture for about $10.
I use them. Pop out the tube that comes with it. And pop in a $20 18" 5.0 reptile tube.
For the CHE, make sure you get a ceramic insulated dome fixture that is capable of the CHE wattage. It gets hot.
The fixture and the CHE...$10 EACH.


Noted. Thanks for the advice. I probably can't get that all today, but I'll get it soon.
 

willee638

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HK
Hi, my name is Stacy and I recently got a baby red foot tort (May 30, 2019). I just want to know how much they are supposed to eat? He doesn't seem to eat very much and only pooped once since I got him. He eats a lot more if I hand feed, but I don't want to make that a habit. I feed him the pretty pet tortoise food and I add water to soften and sprinkle on the calcium powder. He is really active and likes to explore. I give him a warm 30 minute soak everyday. I also have the UVB/UVA lamp and a heat lamp that I leave on during the day. Is there any thing else I can do or is he just getting used to his new home. Thank you for your time
I'm in the same situation as you were back then, mine I had her under a month & since changed from a fish aquarium tank to a larger wooden enclosure I built myself & also added another light to the enclosure with plants & stones to climb & hide. I learnt the reason she wasn't eating much & was inactive hiding for most of the day was likely the temperature to low & humidity & moisture wasn't enough either, Do you keep a cover over your enclosure? I never did so I spray the substrates several times & soak her twice or more daily, I feed her lots of greens, leaves from plants, vegetables & fruits & for a special treat canned tuna. I worry canned food might be too high in salt content & hope to switch to earth worms & raw chicken meats later.
 
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