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  1. dabayliss

    What does everyone call their red foots?

    Phiedippies, Andromeda, Callista, Cassandra, Archimedies, Deborah, Socrates, Cham, Hippolytes and Pentheselia
  2. dabayliss

    Lids for outdoor pens

    I am planning a similar pen; 8ft wide, 32ft long. The idea is to build a set of 8x4ft lids and line them along the length of the pen. Alternate lids would be screwed down. Idea being - each lid is 8x4 (relatively tractable) - haven't decided whether to hinge them yet.
  3. dabayliss

    What temps. for top of substrate with Heat Ropes?

    We have heat-ropes that are attached to an agricultural thermostat - the ropes are 3 inches below the surface; the probe for the thermostats are almost surface level. We set them to 72 for the larger torts and 75 for the babies. We also have remote temperature sensors that lay upon the surface...
  4. dabayliss

    Wheezing :(

    Well; at least with our redfoots (we have 8) - they have all wheezed at some point - but it is always down to hydration. Usually just keeping their enclosure humid (90%+) is enough - if we get audible whistles then we put them in 'baby bath' temperature water for 10 minutes. Initially the...
  5. dabayliss

    'Softish shell after shell rot'

    One of our redfoot's had a case of shell-rot a couple of months ago. We treated with the usual athletes foot cream and anti-fungal wash - most of the rot cleaned up in a couple of weeks - this is all normal. However - the 'wells' in which her two back legs are - towards the front of her shell...
  6. dabayliss

    "Spastic" back leg in baby yellowfoot?

    We do give them protein; and she absolutely loves it - the other one not so much. Could that be a problem? All the other torts get protein once a week....
  7. dabayliss

    redfoots and mushrooms

    All ten of ours LOVE mushrooms; it is one of the foods we use to teach them to forage - scatter them all around the place - they will get hunted down ...
  8. dabayliss

    "Spastic" back leg in baby yellowfoot?

    We have two baby yellowfoots; have had them for just under a year. Both eat like hogs, explore everything in sight -and generally seem healthy and happy. Except, starting a couple of weeks ago - one of them seems to have developed a sporadic 'spastic' back leg. Rather more specifically - we...
  9. dabayliss

    Help! New Redfoot with runny eye

    Wow Madkin; I haven't been to your site in a couple of months - it is even better than before! Love the tBMI! I was a little suprised by the idea of humidy not fixing hydration though; they all seem moist and full of beans - but I can go back to the baths ....
  10. dabayliss

    Help! New Redfoot with runny eye

    The best way we have found for humidity (and it helps with heat too) is: a) Get yourself a deep substrate (we use 3 inches) b) Use one of the underground 'heater cables' and run it around the pen about 2 inches below the surface (we use 100w for the 4x10 pen, 50w for the 4x4 pen and 25w for the...
  11. dabayliss

    Pics - The 'little four'

    Well - we have now officially stopped acquiring tortoises (honest). But not before another couple slipped through the gate. Our two previous babies are here for comparison: the little two are Amazonian Yellowfoots (per Sam of Florida Iguana)...
  12. dabayliss

    Baby (amazon) yellowfoot -temperature

    Hey there; we now have a couple of (very) baby Amazonian yellowfoots. 25g and 35g. Now the winter is coming. Generally I keep the overnight temperatures at 70; using under ground cables this year. I am wondering if the yellowfoots could use it a little warmer - maybe 75? David
  13. dabayliss

    Tortoise friendly florida plants

    We're working on the plants for our outdoor tortoise enclosure and have come across a few plants that haven't been listed on any plant list, good or bad. Does anyone know if these plants are redfoot friendly? mandevilla sea grape bluebutterfly pea ixona Thanks!
  14. dabayliss

    Questions about my rescue

    Is it really only a few minutes a day? Like 10? I realize it doesn't help someone it North Dakota - but down here it would be quite feasible to shove the torts on the patio for ten minutes at noon even in our 'severe weather' (overnight in the 40s). If I can avoid UVB in the pen I would like too ...
  15. dabayliss

    Sex / Race opinions?

    I figured I would try to narrow down my 0.0.7 tagline a little - I'm sure the smallest is too small - but any opinions on the Race/Gender of these four would be appreciated: Candidate 1 (Andromeda)...
  16. dabayliss

    when can i put them in the same enclosure?

    Well - there are at least two reasons for quaranteening: 1) Different torts from different places have different illnesses. We always have a new tort in quaranteen for at least a month - and if it is anything other than 'full of beans' and 'eating like a pig' we wait longer. 2) Difficutly of...
  17. dabayliss

    Redfoot tortoise aquarium

    We have our youngest two in an aquarium; we generally try to keep a square foot of space for an inch of tortoise. A sheet of plastic seems to keep the humity quite high (although this is Florida - so humidity is probably easier for us). Everyone says that they don't like the clear glass - it...
  18. dabayliss

    Vomiting redfoot - panic schedule?

    For those of you the followed the story; our little monster went back into the herd today. He is now eating, pushing around everyone, trying to steal their food, patroling the boundaries and trying to bash the flowers off the hibiscus. Good to have him back .....
  19. dabayliss

    West Palm Beach reptile show

    Yeah...the red foots at the show were in horrible condition. I think it is the first time I have ever seen aredfoot I wasn't tempted to buy. We drove south to hillsboro blvd... The are two great reptile stores in one area. We came away with two newbies... Almost six!
  20. dabayliss

    Vomiting redfoot - panic schedule?

    Well - after three days of hot water and 'straining poo' we had a day where no poo came out despite lots of straining. Then yesterday we got out a small poo and a stone the size of half a pea (quite sharp). He is still fairly still and woe-begone but he did manage to eat three strawberries and...
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