2 juvenile redfoot - no interest in enclosure water tray

[Beep-Beep]

Howdy All,

I'm very new to keeping tortoises, 4 days-new actually, and introduced Dumb & Dumber - not their official names anymore, my wife got a tad offended - under the Introduction Forum with the "Red-footed torts in Hong Kong" thread.
Already received some great advise and both kiddies seem to be doing well. They move a bit around their enclosure, eat well, and they poop very nicely thank you during their 20min to 25min out of enclosure daily soaking.

Although my wife and I are yet to spend a full day starring at them, we believe ex-Dumb & Dumber do not use the water tray in their enclosure. No poop, no floating bark or other debris in.
I'll post pics of the enclosure and tray tomorrow, basically a clay flower pot tray which I surrounded with small rocks flushed up to the tray edge to secure it in place (and limit debris floaters).
24hrs a day outdoor. Natural humidity and temp levels are good, this is sub tropical Hong Kong after all ! I also do a misting in 2 opposite corners of the enclosure in the morning.

Would the soaking, the natural humidity and misting suffice for them to ignore the water in enclosure ? Anyway, the tray stays but I am wondering if this is normal...

On a side note, http://www.reptileparadise.com/cs_redfoot.htm (this is actually the shop in HK where I purchased my precious) and http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Red-Footed-Tortoise/ have been a bit of a reference to me past few days. Are those good ?

Does TortoiseForum have a similar care sheet for red-footed? I have failed miserably at locating it.

Cheers,
Beep-Beep

 

[daniellenc]

They need humidity but not a drenched enclosure. Mine poops in his daily soaks but does drink from his water dish here and there

 

[Beep-Beep]

Thx daniellenc, exactly what I am trying to achieve, humidity without having their cute little feet in the water all day long.

Today is a bit of a special Hong Kong Summer Day. A typhoon in Taiwan has sucked all the humidity out of us, and ambient humidity has dropped to a low 52%, just our luck, ggggrrrrrrr....

This is what I did to fight the Weather Gods this morning :
1. drilled plenty of random little holes at the bottom of the enclosure, some spots with less holes than others.
2. placed the enclosure sitting on top of a large lid flipped over and filled up with water (a good 2cm deep).
3. clay water tray, little rocks, bark, dinner table, and hideaway back in.
4. and finally let the kiddies loose.

While I was at it, I also painted the outside of the enclosure white and then added a fistful of soaked orchid moss (for lack of a better name) in the hideaway and one corner of the enclosure.
Hopefully the water sitting below the enclosure will slowly evaporate with humidity rising through the holes.

Not too clunky but certainly not an elegant solution. I do not know if this can work as I intended.
Anyone?

Pics below for the most curious among us.



I managed not to bleed using the power drill this time.

Cheers,
Beep-Beep

 

[Korall]

Thx daniellenc, exactly what I am trying to achieve, humidity without having their cute little feet in the water all day long.

Today is a bit of a special Hong Kong Summer Day. A typhoon in Taiwan has sucked all the humidity out of us, and ambient humidity has dropped to a low 52%, just our luck, ggggrrrrrrr....

This is what I did to fight the Weather Gods this morning :
1. drilled plenty of random little holes at the bottom of the enclosure, some spots with less holes than others.
2. placed the enclosure sitting on top of a large lid flipped over and filled up with water (a good 2cm deep).
3. clay water tray, little rocks, bark, dinner table, and hideaway back in.
4. and finally let the kiddies loose.

While I was at it, I also painted the outside of the enclosure white and then added a fistful of soaked orchid moss (for lack of a better name) in the hideaway and one corner of the enclosure.
Hopefully the water sitting below the enclosure will slowly evaporate with humidity rising through the holes.

Not too clunky but certainly not an elegant solution. I do not know if this can work as I intended.
Anyone?

Pics below for the most curious among us.

View attachment 214029 View attachment 214030 View attachment 214031 View attachment 214032

I managed not to bleed using the power drill this time.

Cheers,
Beep-Beep

The enclosure seems rather small for the two of them, they should also have more hides.

I do not know if the water under the enclosure works but it's almost impossible to maintain humidity in an open topped enclosure.

 

[wellington]

The enclosure is way too small for one let a lone two. The sides are also too short. If they had a big proper outside enclosure for them to spend the day in and you were only housing them inside at night to sleep this enclosure would be okay, but not great. If they are spending days in this then it needs to go. yes we have a caresheet, it's under the species specific section. High humidity is needed but the top layer of substrate needs to be dry to prevent shell rot that RF are prone to.

 

[Beep-Beep]

Thx Both,
I somehow expected the size of the box would make someone jump ! Will be actively searching for an adequate replacement over the next few days. For education purpose, what is the issue with the sides of the box ? They can't reach (yet), and the box is always tightly covered with a mosquito mesh mounted on a frame.

Can't imagine the pressure of having tortoises in Alaska...
I already feel overwhelmed at times after 5 days, although natural conditions are pretty much on par with what my two little fellows need.

Still can't figure out where is the care sheet for the red-footed on this site. If I select "Tortoises species --> redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises" i simply end up on this very forum with all the specific threads for these species. Anyway, my problem

Side note, I won the naming argument.They are "Dumb & Dumber" for good.
I had tasked Dumb & Dumber with a simple algebra test, calculating the square root of 7356, their answer was gibberish. At best.
My wife had to agree they are not the brightest bulbs in town, but still nags me for not having provided refresh algebra books in due time.

Cheers,
Beep-Beep

 

[Tom]

When you find that bigger enclosure, get two. Tortoises should not live in pairs. Groups in a large enclosure can work, but not pairs. Separate them now, before it causes a problem.

 

[Beep-Beep]

Ha !
Those creatures are obviously related in some ways to the Iberian bullfighting breeds !
Noted, can do with doubling up.

Cheers,
Beep-Beep

 

[daniellenc]

Try this link for a basic care sheet and a few good links: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-care-sheet-sticky.149266/#post-1420373

 

[Beep-Beep]

Thx Daniellenc, excellent & much appreciated !

My two juvenile redfoot torts are still not using the water tray. I can't figure it out.
"Dropped" them in the middle of it, they have absolutely no problem walking out of it, so no apparent obstacle.

I do soak them twice a day for 20min in lukewarm water, early morning and evening. The orchid moss is retaining humidity nicely. Food has been washed before serving, still a little wet, if not dripping.
And then we are still dealing with a minimum of 85% ambient humidity, everywhere, 24hrs a day.

Would all the above prove to be enough for them to ignore the water tray?
I have read that the earliest sign of dehydration for a redfoot is wet eyes. Is that true ? I have seen absolutely nothing like that yet.

They eat happily, poop fine, and are fairly active at times, and both have put on a little weight since last week, 2gr each.

Should I divert my attention to the growing tension on the Korean Peninsula instead ?

Cheers,
Beep-Beep