4 Redfoots 2 Sulcatas

[felixm65]

Just want some advice on how to better care for these dudes. They’re doing great, Aug 8th marked my 1year with them. I bought them all relatively small 3-4inches & I recently finished my outdoor enclosure 15.5ft long 6ft wide. Any recommendations on when I should upgrade their enclosure 1-2yrs? Their house is 5.6ft wide and 3.5ft long, It’s not insulated YET I will be doing that towards November-Dec when Temps start to drop here in South FL. I’ll be adding a ceramic bulb with the roof insulation & styrofoam panels on the lil windows to block out winds

Im growing elephant grass, these are older pictures that I have here. Right now it’s a thick bush and I cut that to feed them along with some hay I have spread out to have them kinda imitate a grazing pattern

They also get Mazuri 3 times a week along with collard greens, kale, cacti and sometimes fruits. I do throw away a lot of food but I like watching them pick out their favorites. I throw away old food into a plastic bin to avoid mold & mix it up every now n then to throw at the elephant grass as a fertilizer. They got fresh water everyday they’ve been together all 365+ days I’ve had them I know there’s people that wouldn’t recommend mixing species, I’ll eventually separate them to avoid any Sulcatas squishing my redfoots. For now they’re happy together they dig holes together & it’s one crazy creep I got goin on❤️🐢 Please let me know any improvements I could make!

P.S Humidity is always 60-70% here
Inside their house it doesn’t get hotter than 98°F & That’s the air above the hut they have 4-5inches of soil & mulch to dig down and cool their temp. At night it’s 72-82 can vary on the day.

P.S.S That Sulcata there is named Sandy she’s my most timid Tortoise she always runs up to me when I enter the enclosure & if she doesn’t I just knock on their cabin and she’s the first out then the rest of the creep follows lol

 

[wellington]

OMG NOW!
Species should never be mixed and should never be in pairs.
You will need an enclosure for each sulcata and 2 enclosures at least for the RF incase you have 2 males.
All enclosures need to be bigger then you have at adult size.

 

[felixm65]

OMG NOW!
Species should never be mixed and should never be in pairs.
You will need an enclosure for each sulcata and 2 enclosures at least for the RF incase you have 2 males.
All enclosures need to be bigger then you have at adult size.

OMG NOW!
Species should never be mixed and should never be in pairs.
You will need an enclosure for each sulcata and 2 enclosures at least for the RF incase you have 2 males.
All enclosures need to be bigger then you have at adult size.

Yeah I’ve been saving up to buy something with close to half an acre hopefully in a year or so. So your only concern would be mixing species & keeping males in different enclosures & of course bigger enclosures in the near future.

 

[Tom]

Just want some advice on how to better care for these dudes. They’re doing great, Aug 8th marked my 1year with them. I bought them all relatively small 3-4inches & I recently finished my outdoor enclosure 15.5ft long 6ft wide. Any recommendations on when I should upgrade their enclosure 1-2yrs? Their house is 5.6ft wide and 3.5ft long, It’s not insulated YET I will be doing that towards November-Dec when Temps start to drop here in South FL. I’ll be adding a ceramic bulb with the roof insulation & styrofoam panels on the lil windows to block out winds

Im growing elephant grass, these are older pictures that I have here. Right now it’s a thick bush and I cut that to feed them along with some hay I have spread out to have them kinda imitate a grazing pattern

They also get Mazuri 3 times a week along with collard greens, kale, cacti and sometimes fruits. I do throw away a lot of food but I like watching them pick out their favorites. I throw away old food into a plastic bin to avoid mold & mix it up every now n then to throw at the elephant grass as a fertilizer. They got fresh water everyday they’ve been together all 365+ days I’ve had them I know there’s people that wouldn’t recommend mixing species, I’ll eventually separate them to avoid any Sulcatas squishing my redfoots. For now they’re happy together they dig holes together & it’s one crazy creep I got goin on❤️🐢 Please let me know any improvements I could make!

P.S Humidity is always 60-70% here
Inside their house it doesn’t get hotter than 98°F & That’s the air above the hut they have 4-5inches of soil & mulch to dig down and cool their temp. At night it’s 72-82 can vary on the day.

P.S.S That Sulcata there is named Sandy she’s my most timid Tortoise she always runs up to me when I enter the enclosure & if she doesn’t I just knock on their cabin and she’s the first out then the rest of the creep follows lol

You are making some terrible mistakes. There is no point in me taking an hour of my time to type it all out if you don't want to hear it and are going to ignore it, get upset about it, and leave the forum.

If you want info on what is wrong and how to fix it, please ask.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm north of you in Sunrise 33322.
If you need assistance in making a few inexpensive pens in your yard I'd be more than happy to assist you.

 

[wellington]

Yeah I’ve been saving up to buy something with close to half an acre hopefully in a year or so. So your only concern would be mixing species & keeping males in different enclosures & of course bigger enclosures in the near future.

My concern needs to be dealt with now not in the future though. Your tortoises are in danger of illness and/or death. Sulcatas are much more aggressive then the RF. They also require different care, diet and lighting/heat. The stress alone from improper care will shorten their lives.
One male to a group of females of their own species only. No 2 or more males together. No male and female pair together.
Don't wait until they get sick or dead to change things. I guarantee there is bullying going on and high level stress.

 

[felixm65]

You are making some terrible mistakes. There is no point in me taking an hour of my time to type it all out if you don't want to hear it and are going to ignore it, get upset about it, and leave the forum.

If you want info on what is wrong and how to fix it, please ask.

You are making some terrible mistakes. There is no point in me taking an hour of my time to type it all out if you don't want to hear it and are going to ignore it, get upset about it, and leave the forum.

If you want info on what is wrong and how to fix it, please ask.

I did ask for info & advice, im not sure how you can gauge someones emotions thru a screen but okay man 💀 I’m not upset & I understand what Wellington said MY BAD if I didn’t include a “?”at the end. I’m sure I’m doing some things wrong but my Torts are definitely healthier than what I’ve seen on here… What’s the point of you being in here if not to help people w less experience like myself? Besides that, Sure as hell don’t want help from your emotional self. Thanks Tom.

 

[felixm65]

My concern needs to be dealt with now not in the future though. Your tortoises are in danger of illness and/or death. Sulcatas are much more aggressive then the RF. They also require different care, diet and lighting/heat. The stress alone from improper care will shorten their lives.
One male to a group of females of their own species only. No 2 or more males together. No male and female pair together.
Don't wait until they get sick or dead to change things. I guarantee there is bullying going on and high level stress.

Thank you I’ll get working on a hut & enclosed space for the redfoots. What would tortoise bullying look like?

 

[felixm65]

I'm north of you in Sunrise 33322.
If you need assistance in making a few inexpensive pens in your yard I'd be more than happy to assist you.

Sunrise Florida ?

 

[wellington]

Thank you I’ll get working on a hut & enclosed space for the redfoots. What would tortoise bullying look like?

There are many signs. Some we don't even see. Tortoises are loners, they come across each other to mate or fight if it's the wrong sex and they move on. Some signs we can see, standing/laying on food plates/piles. Sleeping in same spot, blocking hide entrance, following another, biting, ramming, those are the obvious.
Not so obvious is same age tort not growing at same rate as the others of same species and approx. age. Hiding away more then normal or others. Then there is the stress that does things we can't see.
Also them needing different requirements can't be given when housing together different species. These two species have different heat, lighting and diet differences.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Sunrise Florida ?

Yes.
How much outside space do you have?
You're going to need at least three enclosures.
One for the RF group.(hopefully there aren't multiple males)
One for each Sulcata.

 

[Maddoggy]

Here are a few pics of some enclosure ideas you might be able to use for your torts . The first pic is a revision I made after I learned from this forum that a visual barrier is a must. The second pic shows one complete side and one side lacking the visual barrier. As my sulcatas grow to adult hood I will have to add 4x4 post for more support.The only draw back to these ideas are you have to have access to a table saw and a miter saw . I started the forum about a year ago and was kinda in your shoes where I had too many sulcatas and my enclosures were not nearly large enough, but the good news these guys dont grow huge overnight and proper sized enclosures can be built before it becomes a problem.

 

[Tom]

Besides that, Sure as hell don’t want help from your emotional self. Thanks Tom.

Heard and understood. Good luck to you.

 

[wellington]

I did ask for info & advice, im not sure how you can gauge someones emotions thru a screen but okay man 💀 I’m not upset & I understand what Wellington said MY BAD if I didn’t include a “?”at the end. I’m sure I’m doing some things wrong but my Torts are definitely healthier than what I’ve seen on here… What’s the point of you being in here if not to help people w less experience like myself? Besides that, Sure as hell don’t want help from your emotional self. Thanks Tom.

I don't know if Tom misunderstood where you said to me (So your only concern would be mixing species & keeping males in different enclosures & of course bigger enclosures in the near future.) I had to read it twice because my first read was that you were being sarcastic. You have to understand, we get a lot of fighting back. Or if Tom just didnt want to spend the time writing everything out, without you first asking specifics. I kinda think it was my first guess seeing I read it wrong initially. Just so you do know, Tom spends a lot of time helping people. Doing experiments on care and sharing everything with this forum. He is one that goes above and beyond. He shoots straight and doesn't blow smoke.

 

[wellington]

I did ask for info & advice, im not sure how you can gauge someones emotions thru a screen but okay man 💀 I’m not upset & I understand what Wellington said MY BAD if I didn’t include a “?”at the end. I’m sure I’m doing some things wrong but my Torts are definitely healthier than what I’ve seen on here… What’s the point of you being in here if not to help people w less experience like myself? Besides that, Sure as hell don’t want help from your emotional self. Thanks Tom.

We have many very healthy and smooth tortoises on this forum. To say yours are healthier then you have seen on here is quite a dig to everyone on this forum. I guarantee yours are not healthier then those that are housed properly.
So, now let's work on improving your torts situation and not dogging out the members that will be helping you.
This forum is about getting tortoises happy, healthy, housed and fed properly, so the owners can have a great long experience with them.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My offer stands and I hope you let me help you.

 

[vladimir]

My offer stands and I hope you let me help you.

This is a very generous offer @ZEROPILOT !

 

[Maddoggy]

I gotta give What Wellington said about Tom a second from me. He has taken a lot of time just helping me in the last year of tortoise keeping. And he goes above and beyond for a newbie like myself but you gotta take action and a lot of this info is not up for debate, Like keeping species together, and keeping torts in pair.Some thing I was doing but changed. And it wasn't that hard and made all the difference with my torts and that's what's its all about.

 

[Skunkworks]

I think Tom is being misunderstood when he is giving Direct advice, Maybe it's Tom's No - Nonsense approach just like my Uncle was. He Hosted Jeopardy and took his Job home with him, Tom reminds me of Alex. Everytime Alex gave me advice it was Direct and always on Point as with Tom, even if he sounded Upset in wich he never was.We all need to Put ourselves in Tom's shoes and be Abit more Humble to the Fact he saves us all Time & $$$ at His own Expense..

 

[snowman04]

Heard and understood. Good luck to you.

Well said, Tom...