6 month red foot - i have some questions for the experts

[mishmash]

So I've read the care sheets here and read various posts on other sites.

However sadly my first tortoise died within 3 days of me having it so I'm a bit paranoid now.

I now have a cherry head red foot. He(or she) is 6 months old and is eating well and walking around. I've had them for one week !
I just need someone willing to confirm or deny my understanding of care .

Here's my set up.
- forest floor mulch
- a hide for shade
- a lamp "solar glo" 125 w blub with uva/b
- one lamp with heat only for the night (I live in Canada so this is to make sure it stays within temp at night )
-one bowl of water

So far I have fed him, mushrooms, a tiny sliver of tomato, kale, mazuri pellets, tiny bit of pumpkin, chard
...

Here are my questions
- I told i could fed him crickets worms or other bugs.

With that said. Could i make the tank bioactive for now and have potatobugs? Would he eat them ? If he does is that ok?

if i were to make it bioactive what would you suggest a a beginner start up?

- i notice he digs in the corners of the tank head first into the substrate , I read on some threads that red foots dont really have a habit to burrow ... is this normal? Or is this a sign of something?


- whats the deal with the cat food? I saw people are feeding dry cat food -

-i saw this online "you should aim to provide a diet of around 70% fruit, 25% greens, 5% protein based diet."
How accurate is this ?

- temp and humidity in simple terms
I noted this down from looking at the various care sheets, confirm??:
Ambient: 75-85
Night time 68-75
Humidity 70min to 90%

I current have analog gauge for both temp and humidity i will get a digital one soon.

How do you keep humidity stable? I'm using a wet towl but i find its been sitting at 70 (my tank is a mesh top)

- Soaking at this age ? how often? Every day? Every other day?


Thanks!

 

[mojo_1]

So I've read the care sheets here and read various posts on other sites.

However sadly my first tortoise died within 3 days of me having it so I'm a bit paranoid now.

I now have a cherry head red foot. He(or she) is 6 months old and is eating well and walking around. I've had them for one week !
I just need someone willing to confirm or deny my understanding of care .

Here's my set up.
- forest floor mulch
- a hide for shade
- a lamp "solar glo" 125 w blub with uva/b
- one lamp with heat only for the night (I live in Canada so this is to make sure it stays within temp at night )
-one bowl of water

So far I have fed him, mushrooms, a tiny sliver of tomato, kale, mazuri pellets, tiny bit of pumpkin, chard
...

Here are my questions
- I told i could fed him crickets worms or other bugs.

With that said. Could i make the tank bioactive for now and have potatobugs? Would he eat them ? If he does is that ok?

if i were to make it bioactive what would you suggest a a beginner start up?

- i notice he digs in the corners of the tank head first into the substrate , I read on some threads that red foots dont really have a habit to burrow ... is this normal? Or is this a sign of something?


- whats the deal with the cat food? I saw people are feeding dry cat food -

-i saw this online "you should aim to provide a diet of around 70% fruit, 25% greens, 5% protein based diet."
How accurate is this ?

- temp and humidity in simple terms
I noted this down from looking at the various care sheets, confirm??:
Ambient: 75-85
Night time 68-75
Humidity 70min to 90%

I current have analog gauge for both temp and humidity i will get a digital one soon.

How do you keep humidity stable? I'm using a wet towl but i find its been sitting at 70 (my tank is a mesh top)

- Soaking at this age ? how often? Every day? Every other day?


Thanks!

A few things need to be addressed so don't get discouraged.

Lighting should be
5500K to 6500K led flood light to mimic daylight hours on a 12 to 14 hr timer.

For UVB a T5HO 12% long tube style on a 4hr timer from noon to 4pm. To give them uv.

Heating
Should be a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat controller set to maintain an average temperature of 84°F 27/7. Redfoots don't need basking lamps or cooler night temperature. Redfoots burrow into the substrate to regulate their body temperature.

Humidity
Mid 80's is the goal.
Is best achieved with a closed chamber enclosure. affordability wise you can achieve this by purchasing a small greenhouse tent that is big enough to cover your enclosure.

Substrate
Make sure it it orchid bark from a fir tree and not pine. Or if you so choose you can use Coco coir (it's messy) upper layer needs to be dry lower layer needs to be damp not soaking in water. This will help with humidity.

Feeding and water
Water dish should be a terracotta saucer the food dish can be the same or a piece of slate. (I personally use terracotta saucers for both to contain the mess)

Redfoots can eat a large variety of things.
They can have To name a few things.
collard greens,
mustard greens,
bac choy
endive
Carrot
Radicchio
Papaya
Mango
Arugula
Hibiscus
Hard boiled egg
Non seasoned boiled chicken breast
Occasionally some mushroom.
Also it helps with digestion if you chop up the food into smaller pieces also prevents choking.

Bioactive tank
Yes you can have that. You will naturally get springtails in the enclosure and you can add some isopods to help keep it clean in there.

Soaking the tortoise
Daily for 15 to 30 minutes. In warm water you will have to change it out a few times to keep the bath warm. This is where the tortoise will poop and pee.


Here is some pictures of my enclosure and current temperature and humidity readings.

Also @Littleredfootbigredheart will be along to add more info.

 

[mojo_1]

I also use this to track how Mojo is doing. I do this sheet once a month but i do look him over daily.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

So I've read the care sheets here and read various posts on other sites.

However sadly my first tortoise died within 3 days of me having it so I'm a bit paranoid now.

I now have a cherry head red foot. He(or she) is 6 months old and is eating well and walking around. I've had them for one week !
I just need someone willing to confirm or deny my understanding of care .

Here's my set up.
- forest floor mulch
- a hide for shade
- a lamp "solar glo" 125 w blub with uva/b
- one lamp with heat only for the night (I live in Canada so this is to make sure it stays within temp at night )
-one bowl of water

So far I have fed him, mushrooms, a tiny sliver of tomato, kale, mazuri pellets, tiny bit of pumpkin, chard
...

Here are my questions
- I told i could fed him crickets worms or other bugs.

With that said. Could i make the tank bioactive for now and have potatobugs? Would he eat them ? If he does is that ok?

if i were to make it bioactive what would you suggest a a beginner start up?

- i notice he digs in the corners of the tank head first into the substrate , I read on some threads that red foots dont really have a habit to burrow ... is this normal? Or is this a sign of something?


- whats the deal with the cat food? I saw people are feeding dry cat food -

-i saw this online "you should aim to provide a diet of around 70% fruit, 25% greens, 5% protein based diet."
How accurate is this ?

- temp and humidity in simple terms
I noted this down from looking at the various care sheets, confirm??:
Ambient: 75-85
Night time 68-75
Humidity 70min to 90%

I current have analog gauge for both temp and humidity i will get a digital one soon.

How do you keep humidity stable? I'm using a wet towl but i find its been sitting at 70 (my tank is a mesh top)

- Soaking at this age ? how often? Every day? Every other day?


Thanks!

Hello and welcome! I’m so sorry to hear about your previous tortoise, I hope the above and following advice with help you avoid issues with this little one.

You’ll get so much conflicting information from sources elsewhere, all it will do is cause you confusion, I’m speaking from experience. This forum has the correct most up to date care, created by experienced members who have spent decades perfecting their care for smooth healthy tortoises long term, trust me there’s no better place!

First things first, lighting and heating needs amending, as mentioned above, red foots don’t really need a basking light, CHE’s (ceramic heat emitters) are much more suited, far less desiccating on their shells and help your temperatures stay in the 80-86 range 24/7, no need for a night drop. You don’t want any kind of compact uv bulb either, t5 tube fluorescent is what’s recommended, either the zoomed or Arcadia brand, will go more into that in the link I include. Then some ambient led lighting.

The digging could be the bulb not being appropriate.

Never let anywhere in your set up drop below 80, 68 is far too cold a temperature for a baby red foot.

Diet wise you can mix up ratios a bit, so for example some days 60% greens 40% fruits, then other days visa versa. Then a small amount of protein once a week, some people use cat food for this, it’s not my personal choice tbh. A pinch of supplements 3 times a week on top of the feed. Variety is key, they probably have the most options available out of any species. Again I’ll go more into diet on the link.

For humidity you need mid 80’s 27/4 all over, this can only be achieved with a closed chamber set up, a mesh top is sucking out your heat and humidity. Foil will be more effective for now, but I would start looking into more efficient options, hopefully my thread will help.

Bio active wise, wait to see if springtails start popping up, once they do perhaps add in some isopods

Definitely get yourself some digital monitoring and a temp gun. Daily half hour soaks whilst under a year.

Give this thread below a careful read, I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, the importance of a closed chamber, lots of visual examples for everything and a really good diet list to check out

Young red foot/ cherryhead set up

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information on an effective example of a starter enclosure for a red foot/cherry head😊 Care advice for these guys is painfully behind, fb pages, YouTube, pet stores, they’re all repeating the same outdated advice, this forum is made of...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also good to familiarise with, it will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc and I encourage you to double check purchases here before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any further questions!

 

[mishmash]

A few things need to be addressed so don't get discouraged.

Lighting should be
5500K to 6500K led flood light to mimic daylight hours on a 12 to 14 hr timer.

For UVB a T5HO 12% long tube style on a 4hr timer from noon to 4pm. To give them uv.

Heating
Should be a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat controller set to maintain an average temperature of 84°F 27/7. Redfoots don't need basking lamps or cooler night temperature. Redfoots burrow into the substrate to regulate their body temperature.

Humidity
Mid 80's is the goal.
Is best achieved with a closed chamber enclosure. affordability wise you can achieve this by purchasing a small greenhouse tent that is big enough to cover your enclosure.

Substrate
Make sure it it orchid bark from a fir tree and not pine. Or if you so choose you can use Coco coir (it's messy) upper layer needs to be dry lower layer needs to be damp not soaking in water. This will help with humidity.

Feeding and water
Water dish should be a terracotta saucer the food dish can be the same or a piece of slate. (I personally use terracotta saucers for both to contain the mess)

Redfoots can eat a large variety of things.
They can have To name a few things.
collard greens,
mustard greens,
bac choy
endive
Carrot
Radicchio
Papaya
Mango
Arugula
Hibiscus
Hard boiled egg
Non seasoned boiled chicken breast
Occasionally some mushroom.
Also it helps with digestion if you chop up the food into smaller pieces also prevents choking.

Bioactive tank
Yes you can have that. You will naturally get springtails in the enclosure and you can add some isopods to help keep it clean in there.

Soaking the tortoise
Daily for 15 to 30 minutes. In warm water you will have to change it out a few times to keep the bath warm. This is where the tortoise will poop and pee.


Here is some pictures of my enclosure and current temperature and humidity readings.

Also @Littleredfootbigredheart will be along to add more info.

View attachment 380051View attachment 380052View attachment 380053View attachment 380054View attachment 380055

Thanks !
I will take this all into consideration
Whats this cool app you are using ?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thanks !
I will take this all into consideration
Whats this cool app you are using ?

I believe he has smart meters in his enclosure, I include examples of those in my link too! They’re very handy and send all environmental data to your smartphone

 

[mojo_1]

Thanks !
I will take this all into consideration
Whats this cool app you are using ?

My sensors are Sensor Push

Temperature/Humidity Sensor by SensorPush for iPhone/Android. Water Resistant, Made in USA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PKWPKM2?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

SensorPush G1 WiFi/Ethernet Gateway. Receive Data/Alerts from Anywhere via Internet. No Monthly Fee. Unlimited History. Developed/Supported/Hosted in USA. iPhone/Android App/Web Dashboard/Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N17RWWV?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Sorry I don't have Canada links