Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
No problem! Hopefully it’s helped give you some ideas
Common keeping errors
- Thread starter Littleredfootbigredheart
- Start date
Wow, wow, and wow again! I did so many of these in the beginning of my tortoise parenting! So glad I found this site. This is wonderful and I know it took a great deal of time to put together! Thank you!
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Aw I'm glad you like it! Took a few years of being on the forum to truly grasp how common all these things are, it was very satisfying to put together and I’m glad it’s helping people
E-kamelife
New Member
Amazing! There are a lot of pictures. It's easy to find out products not to buy. So we can catch up quickly. Thank you!
Nsav
Well-Known Member
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 things to avoid, with a brief reasoning why, I encourage anyone to do more in depth research on this forum into any of the points raised if your interested in doing so
First up, inappropriate housing
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Incorrect temperatures
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Bad diets
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Incorrect/dangerous equipment
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Bad substrates
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The wrong source of purchase/information
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Not enough soaks
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Free roaming
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Dangerous cohabitation
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View attachment 377331
View attachment 377332
Bad water dishes
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Dangerous animal interaction
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please do feel free to add any you think I’ve missed below!
This is real
this is really nicely done and easy to follow. Thank you!!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 things to avoid, with a brief reasoning why, I encourage anyone to do more in depth research on this forum into any of the points raised if your interested in doing so
First up, inappropriate housing
View attachment 377308
Incorrect temperatures
View attachment 377309
Bad diets
View attachment 377310
View attachment 377325
Incorrect/dangerous equipment
View attachment 377311
View attachment 377312
View attachment 377313
View attachment 377314
View attachment 377315
View attachment 377316
View attachment 377317
Bad substrates
View attachment 377318
View attachment 377319
View attachment 377320
View attachment 377321
View attachment 377322
View attachment 377323
View attachment 377324
The wrong source of purchase/information
View attachment 377326
View attachment 377327
Not enough soaks
View attachment 377328
Free roaming
View attachment 377329
Dangerous cohabitation
View attachment 377330
View attachment 377331
View attachment 377332
Bad water dishes
View attachment 377333
Dangerous animal interaction
View attachment 377337
View attachment 377336
please do feel free to add any you think I’ve missed below!
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
TheTortoiseKing
Active Member
What would you suggest for a enclosure
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
It’s an adult Russian you have correct? Or was it a baby? You could look into shelving units that have deep enough sides, or maybe make your own base from pallet collars or a planter, obviously those options don’t have a base but as long as you have it lined you can place the frame on a table, the liner will stop anything coming through
TheTortoiseKing
Active Member
A adult
mojo_1
Well-Known Member
Minimum size of 4'x8' for enclosure size.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Yeah this is the sizing to aim for, you can get away with slightly below if they have a larger outdoor enclosure they spend the majority of the year, but still go for a decent size
Very Helpful!!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 things to avoid, with a brief reasoning why, I encourage anyone to do more in depth research on this forum into any of the points raised if your interested in doing so
First up, inappropriate housing
View attachment 377308
Incorrect temperatures
View attachment 377309
Bad diets
View attachment 377310
View attachment 377325
Incorrect/dangerous equipment
View attachment 377311
View attachment 377312
View attachment 377313
View attachment 377314
View attachment 377315
View attachment 377316
View attachment 377317
Bad substrates
View attachment 377318
View attachment 377319
View attachment 377320
View attachment 377321
View attachment 377322
View attachment 377323
View attachment 377324
The wrong source of purchase/information
View attachment 377326
View attachment 377327
Not enough soaks
View attachment 377328
Free roaming
View attachment 377329
Dangerous cohabitation
View attachment 377330
View attachment 377331
View attachment 377332
Bad water dishes
View attachment 377333
Dangerous animal interaction
View attachment 377337
View attachment 377336
please do feel free to add any you think I’ve missed below!
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Im glad you think so
Skittles123
Member
Hi and thanks for the great post. Can you please advise what kind of light as I was using the zoomed brand for UVA and UVB. Please and thanks.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 things to avoid, with a brief reasoning why, I encourage anyone to do more in depth research on this forum into any of the points raised if your interested in doing so
First up, inappropriate housing
View attachment 377308
Incorrect temperatures
View attachment 377309
Bad diets
View attachment 377310
View attachment 377325
Incorrect/dangerous equipment
View attachment 377311
View attachment 377312
View attachment 377313
View attachment 377314
View attachment 377315
View attachment 377316
View attachment 377317
Bad substrates
View attachment 377318
View attachment 377319
View attachment 377320
View attachment 377321
View attachment 377322
View attachment 377323
View attachment 377324
The wrong source of purchase/information
View attachment 377326
View attachment 377327
Not enough soaks
View attachment 377328
Free roaming
View attachment 377329
Dangerous cohabitation
View attachment 377330
View attachment 377331
View attachment 377332
Bad water dishes
View attachment 377333
Dangerous animal interaction
View attachment 377337
View attachment 377336
please do feel free to add any you think I’ve missed below!
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
You will want separate lights for UVA and UVB. I use Arcadia floodlight bulb for UVA (heat) and Arcadia T5 Desert 12% for UVB. You have a leopard, so you should get away with these same choices plus additional heating like CHE for night heat.
A small correction:
1. Incandescent heat lamps don't output any significant UVA, but output some visible light and IR (infrared).
2. All UVB lamps usually output UVA so you can't really separate one from another. Fluorescent lamps (be it tube or compact) don't give out significant heat (IR).
3. You need separate sources of IR (heat) and UV (UVB and UVA) to better mimic sunlight spectrum changes during the day and have better control over intensities of IR and UV. Hence, the recommendation to use incandescent heat lamp and T5 UVB tube.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Thought this might be good to post here!
bradlee21887
New Member
I disagree with some of this. There is no problem housing multiple redfoots together, and even at different sizes. A baby with an adult is a no no, but a 2 year old with a 5 year old is fine. You'll find the babies learn a lot from the older ones and snuggle them. Redfoots are one of the only species that do well like this. They are found in the wild doing the same thing.
The wooden houses are fine, been using them for a long time. You just put in a heat sensor PLUG to turn the power on and off the heater when it hits the desired temperature, put a humidity sensor PLUG that does the same, and a smart plug to turn off and on the uvb at sunset and sunrise.
The foggers are fine to use. Just keep it out of the enclosure and run the hose to the top pointing down. Put a dish below the house in the enclosure to catch any drips and put some plastic sheeting over the mesh screen up to the uvb and heater units. Keeps humidity fine using reptibark and other substrates at 80%+ and 80+ degrees. Been doing it for years.
Once you get your sensors set up right, you never have to touch it and it's all automated. If you follow this, you'll have no problems and no pyramiding. Just keep the bottom of the fogger clean and dump the dish of the water drops. Don't use that dish for water, use a porcelain heavy dish with tall sides they can't move or climb into.
The wooden houses are fine, been using them for a long time. You just put in a heat sensor PLUG to turn the power on and off the heater when it hits the desired temperature, put a humidity sensor PLUG that does the same, and a smart plug to turn off and on the uvb at sunset and sunrise.
The foggers are fine to use. Just keep it out of the enclosure and run the hose to the top pointing down. Put a dish below the house in the enclosure to catch any drips and put some plastic sheeting over the mesh screen up to the uvb and heater units. Keeps humidity fine using reptibark and other substrates at 80%+ and 80+ degrees. Been doing it for years.
Once you get your sensors set up right, you never have to touch it and it's all automated. If you follow this, you'll have no problems and no pyramiding. Just keep the bottom of the fogger clean and dump the dish of the water drops. Don't use that dish for water, use a porcelain heavy dish with tall sides they can't move or climb into.
Last edited:
Hello and welcome! Can you share a link to a paper/article/iNaturalist observation/etc where such baby redfoots behaviour in the wild is documented? I know about their "gaze following" behaviour and that they can "swarm" the food source (e.g. carrion) but haven't seen reports of "caring about youth".
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