Day 4 with baby CH - normal ?

newCH

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Hello everyone,
I need to go over my first 4 days with our new baby CH "Sheldon"
Day 1 - was very active in the reptile store. The place was like a hot box,
no AC. I hand fed Sheldon lettuce, he ate and drank at home also.
Day 2 -4 all seem basicly the same. I wake up and put his lights on,
dont know what his schedule was like before, but I put fresh water &
his spring mix with shredded carrots and he eats, walks around a bit &
then finds a good corner and makes himself a little hole in the substrate & settles in.

So , eats a bit, walks a bit, sleeps a bit seems to be the schedule. Doing this several times a day. He seems to be a real good eater.

My house temp is 74, with the lights on, his house gets to the mid 80's.
We live in So. FL so normal humidity is in the 60% range, plus when I mist
his substrate that boosts it to the 80-90%.

I have been soaking him everyday. Also, I have a few questions, sorry
if they might sound stupid......
At 2.5 inch SCL, can I guess to say hes like 2 months old ?
At what age can I introduce fruits ?
I haven't seen him pee yet ? Nothing visual yet, he drinks daily.
The reptile store employee said the lights should be on for 8 hrs ?
I have a ReptiBasking spot lamp 50w & Reptisun 10 mini compact fluorescent.
It that too long, or should I break it up to like two seperate 4 hour intervals since
hes so little ??
Thanks





Thanks
 

immayo

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I'd guess he's more around 4 months old but it really depends on how big he was when he hatched and how fast he's growing. Do you have any pictures? Also, you can start feeding fruits as soon as possible. As far as lighting goes you shouldn't break it into smaller increments. A tort in the wild will have light from sun up to sun down. Your little guy will sleep during the day whether the light is on or not so turning it off mid day has no added benefit.
 

newCH

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So you think 8-12 hours is ok ?
 

immayo

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Yea it's perfectly fine.
I usually turn mine on, go to work for 8hrs, then come home and leave it on so I can enjoy watching them. I have 8 redfoots raised from hatchlings and have never had an issue.
 

tortdad

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That behavior is perfectly normal.
You need to ditch that uv bulb. Compact florescent bulbs damage torts eyes. Go with a tube type florescent or a MVB
The humidity should be constant at 90 or better.
Don't rely on the house heat. Your guy should have heat of mid 80's all day and not below 80 at night. Below 80 will get him sick.

He's awful pretty

Run your lights on a timer 12 hrs a day and put your heat bulb or CHE on a thermostat set at 80.
 

tortdad

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Also. Are there white spots on the bottom shell or is that from the camera flash? Redfoots are prone to shell rot.
 

newCH

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No, there are no white spots, that is shine because i took the pic while he was wet after a soak. I have forest floor as substrate.
 

newCH

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Do any of you keep your torts outside during the day and bring them in at night ? Thats what I would like to do in the future. I would need to design and build a raised tort environment that is predator proof first. I have part of my yard already chosen for this. The fresh sunshine would be so much better than lighting, but I know my guy is little for now. I live very close the zoo & I have seen redfoots in
the childrens petting area, along with bunnies too. I also saw on the news how some people turn them into the zoo, since they have days like twice a year where they will take in non-native species animals people dont want. That is to stop people from letting their so called pet out into the Everglades. So sad.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Hello, newCH. I'm also in South Florida. Yes. By all means make sure to let your little RF enjoy some sunshine. Also make sure that he can get out of it into some shade, like maybe under a plant. My adults live outside 24/7 unless its cold, like last night. My baby is outside for several hours every day in a semi-secure pen. Don't trust dogs around him. Make sure that you have no raccoons around. They are the #1 killers of baby torts. If there is any concern, make an outdoor pen with a heavy gauge screen top that locks. Do daily, warm water soaks in the sink or in a bowl with water about half way up to his shoulders. Inside get a reptisun 5.0 flourecent tube light. The 18" size fits into an inexpensive 18" flo. light fixture from Walmart. (Beverlys pet center in Hollywood sells the correct light tube already in the fixture) Leave it on for ten hours. You'll be able to also grow a plant or two under the light. Also at Walmart or Home Depot, buy a digital humidity gauge and thermometer combo. They're cheap at about $10 and are ten times as accurate as the dial type. As for a substrate, use a layer of orchid bark also found at Home Depot and wet it a bit. On top place a layer of pure potting soil. (No fertilizers) Also from Home depot. Under the indoor enclosure I have a 15 watt heat rope taped in a coil. The heat rope isn't very hot, but it warms the orchid bark layer and that releases water in the form of humidity, leaving the top layer of soil dry. You want humid, but dry. The coil heater is also the only form of heat that I use. The light fixture also has a small ammount. In this "closed" chamber", the heat stays in. I also have a small plastic container that "Crystal Light" drink mix came in. Inside is full of water. There is an aquarium air stone inside of it and I have an aquarium air pump and line attached. The bubbles popping also aid in humidity and on top I have a plexiglass sheet with a vent so that I can partially open or completely close the top. By the way, UV light can't pass through glass or plastic, so you'd have to attach your light INSIDE the cover or lay it across the top in a section that is not covered. I've given you MY set-up because you live nearby in an A/C house like me and have the same tortoise. This works. My temps are 79-84. My humidity is 80-99. Please don't hesitate to ask more questions. I've enclosed a photo of my baby RF indoor sleeping quarters.See the light mounted inside and down low and the vent for the fixture. He's a year old and there's still room to grow...
 

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ZEROPILOT

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More. Also visible is a stack of books behind the enclosure. (They are not part of it.) The top has a simple hinge on the back for opening and closing. I MEAN simple! It's duct tape! I leave the top propped open a bit because it gets too damp inside if left fully closed.
 

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newCH

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Thanks for your reply. At one year, how big is your tort shell size ?
I would love to see a pic of your outdoor enclosure also. I lean towards a raised outdoor enclosure to avoid any ants or small snakes that I have seen in the outdoor mulch around the yard. A hardware cloth framed top would be necessary to avoid any cats or hawks. What type of plants do you use for the outdoor enclosure. I know hibiscus are good and they can give good shade.
Thanks, love the pics and the use of the air stone.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I have hibiscus and pinto peanut in the out door pens. My baby is abiut 3.5 inches and kept in a pen in the new photo. (NOT HIM IN THE PHOTO)This pen is inside my patio. I have five pens. Three torts. This way I can rotate for ants and other maintenance.As for cats, they don't harm torts. Ants, however are a problem. Check what type of ants you have. I have the non biting "big headed" type. Absolutely no fire ants. I can also help with ant control maybe in another post.
 

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Alaskamike

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I also live in So Florida. A great place to raise torts :)
Welcome. !
@ZEROPILOT Gives great advice. Though it's cold right now (53f this AM.... Burrrrrr) most of the year the great outdoors is perfect. I find that once you've created the proper safe environment it is faily easy to maintain.
Good fortune with you little one
Mike
 

newCH

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Thats cool that you live in Sunrise, I am south of there in South Miami. This morning it was 55 degrees here. Is below 60 degress when you bring him inside ?
 

Alaskamike

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With a name like Alaska mike I would have never guessed your in Florida.
Ya... Well I spent 20+ years in Alaska before Florida- like extremes :)

I've set up outside enclosure with heated hide boxes. So really , they don't come out till the sun heats it up to over 70f at least. This winter I may have to bring them inside to eat and for soaks some days. Not sure yet. Right now it's strangely cold ( for this time of year anyway ). By Saturday it's supposed to hit 80f again.

I don't let my charges get below 70f. The younger , the more vulnerable. I would not leave a young one out below 70f. The type and size / age of your tort makes a difference

Protecting against predators as @ZEROPILOT said is important here also. My dog killed a big rat in our yard this summer. Was a shocker. Raccoons are evil too.
A raised and covered place outside can work here. But I put mine right on the ground. Here is what I've done image.jpgimage.jpg

The box is heated with a Hound Heater and stays between 82-90f no matter outside temps. Fully insulated.

Good fortune with your baby !
Mike
 
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