My red foot is 13 years old and yesterday my husband forgot to pick up the dog's food bowl and I found him (tortoise not husband) with his head and half his body in the bowl chomping away. Will this harm him? I live in rural West Wales, UK and there are no reptile vets anywhere near us. He seems to be absolutely fine.
Dog food.
- Thread starter Florrie11
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No, it won't harm him at all. Some protein once in a while is good for a RF. Dog food is one acceptable way to provide this protein.
I agree I mix in a little with my Box Turtle In door cat food
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
If it was dry kibble it might expand in the tortoises stomach.
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I love to use wet dog food on occasion to feed my Redfoot.
(My dog won't eat it)
If you're doing so outdoors, watch out for ants.
Here in south Florida, unattended dog food will find every Fire ant in the area
(My dog won't eat it)
If you're doing so outdoors, watch out for ants.
Here in south Florida, unattended dog food will find every Fire ant in the area
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No, it was wet food.
I live in West Wales so he is inside most of the time, we don't get a lot of hot sunny weather. He has an enclosure but he prefers to wander round the house and cuddle up with the dog.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Please please don’t let him roam the floors or be in direct contact with your dog, there’s soooo many terrible incidents involving dogs, you can have the friendliest most docile dog in the world who can suddenly see your tortoise as a chew toy.
As for the free roaming, we’re red foot keepers in the uk too, I know how little time they get outdoors, but they desperately need appropriate indoor spaces, the floors of our home are not appropriate living conditions for tortoises, they aren’t domesticated animals, they’re captive reptiles that can only thrive in an environment that best mimics their own. The floors of our homes is much too cool regardless of climate, which can then interfere with digestion. There’s so many potential hazards and the floor makes for very stressful living conditions. Red foots also require high humidity for life, something that cannot be achieved outside a closed set up.
Hopefully these links below will help you!
For the indoor side of things, Hopefully this thread might be be helpful, I primarily made it for folks that I’d seen with adult red foots in already very small open set ups as a means of instant improvement, not every average new member can modify entire rooms or sheds. That said, I go over a greenhouse set up here with ceramic bulbs, but a modified room/shed with RHP(s) and oil heating would be much more optimal for an adult red foot, however if you’re needing an indoor set up, perhaps follow these steps and start saving for a better future set up. This housing thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for red foots(only way to maintain the humidity you need indoors), appropriately maintaining the humidity(they are prone to shell rot so this is important! No misters or humidifiers), safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, a diet list and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers
Housing older red foot/cherryhead
Hello there! In this thread I’m going to go over an example of an appropriate indoor red foot/cherryhead enclosure. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure(especially the size these guys get!) I understand being from the uk myself, that some climate’s make it...
tortoiseforum.org
This includes different closed chambers, some work better than others, a place called Southdown aquatics make custom vivs any size
Visual inspiration
Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...
tortoiseforum.org
This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, anything indoors will need to be a closed chamber style
Enclosure inspiration
Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...
tortoiseforum.org
Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too 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
Really hope they help! Sorry it’s a lot to go over lol, but feel free to ask any further questions! We can break things down and help step by step
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I'd also warn against that.
There are just too many bad things that can happen inside the house or near a dog.
