F1 help

[Kaijusaurus]

I got two red foot tortoises on my 10th birthday, pretty young right? They were taken care of pretty well the first 2 years, and I became careless like most children with pets and stopped taking care of them so my dad ended up taking care of them most of the time, lately I've been taking responsibility of them and I really don't think they've gotten everything they've needed, I'm going to start applying for work and hopefully get a job so I can buy everything they need without being told "They're fine". During the summer they stay in a large pen with shade cloth over it outside, but we have to bring them in for the colder temperatures. I was thinking maybe we could use a large kiddie pool and put substrate and everything else in there? I would like some opinions on this. I'd also like to know what kind of lights we will need for them. Their main diet consists of mustard greens, endives, and romain lettuce, and sometimes mealworms.
This is the smaller one, Flame, he has pyramids like crazy, and a strange dip in his shell

This is the bigger one, Scarlett, she isn't as bad, but still has pyramids.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's a good place to start your education, and it will give you some tips on indoor housing too:

Tortoise Library

They've been kept too dry. Think about South America where they're from. Very jungle-like, moist, warm, humid with lots of plants. It might be hard to set up an indoor habitat that's big enough for them. What most of us do with the larger animals is have them outside in some sort of heated structure.

A kiddy swimming pool, one for each tortoise, would probably be big enough to get you through the winter. Add some substrate (orchid bark, cypress mulch, coco coir, even clean dirt), some plants, a waterer and a hiding place. A good UVB light will cost you about $50. I like these light stands made by Zoo Med:

Sometimes you can find it in a pet store, but I get mine from amazon.com.

Here's a link to an indoor habitat for ONE RF tortoise:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heres-dales-new-enclosure-picture-heavy.11023/

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @Kaijusaurus and a very warm welcome to the forum?

Please give your torts daily soaks in warm water so as to stop the pyramiding where it is. And make sure there's enough HUMIDITY.

Read the "Beginners Mistakes" Thread and the care sheets and ask any question when in need of help.

 

[Kaijusaurus]

Thank you! Is there a certain heat lamp and UVB light I should get? My Bearded Dragon has a Reptisun 10.0, should I get this light for them?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heres-dales-new-enclosure-picture-heavy.11023/

 

[Kaijusaurus]

Here's a good place to start your education, and it will give you some tips on indoor housing too:

Tortoise Library

They've been kept too dry. Think about South America where they're from. Very jungle-like, moist, warm, humid with lots of plants. It might be hard to set up an indoor habitat that's big enough for them. What most of us do with the larger animals is have them outside in some sort of heated structure.

A kiddy swimming pool, one for each tortoise, would probably be big enough to get you through the winter. Add some substrate (orchid bark, cypress mulch, coco coir, even clean dirt), some plants, a waterer and a hiding place. A good UVB light will cost you about $50. I like these light stands made by Zoo Med:

Sometimes you can find it in a pet store, but I get mine from amazon.com.

Here's a link to an indoor habitat for ONE RF tortoise:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heres-dales-new-enclosure-picture-heavy.11023/

Thank you! Is there a certain heat lamp and UVB light I should get? My Bearded Dragon has a Reptisun 10.0, should I get this light for them?

 

[Yvonne G]

If your Reptisun 10.0 is this one:

then yes, that's ok.

If you want heat and UVB in the same bulb, get a Mercury Vapor Bulb. This is what I buy:



Either one is fine.

In fact, I like to use the tube type fluorescent bulbs for the forest type tortoises, then diffuse the light with lots of plants.