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Anyfoot

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10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
Oh for Pete's sake!!!!!!! Where the heck have you been? We've missed you. And I want to know how that beautiful redfoot building has been working out for you.
😂. I’ve been good. My tort house is still good. Indoor and outdoor. I have too many torts as a result of the indoor area. I’m now and have been for a few yrs now digging up nests and destroying eggs before they start developing. In a nutshell I think I created the perfect breeding ground in the northern hemisphere 😂.
Yvonne, are you well my dear?
 

Littleredfootbigredheart

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Joined
Dec 28, 2023
Messages
7,679
Location (City and/or State)
UK
@Anyfoot you don’t know me because I joined long after you were last active, but I was shown your incredible build when first joining and absolutely blown away!! I have a family member who owns a red foot, he got her years before we all met, naively not realising at the time the space she’d need, and was given typical terrible advice from the store she came from😣
We’re from the uk too and after sticking around on this forum, got her the upgrade she needed on the largest scale we can currently provide. Your habit is something I can only dream of creating! It’s so wonderful to see you posting on the forum again!!

Don’t suppose you have any up to date photos of the enclosure?😃
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
@Anyfoot you don’t know me because I joined long after you were last active, but I was shown your incredible build when first joining and absolutely blown away!! I have a family member who owns a red foot, he got her years before we all met, naively not realising at the time the space she’d need, and was given typical terrible advice from the store she came from😣
We’re from the uk too and after sticking around on this forum, got her the upgrade she needed on the largest scale we can currently provide. Your habit is something I can only dream of creating! It’s so wonderful to see you posting on the forum again!!

Don’t suppose you have any up to date photos of the enclosure?😃
I’ll get some photos for you. It’s pretty much the same. But a learnt not to put plants in. They just eat everything and your on a hiding to nothing with plants. Where abouts in the U.K. are you?
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
I’ll get some photos for you. It’s pretty much the same. But a learnt not to put plants in. They just eat everything and your on a hiding to nothing with plants. Where abouts in the U.K. are you?
Make sure you feed protein to Redfoots. It’s an essential part of their diet. I used to give 1 pinky per wk to babies. As they get older I feed chicks, dog biscuits or cat food. Most cringe at this. But it’s needed. Slugs are a very good protein intake. Mine find them out on damp days and gorge on them. Worms also. Natural is better than dog or cat food.
 

Littleredfootbigredheart

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Joined
Dec 28, 2023
Messages
7,679
Location (City and/or State)
UK
I’ll get some photos for you. It’s pretty much the same. But a learnt not to put plants in. They just eat everything and your on a hiding to nothing with plants. Where abouts in the U.K. are you?
Fair enough, nice to hear it’s holding up well! Not surprised as it was clearly built so well to last. I feel you on the plants! Ours likes to sample😂I’ve placed some in areas she can’t reach, but I imagine it’s harder having a group to contend with lol. We’re East Midlands😊

Make sure you feed protein to Redfoots. It’s an essential part of their diet. I used to give 1 pinky per wk to babies. As they get older I feed chicks, dog biscuits or cat food. Most cringe at this. But it’s needed. Slugs are a very good protein intake. Mine find them out on damp days and gorge on them. Worms also. Natural is better than dog or cat food.
Our Squirt always gets a weekly rotation of protein🥰
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
Fair enough, nice to hear it’s holding up well! Not surprised as it was clearly built so well to last. I feel you on the plants! Ours likes to sample😂I’ve placed some in areas she can’t reach, but I imagine it’s harder having a group to contend with lol. We’re East Midlands😊


Our Squirt always gets a weekly rotation of protein🥰
I’ve found they won’t eat cheese plants if your enclosure is big enough for those. But they eat almost anything else. A funny story when I first built my enclosure, stupidly I bought loads of plants from ikea. Put them all in the enclosure. This in itself was a bad move, there could have been anything on those plants. Anyway I planted them all, came to the enclosure the day after and all plants by one had been eaten. Absolute fortune gone over night. All torts were fine. Point is, they will destroy almost anything. I have plenty of fruit trees in outdoor enclosure, they strip the foliage. I have oxalis plants and they destroy them. No I’ll health in over 10 yrs.
I’m now of the opinion if they eat it it’s ok to eat. Not had a tort die of poisoning from a plant yet.
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
@Anyfoot you don’t know me because I joined long after you were last active, but I was shown your incredible build when first joining and absolutely blown away!! I have a family member who owns a red foot, he got her years before we all met, naively not realising at the time the space she’d need, and was given typical terrible advice from the store she came from😣
We’re from the uk too and after sticking around on this forum, got her the upgrade she needed on the largest scale we can currently provide. Your habit is something I can only dream of creating! It’s so wonderful to see you posting on the forum again!!

Don’t suppose you have any up to date photos of the enclosure?😃
Your tortoise will harden up around 5 months old. Between 4 to 6 months guaranteed. When I mean harden off. When they hatch they are soft. Fontanels are soft. At 1 yr old they are hard. The carapace and plastron will harden. So somewhere between hatching and 1 yr old they harden off. Take it from me this is usually around 5 months old. When they harden, shortly after this is where pyramiding can start. Because they grow on needing protein to maintain smooth growth. What we all do is the mistake of adding protein at 6 months old. It’s too late. Feed protein when young and they will go through the officiation period at around 5 months and maintain smooth growth. You can not catch up with protein at 5 months old. It’s too late.
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
Make sure you feed protein to Redfoots. It’s an essential part of their diet. I used to give 1 pinky per wk to babies. As they get older I feed chicks, dog biscuits or cat food. Most cringe at this. But it’s needed. Slugs are a very good protein intake. Mine find them out on damp days and gorge on them. Worms also. Natural is better than dog or cat food.
@Anyfoot you don’t know me because I joined long after you were last active, but I was shown your incredible build when first joining and absolutely blown away!! I have a family member who owns a red foot, he got her years before we all met, naively not realising at the time the space she’d need, and was given typical terrible advice from the store she came from😣
We’re from the uk too and after sticking around on this forum, got her the upgrade she needed on the largest scale we can currently provide. Your habit is something I can only dream of creating! It’s so wonderful to see you posting on the forum again!!

Don’t suppose you have any up to date photos of the enclosure?😃
I think I just answered to someone else’s post 😂. Good to be back.
 

Littleredfootbigredheart

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2023
Messages
7,679
Location (City and/or State)
UK
I’ve found they won’t eat cheese plants if your enclosure is big enough for those. But they eat almost anything else. A funny story when I first built my enclosure, stupidly I bought loads of plants from ikea. Put them all in the enclosure. This in itself was a bad move, there could have been anything on those plants. Anyway I planted them all, came to the enclosure the day after and all plants by one had been eaten. Absolute fortune gone over night. All torts were fine. Point is, they will destroy almost anything. I have plenty of fruit trees in outdoor enclosure, they strip the foliage. I have oxalis plants and they destroy them. No I’ll health in over 10 yrs.
I’m now of the opinion if they eat it it’s ok to eat. Not had a tort die of poisoning from a plant yet.
Ooo that’s good to know thank you!! Haha yes I’m so paranoid about store plants and too impatient to quarantine them, so I went the bespoke route and ordered from a tortoise website, I got the whole shebang and doubled up knowing some wouldn’t survive squirts curiosity/trampling😂a few have survived so far but she did have an expensive banquet on me🤣to my surprise our prayer plant is probably doing the best so far, she doesn’t fuss with it and it’s in a corner so she doesn’t bother climbing over it.

I have an endless supply of spider plants so I tend to put those in and play survival of the fittest😂
 

Littleredfootbigredheart

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2023
Messages
7,679
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Your tortoise will harden up around 5 months old. Between 4 to 6 months guaranteed. When I mean harden off. When they hatch they are soft. Fontanels are soft. At 1 yr old they are hard. The carapace and plastron will harden. So somewhere between hatching and 1 yr old they harden off. Take it from me this is usually around 5 months old. When they harden, shortly after this is where pyramiding can start. Because they grow on needing protein to maintain smooth growth. What we all do is the mistake of adding protein at 6 months old. It’s too late. Feed protein when young and they will go through the officiation period at around 5 months and maintain smooth growth. You can not catch up with protein at 5 months old. It’s too late.
I think I just answered to someone else’s post 😂. Good to be back.
lol yes I believe this was for someone else! I imagine the site’s format might’ve changed slightly since you were last on, you’ll soon catch up!🥲
 

Anyfoot

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 24, 2014
Messages
6,374
Location (City and/or State)
UK Sheffield
@Anyfoot you don’t know me because I joined long after you were last active, but I was shown your incredible build when first joining and absolutely blown away!! I have a family member who owns a red foot, he got her years before we all met, naively not realising at the time the space she’d need, and was given typical terrible advice from the store she came from😣
We’re from the uk too and after sticking around on this forum, got her the upgrade she needed on the largest scale we can currently provide. Your habit is something I can only dream of creating! It’s so wonderful to see you posting on the forum again!!

Don’t suppose you have any up to date photos of the enclosure?😃
I b
lol yes I believe this was for someone else! I imagine the site’s format might’ve changed slightly since you were last on, you’ll soon catch up!🥲
Yeah I answered in the wrong thread. I need to spend some time looking through the forum again. Need to rid all the pop up adverts too. 😂
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Aug 21, 2023
Messages
5,293
Location (City and/or State)
Cyprus
I b

Yeah I answered in the wrong thread. I need to spend some time looking through the forum again. Need to rid all the pop up adverts too. 😂
Glad you're back! I'm one of the admirers of your redfoot enclosures :) And have learnt much from your older posts.
 

TammyJ

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
9,261
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
Your tortoise will harden up around 5 months old. Between 4 to 6 months guaranteed. When I mean harden off. When they hatch they are soft. Fontanels are soft. At 1 yr old they are hard. The carapace and plastron will harden. So somewhere between hatching and 1 yr old they harden off. Take it from me this is usually around 5 months old. When they harden, shortly after this is where pyramiding can start. Because they grow on needing protein to maintain smooth growth. What we all do is the mistake of adding protein at 6 months old. It’s too late. Feed protein when young and they will go through the officiation period at around 5 months and maintain smooth growth. You can not catch up with protein at 5 months old. It’s too late.
This statement about Redfoot babies needing protein to maintain smooth shell growth is totally new to me. I have been informed and have always heard from certain very experienced members here, that pyramiding is caused by growing in dry conditions. I don't want to start an argument here, but new members will be getting confused 🤔?
 

Alex and the Redfoot

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Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
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Messages
5,293
Location (City and/or State)
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Pyramiding is a little bit more complicated than pure humidity thing.

It's extremely hard (if at all possible) to raise a smooth tortoise under artificial heating and lightning in dry conditions. However, if you terribly mess with the diet - you can get pyramided tortoise even in high humidity environment but that's gonna be the least of your problems. E.g. wrong diet results in fast growing bones with very low calcification and density - even minor pressure from keratin will deform it.

At the same time, I'm a bit confused because I thought that high protein intake results in faster growth.
 

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