first time tort owner, need help

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kierancunliffe

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well, ive been looking into gettin some tortoises very briefly, and ive decide between a marginated, leopard and red-foot.. well you can see what ive decided as im in this section:p
i have a few questions for you tort experts lol
1. Are red-foots ok as a first time tortoise? ( i know they like humidity high, and ive had a lizard with the same so this wont be a problem for me)
2. how do you keep tortoises from pyramiding?
3. The setup i have planned is a large plastic container, with
- air holes round the side.. no lid ontop ( its about 16'' high), fine 'orchid bark' as substrate, a 5.0 UV bulb which is 24'' inch long, and a heat lamp clamped onto the side with a 100W bulb in( on a stat obviously).
4. I know this sounds stupid but.. ive never really dealt with tortoises before, and i know with snakes they cant have a large enclosure as a hatchling due to feeling intimadated and stressed etc-is this the case with torts or?
thanks for the help guys!:)
 

Yvonne G

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Hi kierancunliffe:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Everything sounds fine except the light. Get a MVB instead...
 

kierancunliffe

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maggie3fan said:
Everything sounds fine except the light. Get a MVB instead...

but how can I be sure that it will get the right temp becuase you can't put an MVB on a stat can you? And I'm from england, near manchester and liverpool:)
 

Madkins007

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kierancunliffe said:
well, ive been looking into gettin some tortoises very briefly, and ive decide between a marginated, leopard and red-foot.. well you can see what ive decided as im in this section:p
i have a few questions for you tort experts lol
1. Are red-foots ok as a first time tortoise? ( i know they like humidity high, and ive had a lizard with the same so this wont be a problem for me)
2. how do you keep tortoises from pyramiding?
3. The setup i have planned is a large plastic container, with
- air holes round the side.. no lid ontop ( its about 16'' high), fine 'orchid bark' as substrate, a 5.0 UV bulb which is 24'' inch long, and a heat lamp clamped onto the side with a 100W bulb in( on a stat obviously).
4. I know this sounds stupid but.. ive never really dealt with tortoises before, and i know with snakes they cant have a large enclosure as a hatchling due to feeling intimadated and stressed etc-is this the case with torts or?
thanks for the help guys!:)

1. Red-foots are great torts. They are fine for relative newbies as long as you can manage the environment correctly.

2. There are several schools of thought on this. I subscribe to the idea mentioned by Andy Highfield (tortoisetrust.org) that pyramiding is mostly due to poor bone density in the first year. From what I can see, this is best combated by a good diet and good overall cares starting from the egg. We know that humidity plays a role as well, but it is less clear if it is a real cure or more of a band-aid on the problem.

3 and 4. The bigger the better. Tortoise psychology is much more 'horizontal' than snake psychology is. You will want a good hide or two, and it is a good idea to break up space with things like plants and hills, but otherwise, they like room to move- although they often spend much of their spare time hiding.

An open-top habitat is tough to keep properly humidified, and you will want some sort of provision for vitamin D- natural sunlight, UVB light, or vitamin supplements.

There are articles on all on my site- http://www.tortoiselibrary.com or at places like http://www.tortoisetrust.org, etc.

There is also a more European-centered site at shelledwarrior.org (I think is the address) that can offer help with locally available options.
 

HarleyK

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IMO I think redfoots are ok for noobies...in fact I think they are great for anyone who really wants to take good care of them. I think it's great that you are doing research beforehand and it makes it more fun I think!

Anyways I think the orchid bark is great (I use that) and I also add that with some moss found at Lowes/home improvement stores. One thing I wish someone told me before getting a redfoot is just keeping an eye on the humidity is crucial. I mist whenever I can and I make sure the moss is damp. This all takes a lot of time if you add it up but I enjoy it....it also depends on where you live also.
 
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