Food for thought?

[Bwaterford]

So my baby cherry head red foot tortoise is 6 months old. I have been informed they should have protein as part of their recommended diet. What list of types of protein works the best per there age, please feel free to list.
Under a year, cover a year, 5 year plus and so on.
I have only fed boiled eggs so far. I was just wondering when I can introduce more types and exactly what sources as I have heard everything from bugs? To pinky mice? Small fish? Slugs and Snails? Ect.
Any advice is welcome. I appreciate the Do's And Don'ts
Thank you,

 

[TammyJ]

I used to give my Redfoots boiled egg, cut in half, in the shell. Also I sometimes gave them a good brand dry dog food pellets, soaked first and added to the other food about once per week. They went for it! Boiled unseasoned chicken meat, sardines in water. Pink mice. This is from a few months to six years, so I don't think the age matters too much. Something they really liked was Opuntia cactus pads, the fresh young pads that they can easily bite into. Other plant foods: pumpkin leaves and flowers, purslane, okra, mango, banana.

 

[TammyJ]

By the way - welcome to the forum! When you have a chance, some pictures would be great.

 

[Bwaterford]

I used to give my Redfoots boiled egg, cut in half, in the shell. Also I sometimes gave them a good brand dry dog food pellets, soaked first and added to the other food about once per week. They went for it! Boiled unseasoned chicken meat, sardines in water. Pink mice. This is from a few months to six years, so I don't think the age matters too much. Something they really liked was Opuntia cactus pads, the fresh young pads that they can easily bite into. Other plant foods: pumpkin leaves and flowers, purslane, okra, mango, banana.

I feed all greens he can have, I mix it up daily. I feed all fruits and vegetables he can have as well as cactus, I mix that up as well. I add calcium and do his soaks daily also, as well as provide the right heating, UV and humidity.
I was just wanting to see what was working for everyone else in the protein department.
I am also wanting to add flowers to his diet. I have the packaged ones, do I add water to them. And I have several hibiscus I keep in pots with the big red flowers..... can I feed him fresh?
Also I have the purple and white variety We call here in Ohio A Rose Of Sharron..... I heard they can eat those as well?
Your thoughts on that?
Thank you

 

[Bwaterford]

This is my little guy, I've only had him a week, and still looking for a good name....

 

[Bwaterford]

By the way - welcome to the forum! When you have a chance, some pictures would be great.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! You have a gorgeous baby there🥰

Protein wise we feed ours thawed out mice from the reptile store or a small portion of steamed chicken breast or some egg.
I’ve seen folks recommend some cooked shrimp, mealworms, earthworms, etc, there’s quite a few options🙂

I am also wanting to add flowers to his diet. I have the packaged ones, do I add water to them. And I have several hibiscus I keep in pots with the big red flowers..... can I feed him fresh?
Also I have the purple and white variety We call here in Ohio A Rose Of Sharron..... I heard they can eat those as well?

Flowers are a great addition! With the dry packaged ones, yes I’d let them soak in water for a few minutes to make them more appetising, they love fresh flowers that are safe to feed like hibiscus!😊if you’ve brought yours from a regular store, be sure to have washed the roots of the soil that it came with, plant in your own safe organic soil, and wait for 6 months or so before it’s safe to eat. I’ll have to look up that other one you mentioned🙂

This website might help you with some of the dos and don’ts feeding wise and is generally quite handy

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Whilst you’re here, I don’t suppose you’d mind including a little info on how you’re keeping your baby? It’s super helpful to know with new members🥰

What are your temperatures inside your enclosure day and night?
What are you humidity levels?
What kind of lighting/heating is it you’re using? Packaging photos are good if you have any😊
What kind of indoor uv are you using?

Any additional information you’re up for sharing would be wonderful and/or a photo of your full set up?🐢💚

 

[wellington]

@ZEROPILOT has had them for a very long time. He can best give a good list.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They can eat just about anything that is edible to humans.
Seriously
I'd ad a little wet cat food, raw chicken liver, raw beef, etc as early as a few months old as a treat.
Adults would do well at 5-10% protein. Etc.
Fruit is also important and can be 60% of the diet.
Variety will get you good results. Mix things up. Redfoot have the largest menu of any other species that I'm aware of. Don't stress about a certain percentage or ratio. (Even though ive just used that in my suggestion) Just mix it up. There are probably ten things you can feed right now in your kitchen. In your refrigerator or growing out in the yard.
Take advantage of it. It's probably the easiest part of keeping the species.
It looks like I might've missed your introduction.
Welcome to the forum!

 

[TammyJ]

There you go 😀. Zeropilot is our Resident Redfoot Whiz.

 

[Bwaterford]

Hello and welcome! You have a gorgeous baby there🥰

Protein wise we feed ours thawed out mice from the reptile store or a small portion of steamed chicken breast or some egg.
I’ve seen folks recommend some cooked shrimp, mealworms, earthworms, etc, there’s quite a few options🙂

Flowers are a great addition! With the dry packaged ones, yes I’d let them soak in water for a few minutes to make them more appetising, they love fresh flowers that are safe to feed like hibiscus!😊if you’ve brought yours from a regular store, be sure to have washed the roots of the soil that it came with, plant in your own safe organic soil, and wait for 6 months or so before it’s safe to eat. I’ll have to look up that other one you mentioned🙂

This website might help you with some of the dos and don’ts feeding wise and is generally quite handy

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Whilst you’re here, I don’t suppose you’d mind including a little info on how you’re keeping your baby? It’s super helpful to know with new members🥰

What are your temperatures inside your enclosure day and night?
What are you humidity levels?
What kind of lighting/heating is it you’re using? Packaging photos are good if you have any😊
What kind of indoor uv are you using?

Any additional information you’re up for sharing would be wonderful and/or a photo of your full set up?🐢💚

I have a temporary set up of a 3/4 closed top, reptisoil and coconut substrate, a large shallow water dish, a very cute cave hide he loves a feeding shallow plate that I load with goodies daily. I have uv/ heat Temperature stays in the low to mid 80s day with a warmer area around 90s low....His cave is high 70s like 78..... night everything drops a little I have a heat emitter on but no light bulb or UV on.
Humidity stays day and night between 60% at night and 80s in the day.
I ordered a much bigger set up that will get me though about 2 years. I am going to have a custom one made for indoors and outdoors to use during the summer. I have a tropical plant room so that's where he will eventually have his permanent habitat made. My plants will be out of reach, his area will be 100% safe.
Any added advice welcome
Thanks

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

So my baby cherry head red foot tortoise is 6 months old. I have been informed they should have protein as part of their recommended diet. What list of types of protein works the best per there age, please feel free to list.
Under a year, cover a year, 5 year plus and so on.
I have only fed boiled eggs so far. I was just wondering when I can introduce more types and exactly what sources as I have heard everything from bugs? To pinky mice? Small fish? Slugs and Snails? Ect.
Any advice is welcome. I appreciate the Do's And Don'ts
Thank you,

For a baby redfoot I would use mostly invertebrates as a protein sources (eggs, low-fat high quality cat food and anything else mentioned above are fine from time to time). Redfoots don't see raw meat very often on the wild - so most of protein they get is from larvae, grubs, worms and so on.

Black fly soldier larvae has decent calcium to phosphorus ratio and protein content, but as all larvae is high in fats. Dubia and discoid roaches (small nymphs) - are more or less balanced in nutrition, especially when gut fed properly. Earthworms are good too, but usually too large for hatchlings (need to be chopped, yikes!).
I won't feed superworms (awful Cahosphorus ratio, high fat, very fast and large) and mealworms (bad nutrition contents). You can feed dried/frozen to avoid critters taking over the terrarium.

Store bought snails are okay if you can find smaller ones (don't feed wild-caught!).

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I have a temporary set up of a 3/4 closed top, reptisoil and coconut substrate, a large shallow water dish, a very cute cave hide he loves a feeding shallow plate that I load with goodies daily. I have uv/ heat Temperature stays in the low to mid 80s day with a warmer area around 90s low....His cave is high 70s like 78..... night everything drops a little I have a heat emitter on but no light bulb or UV on.
Humidity stays day and night between 60% at night and 80s in the day.
I ordered a much bigger set up that will get me though about 2 years. I am going to have a custom one made for indoors and outdoors to use during the summer. I have a tropical plant room so that's where he will eventually have his permanent habitat made. My plants will be out of reach, his area will be 100% safe.
Any added advice welcome
Thanks

As of temperatures, I would even out them - keep the whole enclosure in 82-86F. Nighttime temperatures - 82F. This may require to use less powerful lamps and maybe a second ceramic heat emitter on the same thermostat. Narrow temperature gradient will make humidity more consistent, higher ambient temperature will reduce basking time which is positive for smooth growth.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I have a temporary set up of a 3/4 closed top, reptisoil and coconut substrate, a large shallow water dish, a very cute cave hide he loves a feeding shallow plate that I load with goodies daily. I have uv/ heat Temperature stays in the low to mid 80s day with a warmer area around 90s low....His cave is high 70s like 78..... night everything drops a little I have a heat emitter on but no light bulb or UV on.
Humidity stays day and night between 60% at night and 80s in the day.
I ordered a much bigger set up that will get me though about 2 years. I am going to have a custom one made for indoors and outdoors to use during the summer. I have a tropical plant room so that's where he will eventually have his permanent habitat made. My plants will be out of reach, his area will be 100% safe.
Any added advice welcome
Thanks

Thanks for the additional info! Appreciate it! Glad to hear you’ve got an upgrade on the way🥰 I would definitely recommend it being 100% a closed chamber, a baby as young as yours ideally needs 80+ humidity all over 24/7, I’m going to pop some info below you’ll hopefully find helpful and can apply to your new set up😊you may know some already, but I include absolutely everything for any new members that may happen across threads💕I say red foots because their care needs are virtually the same❤️

When a hatchling, they do best in a closed chamber set up to better control the temperature and humidity, I would never recommend housing a hatchling outside of enclosed chamber.

I’m going to include some information below on examples of the correct kind of equipment to use and levels etc, hopefully it helps!

If using a light emitting heat source it should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached)on a 12 hour timer, using a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) for night heat.

However I think ceramics as a heat source are more suited to red foot’s and far less desiccating on their shells.

Red foot’s don’t necessarily need a ‘basking area’ they aren’t typically a basking species coming from the forest floor(some do though, it depends on the individual) there’s no need for a ‘cooler end’ and ‘warmer end’ with these guys, aim for an overall ambient temperature range of 80-86(82-84 being optimal)temps shouldn’t ever be going below 80 for one as young as yours both night&day.

Personally we rely on CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) as our heat source 24/7, on thermostats, they’re a non light emitting bulb and I think you’ll find it easier switching to these as your heat source to keep your temps nice and stable. When using multiple hang them equal distance to distribute the heat more evenly.

Dome fittings will help project the heat down, but don’t rely on the clamps that come with them, always hang them securely.

You can then hang some ambient lighting on a 12hour timer, it can being either a led strip or a led bulb in 5000k-65000k colour range. Create lots of shady areas with safe plants and hides, red foots don’t like things too bright.

Any indoor UV needs to be provided as a t5 tube fluorescent light, the compact or all in one bulbs either are too harsh creating uv hot spots that can damage their eyes, or are far too weak. I’ve attached the brands to go for and examples of stands to mount them. The Arcadia comes with the reflector fitting, the reptisun needs it ordering separately.

However if you’re able to get them out for a few hours of natural sunlight daily, don’t worry about the uv. Just make sure it’s not too warm and they’re in a secure run with lots of shade.

Your little one will need around 80%+ humidity 24/7 to thrive, the right substrate and a good closed chamber set up goes a long way in making this work. You’ll constantly struggle with an open top.

We personally keep our red foot on orchid bark, we focus on the under layer of the substrate being nice and damp to create the humidity, then the top layer being dry, the trouble with constantly spraying is, one, it can only lasts so long, and two, keeping that top layer constantly damp will leave them more prone to a fungal infection, avoid misters/foggers for this reason too, the humidifiers can also make the air too wet leading to respiratory issues. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry because you don’t want dusty substrate, we mix it now n then, which also helps gives a humidity boost without extra water🙂to maintain our humidity we simply pour some lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not loads! Just enough to dampen the whole under layer. You can keep an eye on your monitors&substrate to do the pours as and when needed, which in a good closed chamber set up, you shouldn’t have to do loads😊

Substrate wise never add any kind of moss, that’s something some stores think nothing of, but it can actually cause lethal impactions.

Don’t use any top soils or anything mixed with sand. I’d get rid of the reptisoil as that can have it mixed in.

Safe substrate options are coco coir, damp and packed down by hand as a base, with orchid bark(fir not pine) on top, or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/ forest floor on their own.

Size wise I’d generally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have, this tortoise full grown is going to need a large, secure outdoor space if your climate is good for it, if not, a room sized enclosure is going to be needed as an adult. A good cost effective closed chamber set up would be a greenhouse style enclosure by making your own large base out of a safe material, or even use a garden bed frame! For both these options line with some cheap pond liner, the lining going up the sides too and make sure those sides are high enough. Then simply secure a greenhouse topper on top, if you can’t find an exact fit, place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d place some lining under the cover and base though to avoid condensate getting on your floor.
If you’ve already ordered one, hopefully the advice can still apply😊a 4x2 or 4x4 foot will last you until they’re bigger👍

Some people even hang their lighting and heat from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire around for the height you need(check with a temperature gun/add thermostats, roughly 18-21 inches for the uv) and secure with cable ties and chains. Or you could make your own stands out of safe timber, again I’ll attach some pics.

For a water dish a large terracotta saucer, sitting flush with the substrate is safest, they have grip in the event the tortoise flips, most pet store options are a hazard because they lack traction😕

Id definitely recommend a temp gun to make sure your monitors are reading correctly. Have monitors that read both temp and humidity.

Ignore whatever else is in the photos in the enclosures, they’re just to give you an idea😊and ignore that some of the fittings in the pics are floodlights, ches will work great, just examples on how to hang your bulbs👍

Also as this is a closed chamber set up, the materials like the lining and cover will need time to off gas, I’d leave it all running up to a week, or until there is no odour, if there’s no smell, it’s safe for use.

Hopefully you find some of this useful and can take on board the equipment side on things, wishing you and your little one the best❤️