How big will my red foot get?

[Sophie and Darwin]

Hi all I have had my red footed tortoise Darwin since April last year, at best guess we believed him to be between 1 and 2 years old when we got him. He has grown alot in the past year and I love it but now I'm worrying his vivarium won't be big enough for him much longer and wondering how big I should make the next one for him. At the moment he has a 6 foot by 2 foot viv and he is currently between 6-7 inches long. Any advice is welcomed thanks xx

 

[stojanovski92113]

What a beautiful redfoot you have!! My largest redfoot is near 12 inches. They can get bigger, but I don't think too much more. What's recommended on the forum for an enclosure size is a 4x8. I'm in the works for a much larger tort enclosure myself. I would recommend a different water bowl, only because those are not very safe for torts. They can flip on their backs and drown. They sell those water dishes because they make $$$ at petstores. I would recommend a flat saucer/terra cotta dish. Also what kind of lighting do you use? I hope not coil bulbs, they can be very damaging to your torts eyes. Before I joined the forum last year, I was already never a fan of coil bulbs, heat rocks/mats, and the water dish you have. I learned on the forum, many people here feel the same. Hopefully someone with more experience will help you with any questions you need

 

[HLogic]

A temporary [winter] indoor enclosure for the size your tortoise is now should be no smaller than 4' x 8'. Ideally, an outdoor enclosure of 200 square feet or more (larger is better) should be provided for warm weather. You can expect relatively rapid growth to about 12 - 14 inches after which growth will likely slow substantially. They don't often grow larger than 16" but it has been known to happen...and they continue to grow for as long as they live - which can be quite some time!

As a guess, I would say you have a female Venezuelan (Guyana Shield) Red-footed tort. The sex can be better determined with a picture of the rear half of the plastron (bottom) of the tort.

 

[Sophie and Darwin]

Stojanovski92113- thank you ah okay I didn't realise that, it is very shallow compared to him though, he has flipped in it before and it doesn't reach his head. No coil bulb for darwin no it's a long uvb 5% bulb I think. Needs replacing soon. Thank you for the advice.
Hlogic - thank you I will keep that in mind, unfortunately I live in the UK and it's far too cold for darwin outside pretty much all year round oh wow thank you in will submit a picture here once I get home xx

 

[Douglas Yardley]

My 20-yr.-old Red-foot now weighs 19 lbs. and is about 14 inches long. I let her have the run of my apt., which she seems to enjoy. (My apt. has its own furnace & thermostat.) I make sure there are no plastic bags lying around and no electric cords within reach. She does tend to move the smaller articles of furniture and has caused some minor damage.

 

[Sophie and Darwin]

Awh wow sounds like tortoise heaven with a whole apartment to herself xx

 

[Sophie and Darwin]

Hlogic- this is darwins plastron

 

[HLogic]

Hlogic- this is darwins plastron

I'm sticking with "It's a girl!"

 

[cdmay]

I'm sticking with "It's a girl!"

Me too!

 

[Sophie and Darwin]

Okay thanks! does the name Darwin still suit a girl? XD x