After I buy some plants at the store and replant them how long should I wait to feed to my Redfoot? I remember reading some where that you have to wait for the pesticides to wear off or something like that...
If you're not buying organically grown plants from a store (it's much preferred you go out of your way and find an organic nursery/plant store with an organic section) I think the rule of thumb is around 2 months, but the longer the better.
If the plant you bought has been grown organically it SHOULD be good to go the day you get it. I would still probably rinse it off.
As long as you can wait. By this I mean, the best option is to be buying plants now, for next year. Unfortunately most folks don't have that kind of time. Is this a plant who would get more fertilizer from the grower? Is it a fast growing plant? Is this a plant I can place in the enclosure and keep it protected from the tortoise while it is "growing out" of the chemical usage stage? I look at the size of the tortoise, it's species, is this a plant it will graze on right away or is it something he would ignore pretty much but is there for shelter/shade. Also is this going into a well planted enclosure where the tortoise has a lot to choose from or is it a pretty barren enclosure making each plant more likely to be eaten. For instance, I know with like my cherryhead, Rojo, she seldom touches a plant in her enclosure, so I could if I needed to, plant something fresh from the store. Now it I am looking at somebody like Phoenix, a sulcata, I have to wait a bit longer, because she will eat anything. Still Phoenix has a bit of body mass, unlike say a hatchling, so once more she could have something a bit sooner. So I have I guess a sliding scale of when something is "safe" enough to feed.