Im getting a 7month old RedFoot Tortoise in 4days....but

[HermanRedFoot]

I still have a few inquiries. I have everything ready for the little tort. I have its 20 tank set up with long fibered sphagnum moss as the substrate (wetted), I have a tank background to make it look more like its environment. I also have his water/soaking dish and food dish, fake plants (nontoxic), and a hollowed out wooden long for his hide. I have a UVB/heat lamp that will provide my tort a temperature of 85 C.

I have made a feeding schedule that I will attach to this post. Please let me know if I need to do anything different. I bought Calcium Carbonate and Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin. Here are the links to the Calcium (http://www.blueiguanaproducts.com/pages/products/cal-stron.html) and the Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin (http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm). Now, I was wondering about how often I feed the tort and how often do I give it these supplements.

Cant wait for the responses!

 

[Seiryu]

I still have a few inquiries. I have everything ready for the little tort. I have its 20 tank set up with long fibered sphagnum moss as the substrate (wetted), I have a tank background to make it look more like its environment. I also have his water/soaking dish and food dish, fake plants (nontoxic), and a hollowed out wooden long for his hide. I have a UVB/heat lamp that will provide my tort a temperature of 85 C.

I have made a feeding schedule that I will attach to this post. Please let me know if I need to do anything different. I bought Calcium Carbonate and Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin. Here are the links to the Calcium (http://www.blueiguanaproducts.com/pages/products/cal-stron.html) and the Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamin (http://www.repcal.com/supp.htm). Now, I was wondering about how often I feed the tort and how often do I give it these supplements.

Cant wait for the responses!

Just making sure, you did mean 85 F right, not C lol? And from what i've read (was looking into getting a red, but went with a Leopard) Low 90's for basking spot is best.

 

[HermanRedFoot]

Lol yep I mean 85 F hahaha Sorry about that

 

[TKCARDANDCOIN]

Hello hermanredfoot!We just got a baby redfoot tort last weekend and we love him/her!If you want some great info on redfoot hatchling care go to www.turtletary.com. He has been raising them for years and has all the answers...Good Luck!

 

[HermanRedFoot]

Im basically just asking if what I have down is going to be okay for my 7month old tort. I have already compiled abunch of websites into my feeding document and even his envoriment I have made up for him. Im just asking if everything I said will lead me on the right track for a healthly tortoise.

Also, I want to know how often I give my tort the supplements it needs.

 

[Itort]

The calcium carbonate and multivits once a week sprinkled on his fruit or protien ration. I do question the need for multivit as I don't use them and believe a correct diet provides all needed. Also RFs are not baskers (mine are outside right now and in the hides and shade. Your setup sounds good, 85 degrees is good and I like the idea of fake plants as torts (of any kind) are hard on live plants. Bear in mind a 20 long is only going to be good for a year or so, so start planning for your tort table.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Cool! Are you following redfoots.com? Looks like the feeding schedule from there. I would see what they say about the supplements.

Calcium is typically a daily sprinkling for a hatchling. A salt shaker works great. Calcium is water soluble so it's difficult to O.D. on it for the tort. Check that that Calcium supplement does not have D3. You should not need it. To save money, you can just buy human "Calcium Carbonate". Its actually more regulated than reptile supplements anyways. Same stuff!

I am usually wary of supplements that don't list all ingredients, although I did read "Contains no added starch, sugar, soy preservatives, artificial coloring, flavoring, or fragrance", so that is good. Is the supplement really necessary? I feed a varied diet, and use "Total Nutrition for Tortoises" from Carolina Pet Supply, because it's all natural. Just ground up weeds and such. It's possible to overdo the vitamins, especially fat soluble ones. Just look into that more. I'm no expert! More research would be necessary for that supplement as far as frequency due to the ingredients (actual vitamins). The reason I like the TNT is you can't O.D. the tort on it! I just use it a couple times a week as I remember. I sure don't have quite the feeding schedule you have for my russian!

This is also good to read though: "HERPTIVITE is the first reptile vitamin without Vitamin A. Instead we use Beta Carotene which is an anti-oxidant that is converted into Vitamin A in a regulated way, so there is no threat of Vitamin A toxicity." Vitamin A can be very bad in the wrong dose.

Is the UVB a light, or just heat source?

We'd love photos of the enclosure, and tort! Best wishes.

 

[HermanRedFoot]

Do you feed your tortoise fresh greens and such? Or just pellets? Alot of people suggest me use freshly chopped greens instead of commerical products. Im not quite sure what "Total Nutrition for Tortoises" is. I have never seen it. Ive seen this product called "T-Rex Tortoise Dry Formula" (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752433) at PetSmart.

Do you suggest I dont use the multivitamins?

My light is by Exo Terra. It gives off UV rays + heat.
Here is the one I have, except I have the 125W instead of the 160W advertised.(http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/solar_glo.php)

Ill attach a picture of my enclosure. I dont have the moss in it yet considering I do not have the tortoise yet. (Lol ignore the little toy tortoise that is in there. My boyfriend found that toy and decided to put it in the tank until I actually get a real tortoise)

 

[terryo]

If you go http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm you will find feeding schedules, and everything else you might need to maintain a healthy Redfoot. Small Redfoots don't bask. They are mostly hidden on the forest floor and their sunlight is filtered through the trees. They don't do well in bright lights. You would do much better with a heat emitter on one side and a long tube 5.0 on the other side. The light that you are using can cause eye irritation. They also need a very humid (not wet) hide. Good luck....

 

[tortoisenerd]

TerryO has it! That is why I asked--I don't think you want a bright light in there. That one would be good for a desert species.

I suggest that you thoroughly research supplements before you feed them. My personal preference is I feed greens, the occasional Mazuri tortoise food (this is by Purina and I don't recommend it for a rainforest species), and TNT a couple times a week. It is a powder you sprinkle over food, not a diet itself. I don't do a vitamin supplement. I do have a russian tort though and diet varies species to species. I would not recommend the same for your species at all. If you go to carolinapetsupply.com you can find the supplement I speak of; it is only available online at that site (made by one guy). Not sure if it is ideal for a Redfoot; that would be a question to ask someone else. I am just stating my personal opinion not to feed a vitamin supplement. Everyone I know here sticks to exactly what redfoots.com says.

That enclosure is very small. It won't last you long! I hope you plan to upgrade quickly, or ideally, right now. You may think about putting a border around the bottom of the plastic? so that the tort can't see out. That helps with them wanting to get out.

The water dish you have probably isn't going to work. You need something like a plant saucer, or a dish with a ramp or stairs. The tort needs to get inside the bowl all the way to drink. They cannot climb over a lip and need something sunk in or with a ramp. Here are some suggestions:

plant saucer sunk into substrate
http://images.orgill.com/200x200/2594331.jpg

paint tray
http://www.tradevv.com/TradevvImage/productimages/Paint-tray-A38e0a.jpg

step bowl (I have this one; it's awesome; get the XL size)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19609

ramp bowl (my tort personally found this slippery but some rough it up with sandpaper)
http://www.petco.com/product/14367/Zoo-Med-Repti-Ramp-Bowl.aspx

With the saucer and tray, you can use rocks as needed for steps or to weight it down. As your tort gets larger, it's easier to find dishes for them to use as their legs are longer, etc.

I think a slate tile (or part of one) works better for feeding because they tend to like to be right on top of the food. It's hard for them at a young age to eat with a bowl with a lip on it. Hopefully you can return those items. A slate tile is about $2 at a home improvement store, and also helps with trimming the beak and nails.

Ideally you want more than one hide. Set up all substrate and heating/lighting beforehand, and measure the temperatures in the coolest and warmest areas of the enclosure. You need to adjust all these things before the tort comes home. I suggest a laser thermometer (such as the PE1, $25, I got mine on Ebay), although a cheaper probe thermometer works but is very slow in comparison to read the temperature.

With those items (larger than you have), you will see how you need a larger habitat very easily. It will also need to grow as the tort grows. A Rubbermaid tub can work great, and they are cheaper than even the plastic aquariums. You might need a stand for any heating you have. That is why you test things out beforehand. You likely just want a ceramic heat emitter and a tube uvb like TerryO said. They will need to be placed at a distance to let off the correct amount of heat and UVB (per the specifications and your specific geometry of the enclosure), not just at the level such as on top of the screen. With that small of an enclosure, you are going to have a very tough time fitting everything.

This is not a good food to feed. Stick with the diet plan on Turtle Tary's Redfoots.com site. The ingredients are nothing like your tort would get in the wild: Corn, processed wheat middlings, oats, soy (source of fiber), alfalfa meal, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, soy protein, cane molasses, coconut fat, natural flavors, propionic acid, artificial flavors, l-lysine, salt, dl sulfate, choline chloride, d-biotin, zinc oxide, yucca extract, manganous oxide, artificial colors, BHT (preservative), B12 supplement, niacinamide, vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, calcium iodate, riboflavin, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt sulfate, dimethylpyrimidinol (vitamin K source), thiamine mononitrate. Eeek! Any food marketed to all tortoises, and with that many ingredients, is not a good thing.

Are you also planning an outdoor enclosure?

 

[HermanRedFoot]

Like I said before, my enclosure is not complete. I have more plants to keep some of the light out. I also have a stand for my light which I have not yet set up. Im not going to set up these things until 2days before hand. I also stated that I am using the 20 gallon only for temporary. I need to make room for the little guy, which I will be doing in the near-near-near future. I talked to 3 employees at 3 different pet stores who own tortoises. The one guy apparently has 3 redfoot tortoise and he recommend that light AND that tank for me. Ill state it again, the tank I am using is only temporary. Im planning on getting a rubbermaid container but in order for me to do that, I have to make room for it.

Once again, as I stated before, I got my feeding schedule from websites like redfoots.com. All I would like to know, which no one seems to be answering for me, is that is my feeding schedule that I attached okay for my soon-to-be tortoise?

Im not planning on having an outdoor enclosure. My backyard is opened and I really dont feel comfortable leaving my tortoise out there with all the other animals that roam around. Thank you for recommeding me those water dishes. I really like the jacuzzi one. The feeding dishes I have, have little steps on it. I took the picture from far away so that is why you cant really see the steps. I might actually just buy the one you recommended for me in the near future when I change his enclosure.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Great! Sorry I missed that the first time about the enclosure. I don't want to come across sounding too critical.

I think the feeding schedule is fine. Looks just like the one from redfoots.com to me. I'm sorry you didn't understand that we were saying it was fine as none of us were very obvious with that when recommending the redfoots.com one. You can probably add more variety to the greens if desired. Some other sites such as russiantortoise.org lists similar greens that are safe. Spring mix is great; different brands will differ what you get (so you can buy one brand one week and one the next) you get a very large variety for your money of all tort-safe greens, and you can eat it too. Organic is also easier to get for spring mix vs. other greens. You should aim to only try and buy organic.

Turnip greens can be hard to find depending where you live (I only found them in 1 store out of about 10 in Washington state). I can only get dandelion greens from the outdoors or health food stores. Scope out where to buy things so you don't have that rush the first week you get the tort. Soon you'll know who has the best prices and the freshest produce. I think there is one specific brand of the dry cat food that Terry recommends due to it is lower fat (a weight management type). You might want to look into that.

Some recommend buying one head of a green and feeding it until it is gone. I do similar: I buy spring mix all the time, and have one or two other things I feed with it until they are gone. I then buy something different to put with the spring mix for the next week or whatever. With one small tort and if you don't eat the greens, they will spoil before they are all eaten. Others like to buy a large variety every week. This can be costly, and more suited for people with a lot of torts. I can usually only spend $4/week max feeding my tort.

In case you are curious: The no kale comment is because it can cause goiter. The no spinach comment is because it is high in oxalic acid. When expanding the list of greens, you will want to look that the green is not high in either of these properties. Not sure if Terry explains that on his site, and its something we all should be aware of.

That's great you have steps on the feeding dish.

Glad you liked that water dish! It took me a few months and about 5 different trials to find something that worked for my little one. It was at a Petco near me for the same price as online.

Please be aware that pet store people generally are only trying to make money and see their products. It is rare to find one that genuinely gives good advice like we on this forum think we are giving (not saying they didn't give you good advice; I can't judge that yet from what I know). I urge you to look into the amount of light a rain forest tort species needs, and reconsider that purchase. The more research you do on your own, and asking questions like you are doing here, the better educated decision you can make on your own.

Don't ever follow what just one person says. Tort care has really evolved even over the past few years. I would want to see a picture of someone's torts (to see how health their shell growth looks, health, etc) before I follow any advice they give. For me it is rather obvious that a bright light is not good for a rain forest tort. I have seen many accounts of a redfoot being shy and squinting until the light is taken away. They also don't need that much UVB as they get protein in their food to synthesize D3, different from a desert tort for example.

Also, please reconsider at least an outside enclosure for some supervised time. It can make a world of difference in the health and happiness of the tort. You can make something completely wired in, etc. Have a gate between the tort and the dogs. Or, keep the dogs in while the tort is out for an hour or two on a sunny weekend day in the enclosure.

I really hope you aren't taking offense to anything I am saying. It's tough to make an observation based on a page of words, a list, and a picture. I really mean only the best for you and the future tort.

Do you have a name in mind yet?

 

[Itort]

The feeding schedule you have is identical to if not the same as Terry's on www. redfoots.com. The points made as to lighting and heat are very valid as RFs are forest torts. As you reseach more you will find the food choices are fairly wide especially in spring, summer, and fall. For example my RFs enclosure is under a mulberry tree which provides both fruit and leaves and their enclosure walls have concord grapes growing on it also providing leaves and fruit. It is good that you are already looking into a larger enclosure. Welcome to the world of muddy torts.

 

[HermanRedFoot]

I plan on letting the tort out if the weather is nice! But it will be supervised!!!! I dont plan on letting the tort stay out there overnight (which I thought you meant). Im definitly not taking any offense to what you are saying. Its just hard for me considering I have been researching for over a month and once I think I have everything down packed, I ask a question to TRIPLE check and a few people tell me that I am doing something wrong. Its fusturating!!

I understand why the tank would be a bad choice, but honestly, it is only temporary.

What heat lamp/UVB light do you use?! Please recommend! I now need to change my lighting system I dont want to hurt the little guy. That would devesate me

 

[Itort]

I use a ceramic heat emitter and the light is just ambient room light. I do not want to suggest any one leave hatchling outside overnight or unsupervised or well secured (wire cover) as there are many predators out there. I have yearlings that only are out when I'm home. To tell the truth I even have concerns when my breeders are out overnight. There is much misinformation out there and all I say is consider the habitat they are from (some info I've seen is very generic and don't take into account torts come from many different habitats).

 

[tortoisenerd]

I ran into the same thing. I did the months of research, got a tort, and still had problems with husbandry. Tort care is very tough! Don't beat yourself up.

Glad you understand my comment about the outdoors. I wouldn't leave a young tort outside overnight either, but would consider it for an older tort with a very safe enclosure.

I would recommend what TerryO said above, "a heat emitter on one side and a long tube 5.0 on the other side."

You will need:
-5.0 tube light
-tube light fixture
-stand or mount for the tube light
-100 or 150 watt ceramic heat emitter (test them out and see what works; in this case I would buy local so you can return as you need to test the temperature; these emit heat in a very focused area; the hood will radiate the heat more than the cage which would have spot heat)
-hood or cage fixture for the CHE
-stand or mount for the CHE
-thermometer

For you, you'll need to keep in mind the future enclosure also. Let us know if you have additional specific questions. Try searching the enclosure section for photos of setups with the lighting and heat. This setup will let off very little light while providing the heat and UVB.

The Zoo Med lamp stands are nice and adjustable. You can clamp the fixture to them.

Disclaimer: I personally do not use this set up as I have a desert tort; I just have read way too much tortoise forum and feel comfortable advising you, and am agreeing with TerryO from above.

Best wishes!

 

[terryo]

For a 20 gal viv. you could get a long tube 5.0 UVB light fixture for a 10 gal tank. Put that on one side. You can't really put a heat emitter on the other side as the tank is too small and you want him to have an option of going on the cool side or the warm side, so I would put a 60 wt. dark blue night light on the other side over the hide. This will keep it dark on that side and just give off heat. You could put the water dish towards the middle so the water will be a little warm. Instead of fake plants, you could put a small tropical plant in a pot dug into the substrate, so when you water the plant it will give off humidity, which they need. I hope all this helps, and good luck with your little guy.

---

I ran into the same thing. I did the months of research, got a tort, and still had problems with husbandry. Tort care is very tough! Don't beat yourself up.

Glad you understand my comment about the outdoors. I wouldn't leave a young tort outside overnight either, but would consider it for an older tort with a very safe enclosure.

I would recommend what TerryO said above, "a heat emitter on one side and a long tube 5.0 on the other side."

You will need:
-5.0 tube light
-tube light fixture
-stand or mount for the tube light
-100 or 150 watt ceramic heat emitter (test them out and see what works; in this case I would buy local so you can return as you need to test the temperature; these emit heat in a very focused area; the hood will radiate the heat more than the cage which would have spot heat)
-hood or cage fixture for the CHE
-stand or mount for the CHE
-thermometer

For you, you'll need to keep in mind the future enclosure also. Let us know if you have additional specific questions. Try searching the enclosure section for photos of setups with the lighting and heat. This setup will let off very little light while providing the heat and UVB.

The Zoo Med lamp stands are nice and adjustable. You can clamp the fixture to them.

Disclaimer: I personally do not use this set up as I have a desert tort; I just have read way too much tortoise forum and feel comfortable advising you, and am agreeing with TerryO from above.

Best wishes!

Kate....I couldn't stop laughing..."TerrO from above"..lol lmao.....

 

[Yvonne G]

Once again, as I stated before, I got my feeding schedule from websites like redfoots.com. All I would like to know, which no one seems to be answering for me, is that is my feeding schedule that I attached okay for my soon-to-be tortoise?

The reason no one seems to be specifically answering you is because they don't want to come right out and tell you that you're wrong. Terry, (www.turtletary.com) has done all the research for you. If you copy his feeding schedule, you can't go wrong in raising a healthy redfoot tortoise. The people in the pet shop are out to make a profit. They want to sell you stuff. If you read www.turtletary.com with an open mind, you won't have any more questions about raising a healthy redfoot. He doesn't have an ax to grind, he only wants to help you raise a healthy tortoise.

Yvonne

 

[tortoisenerd]

Oops TerryO!

 

[HermanRedFoot]

Um emysemys, I have read every website out there that you and others have suggested. ALOT of it is contradicting as I have previously stated (once again). Im sick and tired of people like you who have to be so rude all the time. I came here for help, not for judging or telling me that I am wrong. I came here for SUGGESTIONS and options, not for personal opinons about what I have stated. Maybe you should next time SUGGEST options rather than just pointing out what is wrong with what I am saying. Now that would be more helpful.

Its actually people who come off rude like that, that dont want me to come back to Tortoisefourm.org ever again. Keep your opinons to yourself please and thank you.

---

Also, if you have looked at my feeding list, you will noticed that I have compiled it from redfoots.com AND turtletary.com