I'm new to tortoises and the forum!

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Horsegirlmaddy

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Hello all! My name is maddy, I'm from Alberta (Canada). I'm new to tortoises, but am an all-around pet lover. I have two horses, two ferrets, a hamster, a hedgehog, a myriad of fish tanks, and will be acquiring a red footed tortoise soon. I work at a pet store, and a guy came in and needs to rehome his red footed tortoise. He comes with his tortoise table, but I'm not sure of anything else. So just in case, I'm getting a heat lamp and UVB light tonight. I will also be picking up a calcium & D3 supplement, a misting bottle and a moist cave. I will be feeding a large assortment of leafy greens, etc and giving him a warm bath at least a few times a week. What else do I need to know?

Please and thank you to any info and wisdom you can share :)
 

Jacqui

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Hi and welcome! Do you happen to know how large or old this tortoise is? Makes a bit of difference in what it needs or what you need to do. Like the soaking isn't always something you have to do, especially if not a hatchling. Also most redfoots don't seem to enjoy the higher powered UV lighting, so you might need a lower wattage one or perhaps even no UV just a light.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Maddy, and welcome to the Forum!
 

Horsegirlmaddy

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Thank you :) the tort is around 5 years old (my inference from the owners tale of events) and roughly the size of a dinner plate. He/she has a gorgeous shell, and seems to have been fed a healthy diet, but she was previously kept in a very small tank, so may have been stunted there. I have no idea what kind of lighting, heating and supplements she's been given, so that I'll have to see when I pick her up. The UVB bulb I got is a 5.0 tortoise bulb, 13W. I thought the 26W might be too strong if the tortoise was sensitive to light. I also picked up a hygrometer, two thermometers (one for the basking spot the other for he general ambient temp), a multi vitamin supplement, straight calcium powder, and a cuttle bone. Is there anything I'm missing? The setup has substrate and bowls for sure, but I got a basking lamp just in case he didn't have one.
 

Tom

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Hello and welcome. How do you have money for anything else if you have horses? :D

Seriously though. Don't use the coil type UV bulbs. They can damage tortoise eyes. Get the long tube type instead.

The trick with redfoots is to keep them warm and humid, but not wet, as they are prone to shell rot.
 

Yellow Turtle

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Hello and welcome. You have a lot of pets :D

You can find many experienced red foot keepers here and learn all the basic needs here. This forum is very friendly :)
 

kanalomele

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Welcome to TFO. Lodes of rredfoot keepers hereto help.
 
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