lighting situation

[big_red_tortoise]

Recently I got a baby RF and the lights I have been using in his enclosure are a uvb light and a heat lamp. I have been reading a bunch of posts on here as well as some care sheets and decided to move his light towards the back of the enclosure so it wasnt so strong because he was always hiding. Ever since, he is out and playing and climbing all day. Does anyone else have any experience with this? Does the uvb/reptie light hurt his eyes?

 

[Chucky]

Redfoot hatchlings by instinct(survival), will stay in dark places. Too much light and they will stay hidden. There should be just a small spotlight type light over his/her food and water dish which should be placed on the furthest side from the hide. BTW, if you are feeding him the correct food(diet), he does not need the UVB light at all.

 

[Jentortmom]

Redfoot hatchlings by instinct(survival), will stay in dark places. Too much light and they will stay hidden. There should be just a small spotlight type light over his/her food and water dish which should be placed on the furthest side from the hide. BTW, if you are feeding him the correct food(diet), he does not need the UVB light at all.

I think I would be nervous about putting a light over there water dishes. I actually put my water dishes on the opposite side of the enclosure.

I don't have RF but I know they live in the rainforests and there is not a lot of sunlight on the forest floor. I don't use uvb bulbs I just take them outside everyday in the am for some real sun.

 

[K9KidsLove]

What brand and number is your UVB?
Is it a coil, compact, long fluorescent tube, or MVB?
How far is it from your tort?
What watts is the basking bulb?
Is it right beside the UVB so he gets benefit from both lights at the same time?

Mine are doing so much better since I now have them outside in corrals so they can get natural sun.

Patsy

 

[Crazy1]

Big Red, check out Turtletary.com and Redfoot.com

 

[Redfoot NERD]

The links are below my sig' RED!

nerd

 

[big_red_tortoise]

He seems so much happier since i moved to to only over his food dish. He is out all the time and exploring and climbing. I will just leave it where it is for now because it seems to have done some good. Thanks for all the info from the other sites.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Thanks 'Red'.

I've been raising redfoots for right at 10 years now and have hatched quite a few.. so the Turtletary.com caresheet I put together.

A couple years back Chucky called and asked if I wanted to create a "Redfoots ONLY" site. He would do the computer stuff.. and I would do the "experience" part. So we have Redfoots.com. Redfootbreeder.com shows a few of the hatchlings since '05.

It's always wonderful to hear someone say "it works"!

Congratulations...

NERD

 

[elegans]

There is "NO ONE TRUTH" trust me! Watch your animal and you will find out what it wants and makes it happy. There is a great quote that I can't post in it's entirety here but it goes like this "Opinions are like As**oles everyone has one and everyone thinks that the others one stink!" I wish that I could take credit for coming up with that, but if was far before my time. Probably written in Latin originally. There are no set and fast rules for this. Spend as much time as you can watching your animal and it will tell you what it needs. There are a number of good caresheets online, but none of them are the "Holy Grail" of raising tortoises so don't sweat the load. Douglas Beard / Flora & Fauna

 

[Redfoot NERD]

There is "NO ONE TRUTH" trust me! Watch your animal and you will find out what it wants and makes it happy. There is a great quote that I can't post in it's entirety here but it goes like this "Opinions are like As**oles everyone has one and everyone thinks that the others one stink!" I wish that I could take credit for coming up with that, but if was far before my time. Probably written in Latin originally. There are no set and fast rules for this. Spend as much time as you can watching your animal and it will tell you what it needs. There are a number of good caresheets online, but none of them are the "Holy Grail" of raising tortoises so don't sweat the load. Douglas Beard / Flora & Fauna

That really made a lot of sense Doug. Based on your post [ ???? ] I know exactly how to care for mine now...

Terry K

 

[terryo]

Here's my two cents as a new Tortoise owner. You have no idea how hard it is for us beginners. You go on so many sites and everyone gives you different information.
Also, every one thinks they are right and the other person is wrong. Every one has a "proven" system or method. I can name 5 really great breeders of Redfoots right now that I have asked for advice, and each one has given me different opinions. Use UVB...don't use UVB...etc. It goes on and on. BUT...each one has beautiful Redfoots to show. Each one is breeding them for over 5 years. Some are breeding them way longer. So, what is a new tortoise owner, who wants to do the right thing for his new pet, going to do? I can understand where you are coming from, Doug. The only consolation is that we are lucky to have such information at our finger tips now, and can incorporate things we have learned, to benefit our tortoises.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Here's my two cents as a new Tortoise owner. You have no idea how hard it is for us beginners. You go on so many sites and everyone gives you different information.
Also, every one thinks they are right and the other person is wrong. Every one has a "proven" system or method. I can name 5 really great breeders of Redfoots right now that I have asked for advice, and each one has given me different opinions. Use UVB...don't use UVB...etc. It goes on and on. BUT...each one has beautiful Redfoots to show. Each one is breeding them for over 5 years. Some are breeding them way longer. So, what is a new tortoise owner, who wants to do the right thing for his new pet, going to do? I can understand where you are coming from, Doug. The only consolation is that we are lucky to have such information at our finger tips now, and can incorporate things we have learned, to benefit our tortoises.

Terry you have a hatchling.. as do MOST of those who are asking for help. Of the "breeders" that have caresheets.. what do their 3-4 year olds that were raised by their "proven" system look like? If all they are showing are 'adults' then that hardly counts does it? Were these 'adults' really raised using their 'proven' system?

Since redfoots [ I don't claim to know about other tortoises ] spend the first few years of their life 'hiding' they have to get the nutrients they need from their "diet"! Fruit and ANIMAL protein is how they do this. The main reason you see your pet redfoot out in the sun or under the light is to bring their body temps up.. not to absorb UVB rays. They live thru-out their native range where there is plenty of shade.

One day you say you believe in and endorse mine.. the next day you go someplace else and get the same "contradictions" that you claimed you were glad you were "delivered from" when you found mine in the first place. And now you're in the middle again! You are going to have to decide what you want to believe.. because when you say what you said in this post it causes more confusion [ to others' also ] and everyone's redfoot suffers! Do you know what I'm talking about?

Terry K

 

[JustAnja]

I dont believe anyone has to DECIDE who to believe. One only needs to decide what works best for them and use their gut instinct using ALL of the information available to them.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

I dont believe anyone has to DECIDE who to believe. One only needs to decide what works best for them and use their gut instinct using ALL of the information available to them.

Anja gut instinct can't exist without experience.. otherwise its just "hit and hope"!

And deciding what works is deciding what to believe.. it's still a decision. And yes ALL of the info has to be considered. Once that IS considered.. it's easy to decide. That's what you did with your snakes. Are all of your snakes set-up and maintained EXACTLY the same way?.. of course not! You consider their 'native' habitat and strive to duplicate that.

How comfortable would a Green Tree Python be in the same type set-up as a Diamondback Rattler?

The 'typical' problem is "stickin' with it"! And that's the issue with Terryo and many others... more confusion.

Terry K

 

[terryo]

One day you say you believe in and endorse mine. the next day you go someplace else and get the same "contradictions" that you claimed you were glad you were "delivered from" when you found mine in the first place.

Terry, I am sorry for all the confusion and misunderstanding. I never endorsed anyone's care sheets. I couldn't possibly endorse anyone's site, as I don't have the knowledge or experience to endorse anyone. I don't remember claiming that I was "delivered" from anyone's care sheets. I always liked your site (until you deleted something that I wrote, which I thought was a very important thread that someone wrote about mazuri and wanted to share it with others). But I still go on your site for information. I always told you that I used a long tube 10.0 UVB on one side of my enclosure over a screen to filter some of the UVB rays. (I thought that would be going down the middle road).
I am sure you use the Internet, and have seen many other breeders showing pictures of their "newborns". I have seen many, and they are as beautiful as yours, and they raise them very differently.
Whether anyone wants to tell you, or not, I do believe that all new tortoise owners take a little information from each site, BECAUSE of the contradictory information, and this is probably why some tortoises suffer. Not because of what an inexperienced owner, like me, posts.
Terry, you seem like a really great guy, breeder, photographer, believer.......and I always look to your knowledge for lots of information, as I do others.........I hope we can still be friends.

 

[JustAnja]

I believe everyone can take a little bit of something from all of the information available to them and have a happy, healthy tort. I dont shove my way of keeping my snakes or anything else down anyone's throats. I give them the information they ask for and what they do with it is their business. I dont try force them to do things my way.

 

[terryo]

I guess this is what I have been doing. So far, so good, with Pio, but he is only 11 months old.
By the way, Doug, I saw some of your baby Bolivians and they are beautiful.

 

[oswego tort lover]

almost sounds like a discussion of religon. some minds need absolutes. others are comfortable with trying to get there.........ed

 

[oswego tort lover]

temper temper terry what hes said is there is no monolitic way of raising say redfoots. ive read your caresheets and they are very good, as others are. a hobbist should read as much as possible on thier creatures of interest and observe them , and then ajust thier husbandry as it is know today......may the GODS bless you ........ps. lov your pics ...............ed

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Why does.. "If you don't stand for something.. you'll fall for anything" come to mind?

Thru-out this 'forum' are several redfoot 'newbies' that have been confused by the multitude of ways on the internet to raise redfoots. The method [singular] I use creates beautiful looking and healthy 3-4 year-olds! Backed by chronological pics. And it seems that most all of the 'newbies' only see the hatchlings.. and not the results of the multitude.

Unfortunately there are a few 'egos' out there that can't accept the fact that there is a simple way to go about it and [for whatever reason] have to take issue.. which only adds to the confusion.

Ed if you have perceived a "temper".. it's the passion I have to overcome the old outdated ways of caring for redfoot tortoises. There is a handful of tortoises on the planet that are cared for differently. Redfoot tortoises being one of those. Is it possible that tortoises from the NE hemisphere are different than those of the SW hemisphere? Therefore requiring different care? A lot different. So when someone asks how to care for redfoot tortoises I tell them and show them the results with pics.

But the old egos won't accept the difference and still paint all of the tortoises in the world with the same brush.

Terry K

btw Ed.. have you hatched any F2 'Spotted' turtles?