Meet Littlefoot!

[Turbotort]

Hey everyone!

Yesterday I acquired my new baby redfoot. He is about 6 months old from what I've been told. Littlefoot weighs in at 75g's currently. I'm looking forward to raising this little guy. I'm using my old enclosure from my Leo and will be upgrading to a bigger setup in a couple weeks.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Congratulations.
I see you got one of those fantastic digital temp and humidity gauges, too.

 

[Redstrike]

Beautiful tortoise!

 

[jockma]

I love the tiny little feet of baby RFs. Adorable tort

 

[Turbotort]

Thanks well I suppose everything is going ol so far. But Littlefoot hasn't really ate anything yet. It is normal though for torts to usually hide and not eat for the first few days? I soaked him tonight and put some escrole in the dish with him. He didn't touch it but I put a little strawberry and he ate some of that. So it's a start I suppose. How long is too long to go without eating?

 

[jockma]

Some of them will fast for a while at first because of the stress of moving. What were they feeding him before you got him? Maybe he doesn't like the menu you're offering him

 

[Turbotort]

I asked and he said romaine and spring mix with some occasional Mazuri. I was trying kale, escrole, and endive. I went and got some romaine today and also threw in a mango so I'll see what happens tomorrow.

 

[jockma]

I don't think my RF even knows the difference between romaine and escarole If she's not eating what you're offering her it's probably due to stress and she should start eating again once she's settled in. Torts can go a while without eating, not sure about babies like in this case though.

 

[jockma]

*he. I don't know why, I keep thinking this tortoise is female!

 

[Turbotort]

I weighed littlefoot on Wednesday and he came in at 82g's. The day I got him he weighed 75g's. So that's good and hopefully next week we will see more growth. One thing I noticed is he stays in his hide almost all day. Is that normal? Maybe I need to add in more shade? I picked up some fake plant branches from Michaels and was going to drape some over the sides to mimic some plant cpverage. He's eating ok but nothing crazy right now.

 

[jockma]

Usually the babies tend to stay in their hides or sit in water bowls. If he's eating well, isn't losing weight, looks alert and isn't sluggish when he does walk around I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Turbotort]

So I went and got a few fake plants and I draped them over the side to create a little more natural look. I am hoping it'll make LF want to come out more. I took a couple pics so you all can have an idea. This is still a temporary setup for a few more weeks. On a side note LF looooves mangos so I wanted to ask how much is too much fruit to give in the diet?

 

[Turbotort]

So me and my wife are thinking of just making an outdoor setup instead of getting a 4x4 garden bed for inside. But my concern is how big should I let Littlefoot get before permanent outdoor living? Granted FL weather is perfect for these little guys I feel it should be just fine. I will make it critter proof though. So it will be covered with fencing. Maybe like an 4x8 or something using fence posts as the walls stacked up then putting chicken wire secured ontop. Any suggestions?

 

[jockma]

Hmm...I think she should be at least 6" SCL. I am a VERY paranoid owner though and I only bring my tort out during the day with a checkup every 30 minutes or so and he's an 8" SCL big boy for crying out loud, maybe the others will disagree with me.

 

[jockma]

*HE! Why do I keep thinking Littlefoot is female?!

 

[Turbotort]

Haha idk I guess we will see!

 

[Turbotort]

Well littlefoot weighed 86g's after a soak Wednesday. So I believe there is growth just not super fast. Which is fine. I'm just paranoid after my Leo who passed. Littlefoot isn't very picky so far. I gave LF some hard boiled egg and he ate it up. I'll have to do that more often to get that protein mixed in. Loves mangos as well.