eddie2013
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 15
Hello Everyone and thank you for allowing me to join the forum! I have a Red Footed Tortoise, approximately 7-9 years old. I have owned her for about 2 years now. Someone gave her to me as their kids were "tired" of taking care of her. While I knew NOTHING about tortoise care, I did my due diligence and learned quickly. When I got her she had pretty much zero substrate and was in maybe a 20 gallon tank. She was only fed the pellets from the pet store. Nothing fresh at all. Since I've had her, she has graduated to a much larger terrarium, outgrew that, gets fresh food, and I let her out almost daily. She has probably almost doubled in size since I have had her. Maybe not quite, but close. She started to flip herself about a year ago in her larger house. She does not "right" herself, so therefore I get very worried and drive home at lunch to check on her. She now lives in our spare room. I have turned her house sideways with the substrate for her to get into and out of, she has a heat lamp, UV lamp, heater, and humidifier. She seems to be content in the whole entire bedroom, however she has still flipped herself a few times here and there. Here is my concern: My family and I have a summer cabin and leave every weekend. Where as before she would be fine with food and water for a few days, I now worry she will be flipped when we get home on Sunday night. I have neighbors check on her but for an entire summer it is quite a lot to ask.We are also considering buying a smaller home soon and she won't be able to have the same space. I have thought about re-homing her but wouldn't do it unless I knew she would have enough room and the proper care. So...here I am, looking for ANY insight or thoughts about my situation. I know this is long, but thanks for reading and your comments are welcome! By the way, she is sassy as ever, loves to get out and cruise around and torment my dog as much as possible. She has a great personality.