My redfoots are home and settling in

Reptilian Feline

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I brought my two redfoots home from the shop yesterday. I put them in cloth bags, in a cooler, with a hot water bottle. They didn't like it. Both went to the toilet in there, so they started with a bath. The little one pooped again, but the big one was done.

I know that rehoused/rehomed torts get nervous, but the little one had a piece of zucchini when I was holding him in the towel after the bath. The big one, I think it's a female, was hyperventilating a bit, but when I put her in the tank, she eventually settled down, and ate as well. They got a sallad of hazel, lilac, plantain and a touch of clover, and a tiny piece of ripe peach each. The big one liked the water bowl and went in and out a few times. They like to dig, so the orchid bark I put on top of the coco coir is now mixed into the coco instead. So much for making sure they stay dry in a humid tank!

Medusa watched them with great interest, and they watched him. I think they recognised each other for what they are - a turtle and 2 tortoises.

I hope the redfoots are OK together for now... I was told they used to live together at the breeder's, but that was a group and a pair is usually a problem. For now they seem OK. The little one has a hide to get into, but it's too small for the big one. I've made a temporary hide out of a blanket for the big one, but will get some large fake plants to make a better hide for her. I need time to construct a bigger enclosure for the big one... it will fit under Medusa's tank and the little one's enclosure... I made sure the stand for the tortoise tank would match in height with the aquarium stand under Medusa.

Today I gave them a selection of other weeds to test what they like. Turns out that they also like the ZooMed Grassland pellets that I bought for my leo tort before he passed away. No veggies or fruit today. They are both sleeping now... it's getting late. I think I'll skip their soak tonight and give them a proper one tomorrow instead.

On Saturday I'll pick up some more supplies, like a couple of extra CHEs and so on.

I am happy!
 

MysticCaribou

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Best of luck with your new tortoises. Why don't you post some photos of them and Medusa and their habitat. Looking forward to seeing them
 

Reptilian Feline

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Best of luck with your new tortoises. Why don't you post some photos of them and Medusa and their habitat. Looking forward to seeing them
I will. I've posted some pics of the redfoots in one of the other threads here, but I'll take more... hopefully out in the garden. There was some great moments yesterday with all three looking at each other through the glass, but I didn't think of taking a picture, silly me! The big one was bumping against the glass yesterday, looking at Medusa, but today she has calmed down. I think she realised that Medusa couldn't get to her. If I need to, I'll put something between the tanks so they can't see each other, but Medusa loves to look at what happens, so I think he likes the company... sort of... like turtle TV.
 

Reptilian Feline

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Sorry, no pics yet. I found that my phone can't take good pictures through glass and low light, so I'll use my proper camera instead.

Last night they both got a good soak. The big one pooped, and I changed the water, and she got to soak some more before I took her out and gave her some walking time. The garden was still warm enough for her, so I set her outside to see what she would do. She started feeding on the strawberry leaves, ending up with some grass stuck in her mouth. (I call the big one "She" because of the short tail... I'll get more photos and try to sex her properly later).
The little one didn't want to poop in the water. He seemed to like the water though. Afterwards he got to walk around on the floor. I knwo this isn't always proper to do, but the floor was newly vacuumed and the dogs were on the sofa, so no worries. He was constatntly supervised and at the end he was picked up and washed off. I was holding on his back, kind of, when he decided he wanted to poop. When I washed down the poop, there was sand in it. I think that's from the enclosure in the shop. He was on sand, she was on bark, he was with several small RTs and she was with a large bearded dragon. I guess he will pass the rest of the sand as time goes.
After their soak and exercise, the were served some weeds. They don't seem to like grass or ground elder, but the rest seem to be eaten. The little dug in while I was watching.
Later I made them both plates of one rehidrated dog kibble, one piece of chanterelle, and two bits of ZooMed Grassland pellets. The big one was in her "hide" in the corner, and the smaller was in his plastic hide. I took him out to make sure he would eat, and he ate the kibble, went through the chanterelle (bit hard to bite off) and then almost finished his ZooMed pellets. Then he went back to sleep. When I checked on them this morning, the big one hadn't touched her food yet.

I went over to the tortoise library and found the formula for healthy torts. Seems like they are both doing well. I weighted them yesterday. Now I have to properly measure them as well, but according to the formula, they are both on the slightly overweight side of things. That means there is room for finding out what they like and how they like it.

The big one seem to accept her corner as her hiding spot, and doesn't try to take over the little one's hide or place. That's good, right?

Medusa was doing some interesting moves in his tank while he watched the little one eat. The little one didn't bother about Medusa, never even looked at him.
 

TammyJ

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I will. I've posted some pics of the redfoots in one of the other threads here, but I'll take more... hopefully out in the garden. There was some great moments yesterday with all three looking at each other through the glass, but I didn't think of taking a picture, silly me! The big one was bumping against the glass yesterday, looking at Medusa, but today she has calmed down. I think she realised that Medusa couldn't get to her. If I need to, I'll put something between the tanks so they can't see each other, but Medusa loves to look at what happens, so I think he likes the company... sort of... like turtle TV.
I don't think they need to see each other behind the glass or see through the glass at all, I think the glass scares them because they do not know what that invisible barrier is, it would scare me too if I was a tortoise! It's a good idea to put some kind of tape or blocking-out material so they cannot see outside.
 

Reptilian Feline

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I don't think they need to see each other behind the glass or see through the glass at all, I think the glass scares them because they do not know what that invisible barrier is, it would scare me too if I was a tortoise! It's a good idea to put some kind of tape or blocking-out material so they cannot see outside.
Medusa has always enjoyed watching what is happening. He spends most of his time rearranging the furniture in his aquatic tank. Now he can watch the torts as well. The torts on the other hand have already realised that 1.) there is glass between them, and 2.) Medusa is under water. Therefore what Medusa does is not of any interest.

We had a lovely time out on the floor tonight... they both ate and walked around. Then they were rinsed off to make sure there was nothing on them, and then they went back to their tank and are now sleeping.20170814_redfoot1.jpg 20170814_redfoot2.jpg 20170814_redfoot3.jpg 20170814_redfoot6.jpg 20170814_redfoot10.jpg 20170814_redfoot11.jpg 20170814_redfoot13.jpg
First four pics of the large one, next three of the small one. Large on is 19 cm SCL and the small one is 12 cm. Is it too soon to tell the gender of the large one?
 

Reptilian Feline

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More pics.

The aquarium with Medusa to the left. The tank to the right is the redfoots' home, but I built the stand for that to match the aquarium stand so I can fit a tort enclosure on the shelf, spanning both tanks.
20170823_stands.jpg

Medusa, my Pelomedusa variabilis.
20170824_Medusa.jpg
I was lucky and found a square pot dish that is large enough for the big tort. As you can see, it is popular.

20170824_tortbath.jpg

The blue plastic hide for the little one to the left. The big one's "hide" to the right, made of a towel hung on the outside. She digs into the soil and doesn't try to move the little one's hide. I'm thinking of adding fake plants to the top of the blue hide to create a better hide for the big one.
20170824_tortshelters.jpg

So far they are OK together. If they are still OK together when the bigger enclosure has been built, they will both move to that. If they're not OK, then the little one will be fine in the top tank they share at the moment.

To be honest, my hubby thought the tank would be fine, sizewise, until the torts were placed inside. I wasn't so sure. I was right, and he agrees, that the tank is too small for a longer stay. I have to get some extra supplies to build it, but I already have some of it. I think I need to have openings on both sides to be able to reach all parts of it, to clean and to get to the tort(s). It will become pretty much a closed chamber setup.
 

Reptilian Feline

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So much for the big one letting the little one keep its hide... came home from a fantastic day at the herp expo in Malmö, and the big one had somehow found a way to use the hide and move it to her corner. I guess I have to give the little one a new hide. I also picked up an extra CHE for higher daytime temps/basking, and a thermostat with day and night settings... this one: https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/habistat-dimming-day-night-built-in-night-eye-classic/ and I saw the seller (Danish company) had a heat panel from HabiStat as well. I might get something like that for the bigger enclosure.
 

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