New and clueless

Davidson

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Hi everybody, my name is Davidson and I live in Newfoundland Canada. A close friend of mine recently moved away and gave me his red footed tortoise. My wife and I have 2 young boys, 5 & 7 years old, who absolutely love him, but I have little experience with reptiles. I have read so many things online but a lot of it is conflicting, so I thought I had better join somewhere I can have my questions directly answered by those with personal experience before I do something wrong.

Our tortoise is named Raphael, and we have no idea how old he is. When I picked him up originally he was in a 25g tank with one hide and a humongous light. I dug out my old 55g aquarium and set it up for him after a couple days of having him home as I thought he needed more room.

He comes out 5x a week for a 30 minute soak(or until he poops) and is generally very social. Up until 2 days ago he used to eat everything I put in front of him without a problem. Now he seems to be very picky and will pick out the Apple, tomato or shrimp and leave whatever leafy veg I put in.

He has also spent the last 24 hours burrowed into the moss on the warm side of the tank.

His hot side is steady at 87.5 Fahrenheit with 25% humidity and his cool side is at 77.5 Fahrenheit with 90% humidity.

not sure what else i need to post up so feel free to remind me! and thanx a lot in advance for any assistance :)
 

Tom

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I don't keep RFs, so I'm no help there, but hello and welcome.
 

DutchieAmanda

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Hi Davidson and welcome to the forum!
Can you post some pictures of your tort and housing? Than we can give better advice.
Humidity should be above 80% everywhere. I just pour some water in the substrate.
Do you soak him/her in warm water?
I'm using a metric system so don't really have an idea how big 55g is, but they need quit some space to walk around.
Do you have a UVB light? If so, what type?
Diet should consist of greens, fruit and protein, so this sounds good. I don't give too much of the taste stuff so mine will also eat some greens. I've also heard people chop up their food and mix it so they can't be picky.

Finally, congrats with your new tort! Redfoots are cool :)
 

Lyn W

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Hi Davidson and welcome to you your family and of course Raphael.
This is a great place for up to date information - a lot of sites are still giving out the old information so I would go with what I learn here every time.
I don't have RF, but I have tagged @ZEROPILOT and @Anyfoot who I know are experienced RF keepers so they may be able to help when they check in.
If you look under Species Specific section you will also find lots of information and probably a RF caresheet which will tell you all about diet temps humidity and substrate etc.
The Beginners Mistakes is also useful (link below) and the Enclosures thread has some great ideas on how to keep torts happy and healthy. Torts are wandering animals so the more floor space they have the better.
Looking forward to seeing some pics of your new addition!
 

mike taylor

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Go to the Tortoise library . Read it its a forum members care sheet on the red footed Tortoise . It will answer all your questions . Welcome to TFO.
 

Davidson

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Thanx for the warm welcome! Here is a picture of raphs tank, it's a 200 litre aquarium. I'm unsure of the light, I was told the double light fixture had a uvb bulb but to be honest my buddy got raph because he has more money than brains so I'm unsure what info to trust. I can't get the humidity to stay up on the hot side due to the light. Thanx again

20160108_173037.jpg
 
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SarahChelonoidis

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Hello from a fellow Canadian. Lovely red foot you have.

There is a lot of great advice on this forum to help you improve your enclosure.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Davidson, and welcome to the Forum!

I think your light is mounted so it hangs down into the habitat too low. The bottom of the fixture should be at least 12" up from the top of the tortoise's shell.

Redfooted tortoises don't need a temperature gradient over the whole habitat. It can be about 80F degrees all over with no cool side. They also love humidity, but not wet substrate, so moisten the substrate, but when you add more water, pour it into the corner so it flows under, keeping the top layer dry.

Here's a link to the Tortoise Library

I don't know why he stopped eating, but try separating the fruit/greens days instead of giving fruit with each meal. You might try mixing up a little jar of Gerber fruit baby food with the greens until they're all coated with the fruit. I have had success using the more "off-the-wall" fruits like mangoe, fruit medley, etc.
 
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Yvonne G

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I like to have two separate light fixtures so that I can have one at each end of the habitat, and I prefer the 10 or 12" dome fixtures.
 

Anyfoot

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Thanx for the warm welcome! Here is a picture of raphs tank, it's a 200 litre aquarium. I'm unsure of the light, I was told the double light fixture had a uvb bulb but to be honest my buddy got raph because he has more money than brains so I'm unsure what info to trust. I can't get the humidity to stay up on the hot side due to the light. Thanx again

View attachment 161602
Hi there, and welcome. Can I see a photo showing the entire enclosure please. Need to see above the lighting.
 

Davidson

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I use a fogger to keep the humidity as steady as possible, but where the lamp is so low it dries up very fast. Should I have a heating pad under the tank for one hide?

And one of the bulbs is round and one is cylindrical and is purple, I'm not sure what kind of bulbs they are. Anybody here know? I can post a pic if that helps
 

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Anyfoot

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I use a fogger to keep the humidity as steady as possible, but where the lamp is so low it dries up very fast. Should I have a heating pad under the tank for one hide?

And one of the bulbs is round and one is cylindrical and is purple, I'm not sure what kind of bulbs they are. Anybody here know? I can post a pic if that helps
Post pictures of your bulbs. Is the purple one 15watts.
 

Anyfoot

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I use a fogger to keep the humidity as steady as possible, but where the lamp is so low it dries up very fast. Should I have a heating pad under the tank for one hide?

And one of the bulbs is round and one is cylindrical and is purple, I'm not sure what kind of bulbs they are. Anybody here know? I can post a pic if that helps
Do you have the lid for the left hand side of your enclosure? Also is that a sliding lid that will cover the right hand side if the fogger tube wasn't there?
 

TerrapinStation

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Great looking RF. I am jealous of his Lego house as well.... they can see color, does that psychedelic shack freak him out at all? or does he use it?
I would recommend switching to a Mercury Vapor bulb as they provide both heat and the essential UV rays your animal needs.


Best of luck, you are in the right place and on the right track!
 

Davidson

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The bulb on the right says sun glo 40w(blue/purple one) and the left says sun glo 150w.

The lids are just aquarium lids. I was planning on building a wooden top for the tank like I have with my snake. Originally I was trying to find a cage for the top and put a small light on either side and use the double light for my snake terrarium but I have limited access to cage lids where I live on an island.

I raised the light up 12" off the ground and it has jacked my temp up to 90 Fahrenheit
 

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Davidson

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Jan 8, 2016
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Great looking RF. I am jealous of his Lego house as well.... they can see color, does that psychedelic shack freak him out at all? or does he use it?
I would recommend switching to a Mercury Vapor bulb as they provide both heat and the essential UV rays your animal needs.


Best of luck, you are in the right place and on the right track!

He loves it! He only goes over on that side first thing in the morning when the fogger goes on. He sticks his head right up the hose haha
 
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