New and seeking advice

[MrsShellington]

My husband and I are looking into getting out first tortoise. We have decided on a redfoot but I have a lot of questions that I am hoping to get answered before I even think about bringing one home.

First is there a good care sheet someone can link me to? I have found very few for redfoots. I did do a search on the forums and a lot of people linked turtletary but I don't think they have a care sheet for redfoots anymore or at least I cant seem to locate it.

Second would it be ok to use a reptile tank with most of the top closed off for the first few months of the tortoises life or should I build a vivarium? I seem to find conflicting information on this. Some say that it is perfectly fine as long as you cover the first few inches of the tank so they cant see out and others say that tanks do not ventilate well enough.

Lastly, I have a very large screened in porch ( I have attached pictures of what the screen looks like) Would it be ok to use a portion of my porch to make his outdoor enclosure or would the screen block out too much of the UV? I live in Florida if that makes any difference.

Third I was wondering what are some good plants that I could plant and should these be planted in the indoor enclosure or just the outside enclosure?

Thanks in advance and I hope I am not asking too many questions.

 

[Yvonne G]

On the Forum home page, down at the bottom right, you'll find a list of links and the Tortoise Library is shown there. But if you click on the words here in my post, it takes you there too.

This site was compiled and written by one of our members.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Back before I ever used the internet and even before it existed, I kept Redfoot in a Florida patio enclosure that was surrounded by screen. For years.
So in my humble opinion, though screen will block UV, UVB. It will not stop all of it.
How about also building one in the yard?

 

[Yvonne G]

Don't forget, RF tortoises get some of their Vitamin d3 requirement from the animal protein they eat.

 

[MrsShellington]

Thank you so much for the link, that was what I was looking for! I would feel safer while he is still young to have him in my porch where he is protected. I can eventually make a big enclosure in my yard but I am concerned because we do have two armadillos that have decided to make out backyard their home and they dig holes everywhere. I am not sure how to make them leave.

I attached a picture of the screen, I forgot to attach it in the first post.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Inside your porch, beware of FIRE ANTS and any place that rats might sneak inside.
Don't worry about the armadillos. They are insect eaters. They DO however carry Leprosy.....

 

[MrsShellington]

Yea I stay far away from them because of that! Would fire ants be a concern if the enclosure was actually outside as well? What can I do to keep them away?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I spray around the outside of my pens with insecticide and use granules elsewhere in the yard.
(Only because my tortoises stay inside their pens)
Inside the enclosures I use ant baits placed inside glass jars with holes punched in the lid. This makes the bait/poison waterproof and keeps the torts from messing with it.
Many members do different things. But we have some seriously dangerous ants here and they simply can NOT get a foot hold in the yard.
It's much easier to stop them than to battle them.

 

[JakeDevoe]

Hosta is a good food source and you can grow them almost anywhere

 

[JoesMum]

Hosta is a good food source and you can grow them almost anywhereView attachment 172219

They didn't last long in my garden. Demolished in about an hour by Joe. Slugs and snails love eating hostas too.

 

[MrsShellington]

ZEROPILOT Thanks for the advice! We have never had a fire ant problem (knock on wood) but I need to be prepared in case we ever do have one.

JoesMum, Thanks! I will look into those. Where does everyone purchase their plants from? I want to make sure that they are being sprayed with chemicals.

 

[jockma]

Who on here put diatomaceous earth around their outdoor enclosure's perimeter? I remember someone did because of ants and it helped.

That's a lovely outdoor area, by the way. What are the outdoor temps and humidity ranges where you live?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Who on here put diatomaceous earth around their outdoor enclosure's perimeter? I remember someone did because of ants and it helped.

That's a lovely outdoor area, by the way. What are the outdoor temps and humidity ranges where you live?

A lot of us have. Myself included.
The problem is that it clumps when it gets wet and becomes ineffective.
Here in South Florida it rains at least a little bit most of the days in the year.

 

[MrsShellington]

Right now it is 83 where I am at and 70% humidity. I use DE inside of my home but it would never work outside in Florida with our humidity and constant rain.

 

[jockma]

Sorry, sometimes I forget the rest of the world isn't bone dry like LA.

 

[jockma]

Actually, have you considered getting an older tort? Not necessarily an elderly one, but maybe a rehomed adult tort instead of a young one/hatchling? That way you can keep them outside right off the bat, and their health is more stable than babies.

As long as you're not picky about pyramiding Rehomed torts tend to have a little to a lot of it.

 

[Tegu]

Right now it is 83 where I am at and 70% humidity. I use DE inside of my home but it would never work outside in Florida with our humidity and constant rain.

Sure won't. In St.Pete .Been using it for several years. Don't think it did any good but bought a bunch so using it up. I have the ants by the millions I guess under the cyprus mulch in my outdoor enclosure and can't seem to beat them. At a loss now and can;t win I guess.