NEW BABY REDFOOT! (question heavy...sorry)

[ehopkins12]

Hi guys! I bought a baby redfoot today from a local reptile breeding store! I'll post pictures tomorrow but i have a few questions, particularly about diet. At the store they told me to feed greens such as kale, collards, turnips, mustard etc....(same as my Russians) with the addition of protein from cat food occasionally (meaning about once a month). Is this a good diet? Also I have setup questions, I'm keeping him in a plastic tub that i am keeping covered with a piece of plywood. on the inside I have a full spectrum daylight bulb and uvb strip light. I was just wondering if I should be leaving it completely covered of should I leave a crack? Also they keep their redfoots in very muddy substrate. It seems a bit too much to me, I was worried about shell rot and fungal growth, although it seems to be working fine for them considering they have raised about 20 redfoots in store. What do you guys think? I've got it pretty soaked now but its not goopy and muddy like they said to have it. Should i be doing that? If not, then how moist should the substrate be? By the way I am using coconut coir mixed with long fiber mosser lee Sphagnum Moss. any other info, pictures, and advice you can give would be much appreciated! thanks! and sorry for the long post!

 

[Defiant]

First congratulations on your new addition. I would recommend you take a look at Terry K.'s care sheet for Redfoots. He does not have the only care sheet available but his comes highly recommended I follow it like the bible. Here is a link http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm good luck and if you have anymore questions just ask. I took advantage of it and still do. Lots and lots of good knowledgeable people here.

 

[ehopkins12]

thanks! seems like a pretty solid care sheet!

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Yeah.. I agree that you need to be aware of how wet the substrate stays.. especially with the coconut coir. I understand it retains/soaks-up the water whereas cypress mulch and the Mosser Lee moss will keep it moist but not soggy. So when you mist him daily it makes for a good balance.

Can you show us your set-up and your new redfoot please?

Congrats...

Terry K

 

[Madkins007]

In general, we want to keep very young Red-foots...
- warm (85ish),
- humid with some parts of the habitat at nearly 100%
- but on rather dry substrate (at least on the surface) to prevent wet rot, etc.
- lots of hides, shadows, and dim light (youngsters hide a lot to avoid predation.)
- a little hungry- aim for a slow growth with even growth lines

I also suggest simplicity and cleanliness. You will see a lot of gorgeous photos of heavily planted habitats, and if you can do that, go for it. But they are just fine in simpler, easy to maintain and clean habitats.

The only two indoor substrates I recommend anymore are long-fibered sphagnum moss and cypress mulch. Everything else is, in my own opinion, muddy, heavy, buggy, etc. Terry Kilgore's sweater box plan is a nice and simple way to get started.

UVB is a bit controversial for very young Red-foots. I think it has benefits, but I would keep it rather low-level and short periods- say about 10 to 5 or so, to duplicate the strongest UVB levels of the day, and make sure it can choose to bask or hide.

I personally would also decrease the overall lighting- maybe by using plants to make more shade.

Nothing major, just a few tweaks to make things better for the both of you.

Good luck!

 

[Defiant]

Here are some pictures of my cherry's enclosure. Its a mix of Cypress mulch and Sphagnum moss. In the deep dome is a CHE and the Tube is the Repti Fogger humidifier (works wonders). The little box with the knob is a humid hide. It has a heat mat outside of it. I keep it warmer and wetter than the whole enclosure. Its a little plain now until I decide on obtaining plants for it. Just a Agave from my front yard and the sprout is a "Rose of Sharon" from seed I got from one of our members Terryo

 

[Itort]

Looks good. A suggestion (you may already be doing it) is put warm water in the fogger and also 20 oz pop bottles make a nice backup for the fogger.

 

[Defiant]

Looks good. A suggestion (you may already be doing it) is put warm water in the fogger and also 20 oz pop bottles make a nice backup for the fogger.

The bottle is insulated. But I do not warm the bottle up everytime as its on a timer to go off every two hours for 5 mins. It does get warmed up from the heat off of the window. Plus its pretty warm in my house. 76 lol

 

[ehopkins12]

ok! I've got some pictures of the setup so far and the redfoot! Now before you guys say anything I know it's too small. ill be buying another one and attaching them together this weekend. so...here goes...go easy on me :/

I'm using a blue 40w full spectrum zoo med daylight bulb. puts out pretty good heat. Im also using a uvb strip light....i'm thinking thats overkill at this point. so ill probably remove that.

inside...not much too look at but like I said it'll be bigger this weekend. Substrate is coconut coir and sphagnum moss.
I also leave a crack in the back...should I be doing that or just fully cover it?
here's the new kid on the block!

not sure if the black spot is something to be concerned about.

 

[ehopkins12]

anyone?

 

[t_mclellan]

That dark spot is normal.

 

[terryo]

I would take the rock out, and add some plants. A heat emitter on one side, and the long tube light on the other side. (when your enclosure is bigger) Low light, humid hide...
I also followed Terry K.'s care sheets for the last two years, since my Cherry Head was a month old. He's healthy and growing very smooth so far.
Your little one is very nice looking.

 

[ehopkins12]

ok my setup is updated. ill post pictures on a new thread entitled "Updated Redfoot enclosure"

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Oh, she's beautiful! Have you picked a name yet?

Congratulations and good luck with the new, expanded enclosure.

 

[ehopkins12]

thanks and I haven't quite stuck with a name yet. I'm thinking spike, but it's tough considering he/she is too young to sex! I've been saying him though