New Just have a few questions about food and age

[vargasmelissa]

Like I said I am kinda new to this whole thing . First here is a few things about donatello (my red foot) and me. We live in KY I am a veterinary technology student at Morehead State. I had wanted a tortoise for 2 years and was able to get him at the Kentucky Reptile Expo. I have had him since January and I love his cute little attitude and weirdness. He is fairly active eating basking, digging, soaking ect. He is roughly 4.5 inches in length and healthy (no parasites or anything I did a fecal). MY question was am i feeding him right?? He gets mostly greens which i rotate through several (kale, collard, turnip, escarole, green and red leaf and others), I also occasionally give him veggies(squash, green beans, peppers ect) fruits as a treat or dandelions, and some plain chicken. HE also gets calcium supplemented to him as well as Natural grassland tortoise food from ZOOMED which is a concentrated pellet that i re-hydrate and place with his greens about every other feeding. My question is am i feeding him right?? I try to balance everything out especially fruits and things but i wanted to check and see. I am also curious about his age like i said he is 4.5 inches long the man i bought him off of said he was 4 years old I have done some research and most red foots are not 4 inches long at 4 years so is he closer to 1 maybe 2 years?? Thanks in advance for all the advice!

 

[crimson_lotus]

Kale and peppers should be fed very sparingly, it has a lot of good stuff but you don't want to overload them, and it is also high in oxalates, which can bind with calcium (esp if not well hydrated) and cause kidney stones. Fruits should be about 20-30% of their diet, you don't want to feed them too much. Protein should also be given every week, 2 weeks, or once a month.

My tortoise actually hates the grassland pellets but she LOVES Mazuri. Red Foots in general seem to go crazy for it. I would recommend trying that because it helps them put on weight, it's good for them, and they love it. Just make sure you get the regular kind and not the LS, which I believe was made for more grass/hay eating species.

Here's a link I used very often when I first received my tortoise:

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

It tells you what foods are good and bad for your tortoise, and what foods should be fed sparingly.

What are you using for substrate? The bark looks good but I see some little white stones as well. Be careful because your tortoise could eat those. If they aren't getting enough minerals they do start to eat substrate and rocks.

One last thing - that water bowl looks difficult for him to climb in and out of, and they're known to cause flipping issues. I would get a terracotta plant saucer or something you can easily dig into the substrate so the tortoise won't have any flipping accidents, especially when you're not there to check on him. This has happened often and it is not good for a tortoise to be on their back for very long.

 

[vargasmelissa]

He is currently on a dirt/reptibark/coconut fiber substrate i am trying to get him over to a bark/dirt substrate cause the coconut was way too dry and I couldn't keep the humidity up. As for the water bowl he also has a small rock dish that he often drinks out of but he has never had much problem wit the water dish he is a very avid climber he climbs on top of his log that i gave him and i got him a rock to bask on instead of his log. I am currently trying to find a better water dish beside the larger soaker. I was a little nervous about the store bought foods which is why i bought the food he has right now. I might try the Mazuri though i have heard good things about it
thanks

 

[newCH]

Nice looking tort ! Alot of people say that bowl posses a hazard to torts. I havent owned one, but search the site or maybe soon someone can add to that.

 

[RonTheTortoise]

I'm sorry that I'm not here to answer your question but actually ask one, vargasmelissa, haha. But I was just wondering how you tested your tortoise for parasites? My tortoises had parasites last year and I had them on a regimen of medicine but I would like to keep checking them to make sure they are gone. Thanks!

 

[vargasmelissa]

I was able to do a fecal on Donatello using the supplies that are available to me as a veterinary technology student. I preformed a test that we are taught that allows us to find any eggs from the parasite that might be in your tortoises poo. Which is the same thing that your vet would do when preforming a fecal on your pets when you bring a sample in. If you want a fecal done for your pet your local vet should be able to have that done for a pretty reasonable price.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Or get a microscope and some slides and get on the internet.....
Hey, it works.