New little girl (??)

[ReptileBuddies]

Just picked up a beautiful little girl (??) Redfoot yesterday Got her at the first MN Reptile Expo!! She is 14months old - is this too young to tell sex?? Her tail obviously looks different than the old male that we have. The seller told us she was definately female - but he's also gonna say what he thinks we wanna hear.... Her tentative name is Annabelle She's already pooped and peed and eaten a good portion of lettuce. She really enjoys her baths - sticks her whole head under water and blows bubbles!!! And she's always in her water dish in her enclosure, lol, she "sunbaths" in there
**Pictures coming soon - I was just so excited I had to post**

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Congratulations!

Annabelle sounds well on her way to becoming coddled and cosseted...let us know how she is set up and for heaven's sake get those photos posted!

 

[ChiKat]

Congrats on your new addition! I can't wait to see pictures

 

[terryo]

Yes...pictures! And, congrats of course.

 

[ReptileBuddies]

I have time tomorrow evening to do a photoshoot with the little "lady" so I'll put those up tomorrow
I do have a few questions after reading the Dos and Don't posted above -
1. At what age do they need UVB if at all?? (I do have a UVB light on her...)
2. What other protein sources can I use besides cat food?? We feed out tegus very lean ground turkey. We have also fed Aslan (our old male RF) the lean ground turkey...is this an acceptable source of protein?
3. What are the temps supposed to be in her basking area?? We have a heater going at all time in our Reptile room and it keeps the room approx 82F.
4. How much fruit is too much fruit? I give Aslan a piece of fruit with every meal (the type is rotated weekly).
5. And I use TNT tortoise supplement - is this ok as the only supplement?? (Cuttlebone is provided)
Thanks much!!!!

 

[terryo]

http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm
I have been following this care sheet for two years, and my Cherry Head is very smooth and healthy so far. If you go to the top of this page you can see how much to feed for each age group. I have a heat emitter on one side and a long tube 5.0 (or 10.0) UVB light on the other side. Low light, high humidity. I keep his viv at about 85...I don't have a hot side or a cool side. The whole viv is the same. I also have a lot of plants in there to hold humidity. This is what has worked for me so far for two years. He is my first tortoise, so I'm still learning too.

 

[llamas55]

Just picked up a beautiful little girl (??) Redfoot yesterday Got her at the first MN Reptile Expo!! She is 14months old - is this too young to tell sex?? Her tail obviously looks different than the old male that we have. The seller told us she was definately female - but he's also gonna say what he thinks we wanna hear.... Her tentative name is Annabelle She's already pooped and peed and eaten a good portion of lettuce. She really enjoys her baths - sticks her whole head under water and blows bubbles!!! And she's always in her water dish in her enclosure, lol, she "sunbaths" in there
**Pictures coming soon - I was just so excited I had to post**

I think I saw her there, is her head more yellow and a bit pyramided shell?

I didn't know there is another redfoot person around. I'm in Northfield MN

 

[Redfoot NERD]

I have time tomorrow evening to do a photoshoot with the little "lady" so I'll put those up tomorrow
I do have a few questions after reading the Dos and Don't posted above -
1. At what age do they need UVB if at all?? (I do have a UVB light on her...)
2. What other protein sources can I use besides cat food?? We feed out tegus very lean ground turkey. We have also fed Aslan (our old male RF) the lean ground turkey...is this an acceptable source of protein?
3. What are the temps supposed to be in her basking area?? We have a heater going at all time in our Reptile room and it keeps the room approx 82F.
4. How much fruit is too much fruit? I give Aslan a piece of fruit with every meal (the type is rotated weekly).
5. And I use TNT tortoise supplement - is this ok as the only supplement?? (Cuttlebone is provided)
Thanks much!!!!

Congrats and yes it will be another 4-5 years b4 we can hope to sex him.

1) I have never used UVB bulbs. When TerryO said she has a UVB it's mainly for the plants in her viv. Maybe she will post pics of it.

2) Ground turkey is fine. I use the cat food for convenience since I have 'several' to feed.

3) Like TerryO said mid-80's in hide is good especially since that's where they spend most of their time.

4) Fruit every day may be too much. The stool should never be loose. Firm and dark seems to be average with mine.

5) Feeding a good staple diet consisting of dark leafy greens and occasional fruit and protien works best. When their diet is 'balanced' [ and it can be done with 4-5 different greens/weeds ] there is no need to supplement. The only "supplement" I have ever used is the calcium carbonate powder.. mainly for the egg-laying females. I know nothing about TNT supplement.

Take a look at the 'redfootcare' link in my signature.. tons of pics. And the results of the caresheet over the past 5 years are shown also.

Redfoots.com is a spin-off of the original caresheet.

Pics please?

NERD

 

[ReptileBuddies]

llamas - I think you have the cherry foot male that I was thinking of getting.....
And yes "her" shell has pyramiding - both there did, and "she" was the one with the least yellow on her head. I had the guy put her behind the table before 10:30 so there was only one redfoot left for the rest of the time I didn't want children picking her up. It really upset me that they were allowing children to play with the tortoises like they were toy cars...they had some tiny yellowfoot hatchlings that I thought shouldn't be tossed around...oh well...
I'm uploading the pictures right now!!!
And RedFoot Nerd - I was hoping you would reply, I did read your care sheet about 10 times and took notes that's where my questions came from. And I have another question for you - what size torts can live together?? We have a 10 inch male RF and I'm wondering when they can live together (what size should "she" be)?? I'm having an enclosure build this summer (like the one for "Dale" in the enclosure section, except two levels)!! I'm very very excited about this because I don't feel my enclosures are up to par....

---

Here are the pics!!!

And my favorite - TORT BUTT

 

[llamas55]

Aha, yes, I came at about 10:20 to the expo and this one was NOT out- it looks better than the other one for sure.
I have batted around the tortoise/realtor house looking nice issue, and I think I am going with getting a second. I enjoy my male. ever get down this way?

 

[ReptileBuddies]

Torts are hard to give up!! And its hard to not get a second I'm hardly every near Northfield, my aunt lives there but she usually comes and visits us

 

[Stephanie Logan]

She is beautiful! You must be so proud.

Good for you for studying Terry K's caresheets and planning out the enclosure BEFORE you got Annabelle. I am sure that will make her transition to her new home smoother and healthier for her in the long run.

That "back-of-a-departing-tank" shot is so endearing.

 

[ReptileBuddies]

Thanks! I absolutely love tort butts I think they're much cuter than baby butts, lol.
I definatley think this little one will fit right in, when I rub the top of her head she stretches her neck all the way out and lays her head on my hand....I should try and get a picture of it...its so cute! Her only downfall is that she pees every time I hold her!! Should I feel honored?
And does anyone know the answer to the question about what tort sizes can be put together? Like should they be within 2 inches in size?? Obviously the little one is still in quarantine, but I'm just wondering when the torts can bunk together

 

[Yvonne G]

Its usually not a good idea to put a very small tortoise in with a larger one because the larger tortoise isn't careful where he walks. They will just plow right over the smaller tortoise and might hurt him (unintentionally). Also, unless you set up two feeding stations with visual barriers in between, the larger tortoise ends up with all the food.

 

[ReptileBuddies]

Good points! Thanks I'm sitting at work right and just itching to get back home to check on her again - I've been waking up at least once at night to check her temps - I think I'm being a bit paranoid.... I just can't wait till the enclosure is built...ugh!