New owner of THREE Red-Footed Tortoises

AntM

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Hello everyone! Glad I stumbled upon this amazing community, I’ve been reading over threads for sometime now and decided to introduce myself. So I’ve been looking at tortoises for years now and figured this was a great time since things aren’t as hectic with our kids being a “little” older (4, and 2 lol) and we also have plenty of space in the back yard to eventually provide them. We purchased 3 Red Footed tortoises and being new to tortoise keeping all together it’s been a bit scary since we want to provide them the best life possible.

They are set up in a Zoo Med Tortoise House box for the time being till they grow a bit more. My only concern is that they are very shy, I know some can take a little while to get use to everything and it’s only been two weeks since we’ve brought them home. I take all three out every morning at 10am for 10-15 minute soaking and then feed right after. They are eating the greens, but seem to avoid the Mizuri pellets. They did thoroughly enjoy the small piece of watermelon they got last week and small piece of strawberry they got this morning.

Should I be concerned of them hiding all the time before and after feedings? Or still to early for concern?

I appreciate any feedback and advice as I am very new to tortoise keeping regardless of how much research and reading I’ve done lol. Look forward to being apart of the community.
 

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Cherryshell

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Welcome to the forums! You shouldn't be concerned about them hiding as they are following their instincts. Right now they are bite-sized snacks for most animals so their instinct is to hide except when its time to eat.
 

daniellenc

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It's very normal for them to hide during the day and be shy. In the wild if this wasn't a natural instinct they'd be eaten fairly quick. Red foots also hate bright light. Mine stays in her night box all day until the sun moves out of the yard around 5 even with plenty of plants to hide in. She prefers her wet night box filled with top soil, moss, and coco coir.
 

AntM

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Thank you guys, that makes me feel more comfortable :)

And yes I keep a small hide and some moss under the covered(cooler) area which stays around 80 degrees. I also keep another hide under the open area which stays a bit warmer during the day.

Appreciate the feedback.
 

newCH

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Congrats on your new torts. Please be careful not to leave the box outside if it rains hard. Your little ones might be over whelmed if the box holds water.
The weather is great for them down here.
Have you given them names ?
 

AntM

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@newCH Thanks! Super excited to have them. The tortoise box is under our back patio over night and also if it’s way to hot. I make sure to move them out under a tree early morning so they can get some of that good morning sun, but they are hiding throughout it anyways ?

We haven’t given them names yet, our daughter wants to name them but says names need to be perfect lol. Hopefully sometime by Christmas they’ll have names lol.
 

Mrs.Jennifer

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Hello everyone! Glad I stumbled upon this amazing community, I’ve been reading over threads for sometime now and decided to introduce myself. So I’ve been looking at tortoises for years now and figured this was a great time since things aren’t as hectic with our kids being a “little” older (4, and 2 lol) and we also have plenty of space in the back yard to eventually provide them. We purchased 3 Red Footed tortoises and being new to tortoise keeping all together it’s been a bit scary since we want to provide them the best life possible.

They are set up in a Zoo Med Tortoise House box for the time being till they grow a bit more. My only concern is that they are very shy, I know some can take a little while to get use to everything and it’s only been two weeks since we’ve brought them home. I take all three out every morning at 10am for 10-15 minute soaking and then feed right after. They are eating the greens, but seem to avoid the Mizuri pellets. They did thoroughly enjoy the small piece of watermelon they got last week and small piece of strawberry they got this morning.

Should I be concerned of them hiding all the time before and after feedings? Or still to early for concern?

I appreciate any feedback and advice as I am very new to tortoise keeping regardless of how much research and reading I’ve done lol. Look forward to being apart of the community.
@ZEROPILOT is your go-to guy for redfoots. He also lives in Florida.
 

AntM

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@ZEROPILOT no rush at all, I hope you’re feeling better soon. Looking forward to any information/suggestions you have :)
 

ZEROPILOT

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I'm in Sunrise.
South Broward county.
Just about 20-30 miles north of you.
Our climate is about ideal for a Redfoot.
Look at my post/video REDFOOT HABITAT FLORIDA STYLE.
It's also on YOUTUBE.
You'll see my tried and true very inexpensive and relatively secure outdoor enclosure that I keep most of my RF group in.
Protect them from temperatures of anything over 90 by having lots of shady areas and pools to cool off in.
If you wind up with more than one male, you'll need to find one a new enclosure.
And each Male will need to be housed alone. Or with at least 3 females.
Males are the most territorial. And a sexually mature male can and often will want to mate 24/7. Having 3 or more females available to a male spreads out to stress for all of them.
More than one adult male will often result in subtle bullying or downright physical violence. No matter how many females you have All of it is bad for their health.
In fact it's all so difficult that I no longer keep males in my primary enclosure.
When I get one, I almost always find him another more suitable home.
(Unless I've made a different promise to the person giving me the animal)
Each Redfoot will eventually need a very large outdoors enclosure
The good news is that a harmonious group of smaller RF can be housed in the same sized enclosure with some bushy plants and a few hiding places. And groups of adults that are mostly female can often work. But there will always be exceptions and trading/selling/rehoming a tortoise or two may be required to get that harmonious group.
I suggest feeding your group in at least 2 different spots to avoid bullying.
I toss food all over my enclosure so that my Alpha female doesn't try to sit on it or guard it.
If I can help you with anything. Let me know in a PM and I'll give you my phone number.
Ed
 

AntM

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Zero thank you for taking the time for this write up! Appreciate it big time. I will definitely PM you and exchange contacts.

What is your YouTube channel so I can subscribe and watch that video of your enclosures? Would love to copy them and hopefully replicate the same success, they are going to have a space that’s about 20’x30’ in the future. Also thanks for the run down on what ratio you keep your groups, definitely great to know for the future.
 

AntM

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Ed never mind I found it! Beautiful and simple set up, love it. Really like the misting/rain system as well. Ah I can’t wait for these babies to grow some and get them in a similar set up.

And Zuki just casually strolling by lol maybe our schnauzer can learn to chill out from Zuki ?
 

Jan A

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Ed never mind I found it! Beautiful and simple set up, love it. Really like the misting/rain system as well. Ah I can’t wait for these babies to grow some and get them in a similar set up.

And Zuki just casually strolling by lol maybe our schnauzer can learn to chill out from Zuki ?
Torts & puppy dogs are not a good thing. There are all kinds of threads on the forum about dogs chewing up torts. I'd read a little.
 

AntM

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@Jan A hey! Yeah I have seen the threads. I keep them safely away from each other. Especially that our schnauzer is still somewhat a puppy.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Zero thank you for taking the time for this write up! Appreciate it big time. I will definitely PM you and exchange contacts.

What is your YouTube channel so I can subscribe and watch that video of your enclosures? Would love to copy them and hopefully replicate the same success, they are going to have a space that’s about 20’x30’ in the future. Also thanks for the run down on what ratio you keep your groups, definitely great to know for the future.
Its actually just a loose collection of assorted animal keeping video's.
Nothing very informative or high quality.
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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Zero thank you for taking the time for this write up! Appreciate it big time. I will definitely PM you and exchange contacts.

What is your YouTube channel so I can subscribe and watch that video of your enclosures? Would love to copy them and hopefully replicate the same success, they are going to have a space that’s about 20’x30’ in the future. Also thanks for the run down on what ratio you keep your groups, definitely great to know for the future.
I'm currently experiencing vision issues and it limits my time on the forum because of the tiny print on my phone.
 

Jan A

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@Jan A hey! Yeah I have seen the threads. I keep them safely away from each other. Especially that our schnauzer is still somewhat a puppy.
Good. I puppy sit my 2 nephews, miniature schnauzers, & no way Jose would i let them ANYWHERE near a tort if I had one. I luv them but they luv chasing rabbits & my cats.
 

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