New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help w/supplementation

[Icantdrive49]

Hello, I just bought my first Red Foot from Petsmart. I love him already. I just had a few questions. How old you think he is? I know he has minor pyramiding, and I'm trying to prevent more but I don't know how much I should be supplementing etc.... Any help would be appreciated. He looks to be about 4.5 inches from head to tail and ways 210 grams. Also he is in a 55 gallon rubbermaid with a uvb and heat lamp a hide cypress mulch/spaghnum moss. Is that sufficient?

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Looks like you've made a nice set-up for your new tortoise. I think its ok for now, but could possibly be bigger in the near future. Does he have a hiding place?

I just add a bit of calcium powder to the food, just a pinch, about every other day or so. You could sprinkle a tiny bit of vitamins over the food once a week, but in my opinion, the food should provide the vitamins.

 

[oscar]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Congratulations on you new red foot. Be careful they can be addicting.
I leave a cuttle bone in my enclosures and mine can nibble on it when
they want. My main problem has been with keeping the humidity up
especially in the winter in IL with our furnace running the house gets
dry so you should check the humidity out and may need to cover some of
your enclosure which by the way looks very nice. . If his
eyes look watery chances are he is too dry. There are many excellent threads on the forum which will talk about proper set up and care for him.
Seeing that you just got him check the underside of his shell and make sure
it doesn't have shell rot, do a search on forum and you will see what it looks
like. my red foots that are that size are 3 or 4 years old.

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Thanks so much for the quick replies! I feel so welcome lol. I def going to get him a bigger enclosure, it's just a little cold here right now and he's so small in scared to put him outside. I am going to build him a big enclosure in the summer, I have a ton of space. Where can I get a cuttle bone? Also I have a hydrometer and its about 70% humidity. So hopefully that's okay. Here is a pic of him at the vet

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Also, yes he has a hide its one of those half logs from petsmart. How long do you think before I need to upgrade the enclosure will this be okay till about June when it gets Warmer? I'm not sure if you can see the hide but its there!

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

There is a lot of great information on captive redfoot care found here:
http://tortoiselibrary.com/

If you can afford to pick up a copy of Mike Pingleton's book I would do so. It's the best introductory book for redfoot care I've found yet.
http://www.pingleton.com/redfoot/redfoots.htm

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I bought it red strike! Lol I read it front to back before I bought Baxter it a wonderful resource. But there seems to be conflicting info between the book and the forums.

 

[tyler0912]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Beuatiful Northern RedFoot...I Think :L

I Believe This Will Enclosure Will Be Okay, But It Is Hard To Tell Really. I Supplement MY Redfoot And Tortoises Everyother Feeding!
It's Beuatiful. Your Humidity Should Be At 80% (about) And A BAsking Spot Of 100*F. And 80* As A Cooler Area. X

Your Enclosure is beuatiful!

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I follow the information provided in from Mike Pingleton's book and the tortoise library because they contain information from reputable sources. I have not found the information provided by these two references to be highly contradictory to what is supplied on the forum, unless we go by the care provided in turtleterry's website (http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm). I'm not saying his care sheet doesn't produce good results - some on here use it and have seen excellent results - I simply don't agree with all the information provided.

What works is very region specific, however there are some axioms to redfoot care that I find difficult to argue.
1. They need high humidity (at least 70%) somewhere within their enclosure. Be it a humid hide or throughout.
2. They need proper UVB exposure for Vit. D3 and good bone development. The best way to accomplish this is to put them outside whenever possible (I think this applies to all tortoises).
3. Regular soakings, especially for the first 6 months, maintain hydration (higher humidity also helps!).
4. Fruit and protein should compose smaller portions of their diets than dark leafy greens.
5. Regular supplementation of Calcium should be provided.
6. Vitamin supplements for hatchlings can be extremely dangerous as dosage levels are difficult with such small individuals. Kidney and/or liver damage can occur, so go easy here. I didn't supplement until they hit 6 months of age.
7. Hatchlings should not be exposed to extreme temperatures for prolonged periods of time given their large surface area to volume ratio. I prefer a cool end no less than 80ºF and a warm end no warmer than 85ºF; basking locations don't exceed 95ºF.

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Thank you so much! He def looks over 6 months so I will keep supplementing. I use calcium supplement with D3 and have been taking him outside every day it's warm for at least 30 min. I also soak him for about 30 min everyday. And I was told by my vet that a boiled egg once a month is good. Should I feed him everyday? He grazes when he goes outside. I don't use pesticides.

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I usually feed my hatchlings every day until they reach a year old, then I skip some days for feeding.

I see no issue using calcium supplements at any age, unless there is D3 in it. In that case you need to excercise more caution.

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I think the Pingleton book discusses various feeding regimes and there's also great stuff on the tortoise library that are really helpful when considering feeding schedules. Lots of different approaches/thoughts on this.

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Okay thanks for all the advice . I'm hoping the little guys pyramiding will maybe smooth out a little ad he grows. I def don't want it to get worse

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Okay thanks for all the advice . I'm hoping the little guys pyramiding will maybe smooth out a little ad he grows. I def don't want it to get worse

What's your humidity and temps?

 

[jtrux]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I have a leopard so no experience with RF's but I wil say that getting the humidity up isn't easy. I have a similarly sized enclosure for my tort and I have 90% of it covered. I also have a humidifer set up beside the enclosure with a piece of surgical tubing pumping the moisture to it. It's pretty effective and brings the humidity up to about 80% in the hot side (~100F) and 100% on the cool side (~80). Since RF's are a forest dwelling species you will want to do the same. I personally don't care for wet substrate so I think the humidifier is the best bet. Good luck, I think it's great that you've done your research and i'm certain you will have your tortoise for many years.

 

[Icantdrive49]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

It as about 70% humidity and 90 at his basking spot 80ish in the darker/ hide area I have heard covering the enclosure will help keep in the humidity but what do you cover it with? If I cover it the plants they won't be able to perform photosynthesis and will probably die. :/

---

I have a leopard so no experience with RF's but I wil say that getting the humidity up isn't easy. I have a similarly sized enclosure for my tort and I have 90% of it covered. I also have a humidifer set up beside the enclosure with a piece of surgical tubing pumping the moisture to it. It's pretty effective and brings the humidity up to about 80% in the hot side (~100F) and 100% on the cool side (~80). Since RF's are a forest dwelling species you will want to do the same. I personally don't care for wet substrate so I think the humidifier is the best bet. Good luck, I think it's great that you've done your research and i'm certain you will have your tortoise for many years.

Thank you! I sure hope so . What kind of humidifier do you recommend? Do you have any pics of your humidifier set up? I usually learn by seeing lol

---

Beuatiful Northern RedFoot...I Think :L

I Believe This Will Enclosure Will Be Okay, But It Is Hard To Tell Really. I Supplement MY Redfoot And Tortoises Everyother Feeding!
It's Beuatiful. Your Humidity Should Be At 80% (about) And A BAsking Spot Of 100*F. And 80* As A Cooler Area. X

Your Enclosure is beuatiful!

Thank you so much! I am obsessed with making him happy lol

 

[evlinLoutries]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

Hello, and welcome!

I think whats most important to prevent ur tort from pyramiding is humidity..

Red foot needs a high humid, a water bowl for them to soak in..

And stop giving ur tort proteint.l

 

[Redstrike]

RE: New Red Foot Owner! Could use some help

I used plexiglass so sunlight and my enclosure lights still allow the plants to photosyntesize. I also use spider plants and pothos for my plant species within the enclosure since they are non-toxic and have low-light requirements.

Here's my setup:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-45960.html#axzz2CnyKnmjJ
I currently have 2 CHE's on either end and have removed the MVB you see pictured.

 

[pam]

Welcome