New red foottTortoise questions !

[Littlefootcanada]

Hello everyone !

I'm a recent proud father of a red foot that I adopted from a client that moved out of county. (Canada)

He's approx 9 months old and has been with us for 4 days.

So far so well, he seems to still be in the "adjusting stage" however a few things have come up that has me concerned especially after reading more info on the forums about care. From what I can gather, I'm not sure his previous owners had their facts straight and after a few visits to the local reptile shop they seem to also have conflicting info.

We picked up a 24 by 18 glass enclosure with mesh top, 25w uvb bulb with light and a heating pad (recommended by both his previous parents and reptile shop)

We have it set up as followed: Light on the left side of habitat with water dish and food dishh closer to the front so they don't dry quick. Right side of habitat is the heating pad and his hiding spot (half log to go under). We have a faux moss matt underneath him as we were told he was too young still and was eating the substrate so this is why they opted for the mat.

When in his habitat he doesn't seem to active and seems to go for the hot spot immediately. Eats minimal when in there.

Once out of the habitat he's very active, looks for food, and seems to really like us.

So I guess the questions are, is this correct info we were told ? I'm concerned the heating pad is too warm ? His habitat is generally around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Does it sound like we have his habitat set up correctly ? We were also told a calcium supplement isn't that important until they are older ? He's eating tortoise mix, kale, strawberries etc.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I want to make sure he has a perfect living space !

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ditch the heating pad.
What type of light is it? Coiled CFL or other.
You want a temperature of between 80 and 87ish. As low as 77 at night is alright. And you need very high humidity. Over 75%. And that really cant be done with an open, screen topped enclosure.
I wouldn't listen too much to anything a pet shop had to say and most of the information out there is not accurate and quite old.
I use a layer of orchid bark covered by a layer of garden soil. I pour water into the corners of the enclosure and the orchid bark absorbs the liquid and gives you humidity, leaving the top layer dryer.
I also have plexiglass on top with the lighting attached to the INSIDE of the lid. In my case, it's an 18" 5.0 tube florescent.
That sized enclosure is already way too small. Are you able to keep your tortoise outdoors at all?

 

[Littlefootcanada]

Thanks ! Would you recommend I pick up a heating lamp for up top ? It is a coiled bulb that we have with an aluminum housing to direct downward. Exoterra uvb100 bulb. Doesn't seem to get too warm.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The coiled bulbs are a type associated with eye issues and blindness in tortoises. It's not that they get get hot, it's the way they project the light when mounted in a traditional downward pointing dome. I know that every pet shop sells them. I would not use it.
As long as you have reached 80 degrees, no other heating lamp is needed. Redfoot don't care for bright light and don't need or like it to be very hot.
Just warm and humid.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Any pics of your tort and his enclosure?

 

[Yvonne G]

In case you've missed seeing it, here's a link to a good place to read about RF tortoises:

Tortoise Library

 

[Littlefootcanada]

Here is a picture of him and his enclosure. Heat pad is about 8inch by 8 inch in the back right corner.
Chomping away at some kale (pen is in picture for reference)

 

[Gillian M]

Here is a picture of him and his enclosure. Heat pad is about 8inch by 8 inch in the back right corner.
Chomping away at some kale (pen is in picture for reference)

A gorgeous little tort!

Please allow me to point out that transparent enclosures are not recommended: a tort may keep trying to get out of the enclosure and this would cause stress.

 

[Littlefootcanada]

Thanks for pointing that out ! We will put something up the sides so it's more closed in. This is all really helping so far !

 

[Littlefootcanada]

This lamp/bulb doesn't seem to get very warm at all. Hmm

 

[crimson_lotus]

I would get some substrate. although redfoots aren't particularly good at digging, mine still likes to dig a super shallow hole and sit proudly in it. It also helps with temperature control if they are too hot, they can burrow a bit to cool down.I use coconut coir, because tortoises can ingest with no issues, it smells pretty good, retains water well and in turn helps with overall humidity within the enclosure, and its pretty cheap.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Those sticky temperature and humidity gauges are not very accurate as well. I would recommend getting a digital hygrometer that can measure both humidity and temperature. Humidity is important for smooth growth so you may want to buy a spray bottle to keep the enclosure moist.I would cover the enclosure top with tinfoil as well to retain humidity.

I would also put paper along the enclosure so the tortoise does not think he can escape through the see through glass.

For a light, I personally use one Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) in the corner of my tortoises enclosure, plus a uvb strip for uv exposure. They don't like it very bright, so I do not use a mercury vapor bulb which is uvb and heat in one.

 

[Yvonne G]

This lamp/bulb doesn't seem to get very warm at all. Hmm

You will need a light that puts out UVB. You can buy one of two kinds:

A mercury vapor bulb that provides UVB and heat in one bulb,

or a fluorescent UVB tube that doesn't include heat

Also just wanted to point out that the screen filters out quite a bit of the good UVB rays, and the tortoise needs the UVB in order to make vitamin d3 for the calcium to work.

No matter what kind of UVB light you get, you'll need to add some plants, either real or fake, to diffuse some of the light. The RF tortoise needs a more shady enclosure, with substrate and plants. Wouldn't hurt to make it bigger either. I like the Christmas tree storage bin mfg'd by Iris:

 

[cmacusa3]

lots of good info given here.

I wouldn't worry about the glass, many of the experienced keepers here use glass without issues.

 

[Littlefootcanada]

You will need a light that puts out UVB. You can buy one of two kinds:

A mercury vapor bulb that provides UVB and heat in one bulb,View attachment 188760

or a fluorescent UVB tube that doesn't include heatView attachment 188761

Also just wanted to point out that the screen filters out quite a bit of the good UVB rays, and the tortoise needs the UVB in order to make vitamin d3 for the calcium to work.

No matter what kind of UVB light you get, you'll need to add some plants, either real or fake, to diffuse some of the light. The RF tortoise needs a more shady enclosure, with substrate and plants. Wouldn't hurt to make it bigger either. I like the Christmas tree storage bin mfg'd by Iris:

View attachment 188764

The bulb they recommended I get was http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_uvb100.php which is being used right now. 13w doesn't seem to produce any heat. Would you say I should swap it for the power sun bulb you posted ? And at the same time say goodbye to the heat pad ? At night here in Canada it gets chilly so I am concerned with it getting too cold.

 

[Littlefootcanada]

Those sticky temperature and humidity gauges are not very accurate as well. I would recommend getting a digital hygrometer that can measure both humidity and temperature. Humidity is important for smooth growth so you may want to buy a spray bottle to keep the enclosure moist.I would cover the enclosure top with tinfoil as well to retain humidity.

I would also put paper along the enclosure so the tortoise does not think he can escape through the see through glass.

For a light, I personally use one Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) in the corner of my tortoises enclosure, plus a uvb strip for uv exposure. They don't like it very bright, so I do not use a mercury vapor bulb which is uvb and heat in one.

Can you link me to one you'd recommend I pick up?

 

[Littlefootcanada]

Also thinking I should grab a mister/fogger for winter time. When it's chilly up here our forced air furnaces can dry up a house pretty quick

 

[Yvonne G]

The bulb they recommended I get was http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/reptile_uvb100.php which is being used right now. 13w doesn't seem to produce any heat. Would you say I should swap it for the power sun bulb you posted ? And at the same time say goodbye to the heat pad ? At night here in Canada it gets chilly so I am concerned with it getting too cold.

Those curly shaped compact fluorescent bulbs have been know to harm tortoise's eyes. Not all of them, but some of them. That's why I don't use them and never recommend anyone else to use them either. It's not supposed to produce heat. That's the nature of the energy saving feature. It's only for UVB, and that's really not all that good about them either.

For a RF tortoise, I would go with the fluorescent tube UVB light and a CHE, getting rid of the heat pad. This is a CHE:



It provides heat without light, so it's good for heat during the day and also at night.

Be sure to mount it in a fixture that has a ceramic base, not one with the Bakelite base (Notice the white base ):

 

[crimson_lotus]

Can you link me to one you'd recommend I pick up?

I use this one:

https://www.amazon.ca/AcuRite-00613...UTF8&qid=1475705390&sr=8-12&keywords=acu+rite

I also use a MistKing sprinkler system so I don't have to spray the enclosure down while at work, but I'm sure you can get something cheaper that other people could recommend

 

[Lu_x85]

I would definitely look at changing to a good substrate that encourages humidity. I use biolife (a sterile soils, bark and moss mix) with additional orchid bark added in for drainage. One reason I chose this was so I could plant out live plants. Live plantings help maintain humidity and replicate the shade of the forests. Some parts of my enclosure are covered with sphagnum moss which again aids humidity.

I'd agree with earlier posts suggesting a digital hygrometer, it's really important to maintain and monitor humidity. I have an automated system that ensures it rains for a set amount of time every 4 hours if the humidity falls below 80%. I also soak and spray my tort in addition to this.
I've attached a pic of part of my viv so you can see substrate and planting.