New redfoot owner with no experience

[Tortoisenewbie1]

Hi, I’m new to the forum and I’m not sure if this the right place to post this but I’m a new redfoot tortoise owner and I have almost no experience. This is my second tortoise and I don’t want to go into much detail but my first tortoise was unfortunately sick and only with me for a very short time. But hopefully this little guy can be very well taken care of and live a long and healthy life. I’m going to try to post pictures of his enclosure to make sure things are right. And advice on how to better care for him would be very appreciated. My little guys name is chomper because his favorite food is peoples fingers. He has been with me for 7 days now and I don’t know his age but he is tiny. He weighed 38 grams the day I got him and today he weighed 47 grams. So far I’ve been feeding collard greens, mazuri, mango, opuntia cactus, some clover from my garden. And his favorite is squash and carrots. He’s not to keen on his greens. I live in a apartment so he is a indoor tortoise but once he gets used to his enclosure I have a little bin on my patio he can go in. I’ll get a bigger one as he gets bigger. His enclosure size is 40in by 24in, and 14in tall. The lights I use are a zoomed 80watt power sun uv during the day and a 60watt zoomed moonlight bulb at night. I’m not currently using it because I think my day time temps are good but also have a 100watt exo tera intense basking bulb. I just got it so I haven’t tested it but I also have a 100 watt ceramic heat emmiter bulb. I’m not sure if their to close but my lights are 12inches from the substrate to get my temperatures. His substrate is 5in of organic non fertilized top soil with a layering of cypress mulch on top. And I have sphagnum moss all throughout to keep the humidity. All his plants are fake, he hasn’t tried to bite them yet but if he does I’ll take them out. He seems to be doing well just taking time to adjust to his new enclosure. He has come out every day on his own and started to spend a hour out before going back to bed but the last few days he’s spent close to 3 hours out and started going o his water bowl. I’ve been soaking him every other day since hes been soaking himself and so far he has a very healthy appetite. I case the pictures are blurry and hard to read the temps then the one next to the water bowl is 92 degrees, the one next to the fern is 80 degrees but is usually around 83. The one in the front corner is 78 degrees and his hide box is 76 degrees. His basking spot is 95 but drops to low 90s for a while after I mist his enclosure. I do not have a fogger or any timers. I turn his lights on/off and manually spray his enclosure daily, sometimes more if I think I need to. I know his humidity is low in the one spot but I wanted to show what it’s like before I spray it down. His night time temps are in the low 80 degrees but the front left corner sometimes falls to 75 degrees and the same for the back of the hide box. I know this is very long but I just want to make sure my little is getting what he needs to be healthy. I should have mentioned it earlier but I do have calcium powder and multivitamins but i haven’t used them yet as i wanted to get him eating good before I started mixing stuff in. Any tips on what to do better or advice on how to use the equipment I have is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Your tortoise is still small and needs an enclosed enclousure. @Littleredfootbigredheart and @Alex and the Redfoot can advice you on redfoot equipment!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome!🥰
There are a few things that are going to need tweaking here to help your little one thrive, hopefully the information I include below can help!

When a hatchling, they do best in a closed chamber set up to better control the temperature and humidity, I wouldn’t house them outside till they are around 3 years old and established, you can give them a few hours of natural sunlight on your patio though in the meantime, just make sure it’s not in direct sunlight and that the temperatures are safe.

I’m going to include some information below on examples of the correct kind of equipment to use and levels etc

Any light emitting heat should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached)on a 12 hour timer, using a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) for night heat. The exo terra basking bulb you mentioned will be far too harsh.

I think ceramics as a heat source are more suited to red foot’s and far less desiccating on their shells.

Red foot’s don’t necessarily need a ‘basking area’ they aren’t typically a basking species coming from the forest floor(some do though, it depends on the individual) there’s no need for a ‘cooler end’ and ‘warmer end’ with these guys, aim for an overall ambient temperature range of 80-86(82-84 being optimal)temps shouldn’t ever be going below 80 for one as young as yours both night&day in any part of the enclosure.
Personally we rely on CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) as our heat source 24/7, on thermostats, they’re a non light emitting bulb and I think you’ll find it easier switching to these as your heat source to keep your temps nice and stable. When using multiple hang them equal distance to distribute the heat more evenly.
Dome fittings will help project the heat down, but don’t rely solely on the clamps that come with them, always hang them securely.

You can then hang some ambient lighting on a 12hour timer, it can being either a led strip or a led bulb in 5000k-65000k colour range. Create lots of shady areas with safe plants and hides, red foots don’t like things too bright.

Any indoor UV needs to be provided as a t5 tube fluorescent light, the compact or all in one bulbs either are too harsh creating uv hot spots that can damage their eyes, or are far too weak. I’ve attached the brands to go for and examples of stands to mount them.
However if you’re able to get them out for a few hours of natural sunlight daily, don’t worry about the uv. Just make sure it’s not too warm and they’re in a secure run with lots of shade.

With lighting avoid anything labelled mercury vapour or halogen, the lighting you are currently using could do with replacing with the above recommendations.

Your little one will need around 80% humidity 24/7 to thrive, the right substrate and a good closed chamber set up goes a long way in making this work. You’ll constantly struggle with an open top like this.

We personally keep our red foot on orchid bark, we focus on the under layer of the substrate being nice and damp to create the humidity, then the top layer being dry, the trouble with constantly spraying is, one, it can only lasts so long, and two, keeping that top layer constantly damp will leave them more prone to a fungal infection, avoid misters/foggers for this reason too, the humidifiers can also make the air too wet leading to respiratory issues. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry because you don’t want dusty substrate, we mix it now n then, which also helps gives a humidity boost without extra water🙂to maintain our humidity we simply pour some lukewarm water into the corners of the substrate, not loads! Just enough to dampen the whole under layer. You can keep an eye on your monitors&substrate to do the pours as and when needed, which in a good closed chamber set up, you shouldn’t have to do loads😊
Substrate wise never add any kind of moss, that’s something some stores think nothing of, but it can actually cause lethal impactions, so that needs removing asap.
Don’t use any top soils or anything mixed with sand. Trouble with the top soil you’re using, unless you’ve safely composted it yourself, there no way of knowing what plants have gone into it, it could be something toxic.

Safe substrate options are coco coir, damp and packed down by hand as a base, with orchid bark(fir not pine) on top, or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/ forest floor on their own.

Size wise I’d generally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have, this tortoise full grown is going to need a large, secure outdoor space, if you don’t have an outdoor space, be prepared to set up a room you can make tropical lol.
A good cost effective closed chamber set up would be a greenhouse style enclosure by making your own large base out of a safe material, or even use a garden bed frame! I think you’ll struggle with the current enclosure as a base because of the material it is, I think the divider might make it tricky to line. For both the options I suggest, line with some cheap pond liner, the lining going up the sides too and make sure those sides are high enough. Then simply secure a greenhouse topper on top, if you can’t find an exact fit, place it over like the one with the white base in the photo, I’d place some lining under the cover and base though to avoid condensate getting on your floor.

Some people even hang their lighting and heat from the greenhouse frame! Simply wrap the wire around for the height you need(check with a temperature gun/add thermostats, roughly 18-21 inches for the uv) and secure with cable ties and chains so they aren’t hanging by the wire. Or you could make your own stands out of safe timber, again I’ll attach some pics.

For a water dish a large terracotta saucer, sitting flush with the substrate is safest, they have grip in the event the tortoise flips, most pet store options are a hazard including the one you’re using, if switch it asap.

Id definitely recommend a temp gun to make sure your monitors are reading correctly. Have monitors that read both temp and humidity.

Ignore whatever else is in the photos in the enclosures, they’re just to give you an idea😊and ignore that some of the fittings in the pics are floodlights, ches will work great, just examples on how to hang your bulbs👍

Also as this is a closed chamber set up, the materials like the lining and cover will need time to off gas, I’d leave it all running up to a week, or until there is no odour, if there’s no smell, it’s safe for use.

With hatchlings, aim for daily soaks even if they are self soaking.

I’ll include a diet list of some stuff we feed ours in my next reply, to hopefully help give you some ideas for variety🙂

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

These are some greens to feed(bear in mind the lettuce isn’t the most nutritional but fine to add as part of a varied diet);

Lambs lettuce
Romaine
Red leaf lettuce
Frisèe lettuce
Endive(chicory)
Spring greens
Kale
Rocket
Cress on occasion
The odd Brussel sprout on occasion

There’s also plenty of different weeds you can add! Providing you’re sourcing them from an area that is free of any harmful chemicals like pesticides and fertiliser, so be WARY! There’s lots of lookalikes that can be toxic, it might be best to grow your own from seeds online. We add dandelions and broadleaf plantain, I’ll add a link below you might find useful to look through🙂

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Now let’s talk fruit! We remove any pips/seed/stones that are either toxic or a chocking hazard, so for my list, we’d remove the mango stone, plum stone, peach stone, nectarine stone, cherry stones(chocking hazard!), apricot stones, appel&pear seeds(toxic)

Ones we feed more regularly(but rotate cause variety is key):
Mango
Papaya
Pineapple
Raspberries
Melon
Strawberries
Watermelon(not super nutritional but a good hydration boost)
Plum
Peach
Nectarines
Cherries
Apricot
Blueberries
Figs
Guava
Prickly pear

Ones we feel less regularly:
Appel
Banana
Blackberries
Grapes
Pear

Those last ones are more of a treat basis. You can also try cherry tomatoes on occasion but not often.
We also sometimes grate a bit of carrot on our red foots food(not a lot) or some courgette, you can also add bell peppers on occasion, and they’ll also enjoy some mushroom once a week or so!

Hope this helps give you some ideas for variety🙂 we try not to give ours too much of just the one type of fruit in any given week, however she gets papaya pretty much daily, it makes up a large majority of their diet in the wild so definitely get your hands on some!

Also they’ll need some protein every 7-10 days, we personally give ours a head sized protein of steamed chicken breast, or a mouse we defrost from the reptile shop.
Calcium power can be added on 3 feeds a week.

Hope all this helps, any further questions, please ask😊

 

[Tortoisenewbie1]

thank you for the advice. he hasn’t had trouble with his water bowl but the better traction definitely makes sense in the saucer so I will change that and I’ll take the moss out. Would it be ok to use leaves instead? he likes to burry himself under the moss in his hide box. I saw you mentioned 18-21 inches for the uv lights, i used the ceramic heat emitter I got last night and my temps were 80 in the spots were they were previously lower but my dome is 14in above the substrate, is that to low. I will definitely look into changing his lights but it will probably be at least a week before I can buy new lights and fixtures for them. I’m looking into getting a greenhouse tarp to cover the enclosure but if I can keep the temps up and humidity high is a close chambered enclosure necessary? I don’t mind spraying it down twice a day if needed. I do have a temp gun so I believe my temperatures are pretty accurate. Thank you for the information on the food, I knew a lot of what to feed but that added a few things to the list. I plan to start giving calcium powder soon it’s just kinda hard to figure out the measurements for his size. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

thank you for the advice. he hasn’t had trouble with his water bowl but the better traction definitely makes sense in the saucer so I will change that and I’ll take the moss out. Would it be ok to use leaves instead? he likes to burry himself under the moss in his hide box. I saw you mentioned 18-21 inches for the uv lights, i used the ceramic heat emitter I got last night and my temps were 80 in the spots were they were previously lower but my dome is 14in above the substrate, is that to low. I will definitely look into changing his lights but it will probably be at least a week before I can buy new lights and fixtures for them. I’m looking into getting a greenhouse tarp to cover the enclosure but if I can keep the temps up and humidity high is a close chambered enclosure necessary? I don’t mind spraying it down twice a day if needed. I do have a temp gun so I believe my temperatures are pretty accurate. Thank you for the information on the food, I knew a lot of what to feed but that added a few things to the list. I plan to start giving calcium powder soon it’s just kinda hard to figure out the measurements for his size. Thanks for all the help.

No problem at all, as long as the leaves are safe I don’t see a problem, but keep an eye if they mould.

The uv t5 uv light is suggested to be roughly that height to create a safe UVI zone🙂

For the ceramics, they may be a little closer if you need, keep any CHE(s) on a thermostat and if you’re doing temp gun checks directly underneath them, they’ll be safe😊 as the tortoises shell height raises, adjust bulb height accordingly so there’s at least 12” or more from the tortoises back, I would think 12” would be too close for any che 100+ tbh but that’s why it’s good to do checks👍

A closed chamber will be necessary to create the humidity you need 24/7, constant spraying will keep the top layer of the substrate damp which will have your baby more prone to shell rot. Damper under layer in a closed chamber will work best for your little one, any opening will create a chimney effect, drawing out your heat and humidity

 

[COmtnLady]

Welcome to the Forum! The info here is the most up-to-date and accurate to help your tortoise thrive. So much of the info elsewhere (pet shops, FB, even veterinarians) is outdated and can actually be harmful. Ask questions here before you invest in things, it will save you a lot of hassle and money.


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It is important that you keep your tortoise in a closed-top enclosure. There is no way to control the temp and humidity without a closed top.

Moss is an impaction hazard, so get rid of it asap, if not sooner.

Soil as substrate is not the best idea, too. Three or four inches of packed moist Coco Coir is better, with about the same depth of dry orchid bark/fir bark or cyprus bark on top of that is much better. Soil grows things that you don't really want in there with your tortoise (like mold).

Red Foot need steady 85 percent humidity and 85F/29C temperatures, all the time, not cooler at night. Young ones can do better with it a bit warmer and more humid. To accomplish this you need to measure and keep track of the temps and humidity. Pour a little warm water into the corners only of the enclosure if the humidity drops at all. Red Foot are susceptible to shell fungus so, at the same time, you don't want the surface they walk on to be wet.

And increase your soaks to daily or more often. An adult is ok with every-other-day, but little ones do better with warm soaks, only as deep as where the two parts of shell come together, for twenty minutes or a half hour, every day. (This is above and beyond them hanging out in their water dish in the enclosure.) Keep an eye on the temperature of the water, because it is so shallow it will go cold quickly. This is a baby, keep it warm.

Speaking of watering dishes - Get rid of that gray plastic watering dish. It is too slippery and a drowning hazard. Instead, use a terra cotta saucer sunk down into the substrate about even with the surface (they can get into and out of those more easily, with less chance of flipping over).

Leave the food sit in the enclosure for the whole day. Tortoises aren't like cats or dogs who gobble up what is placed in front of them (although I leave dry food down 24/7 for my dogs and cats, too.) Torts like to eat their favourites then wander away for a while, come back later to munch on what's left - and usually do that multiple times. Feed an amount similar to their shell-size (think of it like their shell was a bowl and fill it with greens). If they eat it all, give them more.

Welcome aboard! Ask questions. Show off pics!


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