Not Rainforest Tortoises?
- Thread starter TammyJ
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mojo_1
Well-Known Member
As a Redfoot owner/care taker I hate to say it but, are they playing with them or are they washing their dinner?🤔☹️😢
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
The yellowfooted at the bottom seems to have the same concerns
mojo_1
Well-Known Member
It's not his first rodeo. He knows what's up☹️The yellowfooted at the bottom seems to have the same concerns
Some are eaten, and some are kept as pets, and some are released. That's what I remember from the original article, which I wish I could find. I found this and posted it to fuel the on-and-off debate about whether these tortoises are rainforest or savanna. I think they may be found in either habitat or on the borders? And that their location varies more than anyone realises.
The tortoises were called pets; pet monkeys also seem to be common, look at the womans head on the left.
i don't believe it is debatable that they come from the amazon "rainforest" region , the misconception is the environment they inhabit in these "rainforest" ..... savanahs, flood plain forest, and rivers, are all parts of the "rainforest"....... in the southern range of the redfoot tortoise they live along side chaco tortoises, are chaco tortoises a "rainforest" speces???? i believe as far as the environment/habitat they naturally occur in , you'll have trouble finding someone more informed than D. Moskovits, it appears to me redfoot tortoises were a major part of her life's work........ the amount of research done on red foot tortoises is quite extensive ....
them living in the shadows is just not true , them doing well with or without a basking lamp is true , the whole truth is any tortoise or turtle can do well without a basking lamp, without uvb is another story....... keeping them inside is not a way you can discern what they prefer as far as natural conditions, the only way to get a glimpse of that, is keeping them outside for extended periods of time ..... i doubt anyone who keeps them outside will disagree they bask in the sun.....
probably the most compelling evidence that they do not inhabit dense rainforest is the distinct genetic clades of redfoots and what separates them ,and lack of different clades of yellowfoot tortoises..... to my knowledge there has never been shown naturally occurring redfoot X yellowfoot hybrids.....
(Moskovits, 1985)
"They live in savannahs to forest-edges, forest clearings, or along waterways. They appreciate habitats with temperatures close to 30 °C. Red-footed tortoises are often found in or near transitional areas between forests (rain forests, dry forests or even temperate forests) and savannah, such as forest clearings, wood edges, or along waterways ."
them living in the shadows is just not true , them doing well with or without a basking lamp is true , the whole truth is any tortoise or turtle can do well without a basking lamp, without uvb is another story....... keeping them inside is not a way you can discern what they prefer as far as natural conditions, the only way to get a glimpse of that, is keeping them outside for extended periods of time ..... i doubt anyone who keeps them outside will disagree they bask in the sun.....
probably the most compelling evidence that they do not inhabit dense rainforest is the distinct genetic clades of redfoots and what separates them ,and lack of different clades of yellowfoot tortoises..... to my knowledge there has never been shown naturally occurring redfoot X yellowfoot hybrids.....
(Moskovits, 1985)
"They live in savannahs to forest-edges, forest clearings, or along waterways. They appreciate habitats with temperatures close to 30 °C. Red-footed tortoises are often found in or near transitional areas between forests (rain forests, dry forests or even temperate forests) and savannah, such as forest clearings, wood edges, or along waterways ."
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My Redfoot (that all live exclusively outdoors in a tropical environment) do come out on cool mornings to sit in the sunlight until they reach a temperature that makes locomotion comfortable for them.
Technically. This is basking. My Redfoot bask.
Whenever I (we) say that they do not bask. I'm referring to them not needing a basking area inside a thermally regulated closed chamber enclosure. Which is already in the correct temperature range 24/7.
When set up correctly with an ambient temperature of between 80 and 84f. The need to regulate temperature isn't there.
My Redfoot also ALL dissappear once the sun makes it too warm for them. And they stay hidden for most of the day. This also doesn't need to take place in a stable closed chamber enclosure. And it's why I (we) generally suggest that they do best with the ambient temperature. No cool side/hot side. With us playing GOD of the environment.
All responses to new members. And most responses in general are just over simplified for the sake of the reader.
Just like the coil bulb responses. A standard answer that just protects from danger and points out the alternatives. Designed to help the reader. But can be the topic of debates. And has been.
It's one of the many one size fits most responses. That answer most questions.
Over my 30 plus years of keeping Redfoot outdoors in south Florida, I've seen some very adaptive behavior in the species. And I have no doubt that they can and do survive and even thrive in vastly different environments throughout their native countries and even elsewhere.
Technically. This is basking. My Redfoot bask.
Whenever I (we) say that they do not bask. I'm referring to them not needing a basking area inside a thermally regulated closed chamber enclosure. Which is already in the correct temperature range 24/7.
When set up correctly with an ambient temperature of between 80 and 84f. The need to regulate temperature isn't there.
My Redfoot also ALL dissappear once the sun makes it too warm for them. And they stay hidden for most of the day. This also doesn't need to take place in a stable closed chamber enclosure. And it's why I (we) generally suggest that they do best with the ambient temperature. No cool side/hot side. With us playing GOD of the environment.
All responses to new members. And most responses in general are just over simplified for the sake of the reader.
Just like the coil bulb responses. A standard answer that just protects from danger and points out the alternatives. Designed to help the reader. But can be the topic of debates. And has been.
It's one of the many one size fits most responses. That answer most questions.
Over my 30 plus years of keeping Redfoot outdoors in south Florida, I've seen some very adaptive behavior in the species. And I have no doubt that they can and do survive and even thrive in vastly different environments throughout their native countries and even elsewhere.
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You've got to love those bowling ball smooth shells
mojo_1
Well-Known Member
Indeed, I was admiring them earlier.
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Florida smooth is smooth. But only wild caught look like that.
It makes one consider that everything is not equal. Even here.
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
Oh sh.. I didn't see a monkey there 🙀
Me neither! And now I am trying to figure if it's dead or alive. I think it's alive but annoyed. Lol.
mojo_1
Well-Known Member
I think it's alive and doesn't want a bath.🤣
i disagree with nothing you said Ed......... personally i favor the temperature gradient , is it harder , i actually think it's easier ......as long as the tortoise or turtle is healthy, i think it's healthier for them ..... i think the behavior is important , especially to a captive animal........ if you believe such stuff, i've seen a study where they found allowing reptiles to thermoregulate was shown to be a behavioral enrichment...... behavioral enrichments have been shown to be more beneficial than environmental enrichments as far as captive animal welfare .....
if i were guessing i'd say nutrition and growth rate......
See the Bond of Monkeys and Humans in the Amazon
A National Geographic photographer captures the relationship between indigenous peoples and the primates they share their lives with.
www.nationalgeographic.com
I'm pretty sure its one of the Tamarins.
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