Red Foot Newbie Here

[Bwaterford]

I pick up my little one tomorrow. He or She is about baseball size. I have done alot of research prior but I really would like some advice on diet and habitats do's and dont's, any helpful info is also welcomed. I want to feed as healthy and natural a diet as possible and am planning on doing a live habitat set up.
Thanks in advance for advice

 

[wellington]

If you didn't do your research on this forum than start there in the RF section.
A hatching needs a closed chamber enclosure with high humidity, 80%. The top layer needs to be dry while bottom is very damp. All lights and heat needs to be within the chamber to hold the humidity.
Post a pic of your enclosure and we can help you get it right before your little one arrives.
Have it up and running now so you know by tomorrow that temps and humidity are correct.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

@Littleredfootbigredheart can advice you on the diet and set up!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Glad to have you here🥰

I’m going to include some information below on an appropriate indoor starter set up, hopefully it all helps😊

Best advice I can give is to have everything up and running before getting your baby.
When a hatchling, they do best in a closed chamber set up to better control the temperature and humidity, I wouldn’t house them outdoors until they are around 3 years old.

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 source should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached)on a 12 hour timer, using a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) for night heat.

However 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 a hatchling both night&day.
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 sticking 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 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 any labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

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.

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.
Don’t use any top soils or anything mixed with sand. Unless you’ve composted soil yourself, there’s no knowing what plants have go into it, could be something toxic. Sand is an irritant.

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 tropical room sized enclosure.
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! For both these options 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 it’s not just 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😕

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.

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, their dietary requirements differ from most tortoise🙂

 

[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😊

 

[Bwaterford]

Hello and welcome! Glad to have you here🥰

I’m going to include some information below on an appropriate indoor starter set up, hopefully it all helps😊

Best advice I can give is to have everything up and running before getting your baby.
When a hatchling, they do best in a closed chamber set up to better control the temperature and humidity, I wouldn’t house them outdoors until they are around 3 years old.

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 source should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached)on a 12 hour timer, using a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) for night heat.

However 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 a hatchling both night&day.
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 sticking 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 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 any labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

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.

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.
Don’t use any top soils or anything mixed with sand. Unless you’ve composted soil yourself, there’s no knowing what plants have go into it, could be something toxic. Sand is an irritant.

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 tropical room sized enclosure.
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! For both these options 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 it’s not just 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😕

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.

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, their dietary requirements differ from most tortoise🙂

Thank you so much, this is great and very helpful info. I picked him up yesterday and had his 1st night here in a temporary set up till my new one gets delivered. Temp stayed at 80 at night 90 day and humidity between 60 and 90. I used coconut soil and Reptisoil mix, but I'm going to try it your way, with the orchid, haven't seen it but I will look for it. Mine is a cherry head red foot if that makes a difference with diet or set up. He seemed happy, hungry and moving about. I get what you mean about struggle with open set up. I really liked the setup pictures you sent, those are definitely something to shoot for. I really appreciate all you info and time replying.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you so much, this is great and very helpful info. I picked him up yesterday and had his 1st night here in a temporary set up till my new one gets delivered. Temp stayed at 80 at night 90 day and humidity between 60 and 90. I used coconut soil and Reptisoil mix, but I'm going to try it your way, with the orchid, haven't seen it but I will look for it. Mine is a cherry head red foot if that makes a difference with diet or set up. He seemed happy, hungry and moving about. I get what you mean about struggle with open set up. I really liked the setup pictures you sent, those are definitely something to shoot for. I really appreciate all you info and time replying.

No problem at all! 90 ambient is a smidge high for a red foot, I’d try sticking with the ceramics to achieve a ambient range of 80-86 24/7. Red foots and cherry heads have the exact same needs😊
You’ll need to aim for humidity being 80+ in the entirety of the enclosure for them to thrive, for this you’ll definitely need a closed chamber.

Adorable baby!🥰keep us updated on your progress😁

 

[Bwaterford]

No problem at all! 90 ambient is a smidge high for a red foot, I’d try sticking with the ceramics to achieve a ambient range of 80-86 24/7. Red foots and cherry heads have the exact same needs😊
You’ll need to aim for humidity being 80+ in the entirety of the enclosure for them to thrive, for this you’ll definitely need a closed chamber.

Adorable baby!🥰keep us updated on your progress😁

Like I said only day 1 and I'm definitely going to shoot for better parameters. I had to change up the habitat I'm getting after seeing yours and others out there. I'm a nurse by profession and very efficient in everything I do. I'm also middle age so I'm a little more focused. I will definitely strive for meeting all the needs of my tortoise so he/she is happy healthy and thriving.
My son bought a succata (not sure on spelling) tortoise for his daughter/family the same time I got mine, now that's one is to much for me to handel, weight and lifespane...lol
Attaching Pic of my baby's shell. He has 14 scutes not 13? Issue or no? Thank you again

 

[Bwaterford]

Like I said only day 1 and I'm definitely going to shoot for better parameters. I had to change up the habitat I'm getting after seeing yours and others out there. I'm a nurse by profession and very efficient in everything I do. I'm also middle age so I'm a little more focused. I will definitely strive for meeting all the needs of my tortoise so he/she is happy healthy and thriving.
My son bought a succata (not sure on spelling) tortoise for his daughter/family the same time I got mine, now that's one is to much for me to handel, weight and lifespane...lol
Attaching Pic of my baby's shell. He has 14 scutes not 13? Issue or no? Thank you again

 

[COmtnLady]

Welcome to The Tortoise 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.


Did you have a chance to read this yet?

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

With a young one like you have be sure to have a closed top enclosure. They need high humidity and evenly high temps, and there is no way to do that without it being closed on top.

Also daily (or more often) soaks are important for hydration. Warm water, as deep as where the two parts of their shell come together, 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on them AND on the water temp (because its so shallow it goes cold quickly - and this is only a baby, keep it warm!).


Don't worry about the "odd number of scutes", do pay attention that she's been kept too dry and/or with too hot of lights because the shell isn't smooth. Humidity and even temps will help fix this, but if she's left dry for much longer it will result in pyramiding. None are perfect, each unique, but when the shell starts to disfigure the damage can't be undone.

Red Foot are from the equatorial part of South America, so will need to be kept differently, fed differently, than your son's Sulcata. Poke around here, there are lots of topics about each species.

Ask questions!

They're really interesting creatures. Enjoy your tortoise!


.

 

[Bwaterford]

Welcome to The Tortoise 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.


Did you have a chance to read this yet?

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

With a young one like you have be sure to have a closed top enclosure. They need high humidity and evenly high temps, and there is no way to do that without it being closed on top.

Also daily (or more often) soaks are important for hydration. Warm water, as deep as where the two parts of their shell come together, 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on them AND on the water temp (because its so shallow it goes cold quickly - and this is only a baby, keep it warm!).


Don't worry about the "odd number of scutes", do pay attention that she's been kept too dry and/or with too hot of lights because the shell isn't smooth. Humidity and even temps will help fix this, but if she's left dry for much longer it will result in pyramiding. None are perfect, each unique, but when the shell starts to disfigure the damage can't be undone.

Red Foot are from the equatorial part of South America, so will need to be kept differently, fed differently, than your son's Sulcata. Poke around here, there are lots of topics about each species.

Ask questions!

They're really interesting creatures. Enjoy your tortoise!


.

Thanks for the info, I have been reading alot, and I definitely appreciate all the helpful reply's.
I ordered a enclosure and after all the helpful advice I already ordered a different one to meet his or her needs. Thanks Again 😊

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’m glad you’ve found the advice helpful so far, I look forward to following your progress! Any further questions that come up, ask away🥰

 

[Bwaterford]

Like I said only day 1 and I'm definitely going to shoot for better parameters. I had to change up the habitat I'm getting after seeing yours and others out there. I'm a nurse by profession and very efficient in everything I do. I'm also middle age so I'm a little more focused. I will definitely strive for meeting all the needs of my tortoise so he/she is happy healthy and thriving.
My son bought a succata (not sure on spelling) tortoise for his daughter/family the same time I got mine, now that's one is to much for me to handel, weight and lifespane...lol
Attaching Pic of my baby's shell. He has 14 scutes not 13? Issue or no? Thank you again

Hey quick question is adding a cuttlebone for calcium for my baby a good idea?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hey quick question is adding a cuttlebone for calcium for my baby a good idea?

Absolutely! It’s a good source of calcium, if they’re getting everything they need calcium wise they may not choose to touch it, but it’s fine for them to have the option😊just make sure it’s not a small enough piece to be any kind of chocking hazard, they’ll peck it apart themselves👍

 

[Bwaterford]

Absolutely! It’s a good source of calcium, if they’re getting everything they need calcium wise they may not choose to touch it, but it’s fine for them to have the option😊just make sure it’s not a small enough piece to be any kind of chocking hazard, they’ll peck it apart themselves👍

Forgot to ask about feed hard boiled eggs and shells? Can I? And how? And how often?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Forgot to ask about feed hard boiled eggs and shells? Can I? And how? And how often?

Eggs are a good source of protein! I’d only feed them once every 7-10 days, you can rotate your protein sources, so one time it could be a small portion of egg, another time could be a small portion of steamed chicken and so on🙂a baby will only need a little portion of it, smaller than the palm of your hand. The egg shells make another good source of calcium! I’d personally crush the shell into a fine powder and sprinkle some on top😊

 

[Bwaterford]

Eggs are a good source of protein! I’d only feed them once every 7-10 days, you can rotate your protein sources, so one time it could be a small portion of egg, another time could be a small portion of steamed chicken and so on🙂a baby will only need a little portion of it, smaller than the palm of your hand. The egg shells make another good source of calcium! I’d personally crush the shell into a fine powder and sprinkle some on top😊

Thanks you for reply. I'm sending pictures of a few items I would appreciate your thoughts on.