Redfoot, Burmese Star, or High White Leopard Tortoise

[waterlilykari]

I am debating which tortoise to get in the near future and still on the fence on which. I already have a setup for a baby, with few exceptions (mainly, I am going to be acquiring the bits and pieces that would be specific to breed like substrate and environmental decor after the choice between breeds is finalized) I have the the main stuff like light/heat/humidity equipment, and will obviously be customizing the levels of those for whatever the little tort needs.

I am debating between a redfoot tortoise, a Burmese star tortoise, and a high-white leopard tortoise. I have a reliable source for the redfoot and leopard, but if I do end up going with the star tortoise, I would much appreciate suggestions as to reliable breeders. Unfortunately the breeder I have been in contact with via FB about star tortoises is an unknown as of yet. There have been no real red flags, but they are also offering the torts for far below what I’ve ever seen anyone else offer a star tortoise for ($125 “rehoming fee” which includes shipping) so it feels too good to be reliable, and I’m still also waiting to hear back on the answers to a few questions I hope will give me a better gauge of them overall.

Can someone with experience with these breeds please give me any pros/cons you have to each, or if you chose not to get one after considering, can you please tell me why? I am also finding mixed reports on if they do best in a group, a pair, or single, so any anecdotes you have there are also appreciated. Thank you!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I would say all those do best in a group or single. @ZEROPILOT @Alex and the Redfoot and @Littleredfootbigredheart have experience with single or group keeping red foots. They can probably advice you on redfoot keeping.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Glad to have you here🥰

We personally house one red foot tortoise and I can walk you through a good starter set up below/answer any questions you have on them😊
She was unfortunately an impulse buy of my moms partner years before we met, he’d gone off everything he’d been told by the shop which was all useless information, he had no idea the space she was going to need as an adult, the uk is also a terrible climate for them, I genuinely don’t think they should be sold where we are, people don’t have the indoor space to create the tropical environment they need on the scale they need it, it’s impossible to house them outdoors here. Luckily with the help from this forum and years of research since I’d met her, she receives the care she needs with us, for the most part in the uk they don’t unfortunately. You’re definitely in a much better position location wise.

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

If using a light emitting heat source it 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 one as young as yours 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 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 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.

Your little one needs 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. This goes for any kind of hatching you get. 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.
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 give up an entire 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! 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. 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👍

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, hopefully all the information can help you weigh up if a red foot is for you🙂

I can’t speak for group keeping, but as far as I’ve researched, provided you have lots of land for them to roam and the correct female to male ratio, red foots do fine in small groups, they need to be similar sizes/ages though and never house a pair for any species you go for.

 

[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😊

 

[Tom]

I am debating which tortoise to get in the near future and still on the fence on which. I already have a setup for a baby, with few exceptions (mainly, I am going to be acquiring the bits and pieces that would be specific to breed like substrate and environmental decor after the choice between breeds is finalized) I have the the main stuff like light/heat/humidity equipment, and will obviously be customizing the levels of those for whatever the little tort needs.

I am debating between a redfoot tortoise, a Burmese star tortoise, and a high-white leopard tortoise. I have a reliable source for the redfoot and leopard, but if I do end up going with the star tortoise, I would much appreciate suggestions as to reliable breeders. Unfortunately the breeder I have been in contact with via FB about star tortoises is an unknown as of yet. There have been no real red flags, but they are also offering the torts for far below what I’ve ever seen anyone else offer a star tortoise for ($125 “rehoming fee” which includes shipping) so it feels too good to be reliable, and I’m still also waiting to hear back on the answers to a few questions I hope will give me a better gauge of them overall.

Can someone with experience with these breeds please give me any pros/cons you have to each, or if you chose not to get one after considering, can you please tell me why? I am also finding mixed reports on if they do best in a group, a pair, or single, so any anecdotes you have there are also appreciated. Thank you!

First, where in CA are you? Very different advice for inland San Diego, vs San Francisco.

Next, red foots don't do well here once they get big and need to live outside. Its too dry, and most inland areas are too hot, while most coastal areas are too cold.

Leopards do fine here with the right set up. $150 for any star tortoise is a scam, and FB is a terrible place for tortoise info. I breed Burmese stars and I have 3 dozen available for sale right now.

There are no tortoise "breeds". Breeds are different varieties of the same domesticated species like dogs, chickens or cattle. What you are asking about are different species.

I prefer to raise baby tortoises in small groups. It makes them more "social" with their own kind as adults. They are also fine all alone. They don't need or want company. They should never be housed in pairs.

Start here:

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...

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More here:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

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Questions are welcome.

 

[wellington]

Be sure to read this forums info for care. Learning from FB or most of the other places will give you old bad info.
If you give an actual run down of what you have for equipment and info we can help correct what might be wrong. All hatchlings need high humidity. Orchid bark, fir bark or coconut coir are substrates recommended for all species.
Best to get your enclosure up and running and tweaked before you bring a tortoise home.