Redfoot people help me.

[Lilithlee]

okay, I've have read as much as I can on redfoot. Since I'm getting one very soon. What confuses me the most is fedfoots and UVB.
Some say use them, other say don't.
I don't want to hurt the tortoise by using them, at the same time I don't want to hurt the tortoise by not using them.
Advice?

 

[matt41gb]

I say supplement with calcium if you're not going to keep yours outside at all. I've never used a UVB light on a tortoise or turtle ever. I've never had a problem with shell, or bone deformity. Make sure your red-foot has a varied diet and supplement once a week at least.

-Matt

 

[terryo]

On one side of the vivarium, where mine live in the Winter months, I use a long tube 5.0 UVB. They're out all Summer in a tortoise garden, which only consists of about 3 months in natural sun. Just what I do....I feel it can't hurt.

 

[Jacqui]

Are you talking about getting hatchlings? youngsters? or adults? Will they get any outside time?

 

[Lilithlee]

I'm getting a hatching, it will be going outside at least one to two hours everyday, maybe more if this stupid heat ever goes away, until winter that is.

 

[Madkins007]

OK, lets cover a couple basic points. A reptile NEEDS vitamin D to help process the calcium in the diet. Inadequate vitamin D, inadequate calcium processing, which will have potentially life-threatening consequences. (Healthy bones need a lot of things, these are just 2 components.) The dosage of D a tortoise needs is based on weight and can be found at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/nutguide.html (as well as dosages of calcium, etc.)

The BEST source of D is natural, unfiltered sunlight (the all-important 280nm wavelength is easy to block with glass, plastic, and even fine mesh or screen). They only need a relatively small exposure- many suggest about an hour a week over several sessions. As long as you have this, don't worry about vitamin D or UVB.

Vitamin D is stored in the body fat (in tortoises, humans, and most animals). We are not clear on how long the fat reserves last. Many keepers do not provide supplemental D in the winter at all and claim that they have great results, but there are no studies I know of that prove or disprove this idea. Some 'let them coast' on the fat reserves, some feel it is helpful to provide supplemental D for 'inside' tortoises.

There are two basic ways to offer D to an indoor tortoise- artificial light or diet. If you go the light route, you need to find a good bulb, mount it correctly, and replace it as needed- usually 6-12 months. This is a good route, but even with artificial light, you may still want to ensure the proper dosage by adding a low dose of D to the diet.

Dietary supplementation can be via diet, using high D foods or via vitamin supplementation. The problem with the first is that no tortoises foods naturally contain the recommended doses of D, not even Mazuri Tortoise Diet. If you do use the supplement option, you'll want to ensure that it provides enough.

There are some who will argue some 'anti-UVB' issues. My thoughts are...
- "Red-foots are a forest animal and do not get natural UVB"- My answers are: a.) Red-foots are actually a savannah animal and are perfectly comfortable in full sunlight, and b.) Even in deep forest near the Equator, there is still plenty of UVB hitting the ground according to actual measurements.
- "Baby tortoises spend most of their time hiding so do not get UVB in the wild"- My answer is that it only takes small exposures daily and even baby tortoises poke their heads outside to feed once in a while.
- "I've never used UVB or special amounts of D and my tortoises are fine."- My answers include a.) Many of them DO actually offer sunlight or UVB (quite a few lights actually emit some UVB), b.) some of these people struggle with pyramiding which might not be a problem if they offered the right levels of D and calcium, and c.) the term 'fine' in a slow-growing animal is a pretty shaky term. It can take years, even decades, for problems to show up.
- "UVB hurts the eyes"- My reply is that yes, it can, if you use too much, put the bulb too close, use an older-style bulb, etc. Thousands of tortoises do just fine under properly placed UVB bulbs, and a very few get problems. Granted, some major bulb makers have had problems- coiled UVB bulbs used to make a 'hot spot' of too much UVB- but they all seem to be better now.


Bottom line- your tortoise NEEDS vitamin D. It is best to get it from sunlight. After that, there is not a clear consensus as to whether supplements or lighting is the healthier option- HOWEVER, there is good evidence that UV lighting has benefits to reptiles aside from the UVB aspect.

You can check out the lighting article or others at the Tortoise Library, linked below.

 

[Lilithlee]

OK, lets cover a couple basic points. A reptile NEEDS vitamin D to help process the calcium in the diet. Inadequate vitamin D, inadequate calcium processing, which will have potentially life-threatening consequences. (Healthy bones need a lot of things, these are just 2 components.) The dosage of D a tortoise needs is based on weight and can be found at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/nutguide.html (as well as dosages of calcium, etc.)

The BEST source of D is natural, unfiltered sunlight (the all-important 280nm wavelength is easy to block with glass, plastic, and even fine mesh or screen). They only need a relatively small exposure- many suggest about an hour a week over several sessions. As long as you have this, don't worry about vitamin D or UVB.

Vitamin D is stored in the body fat (in tortoises, humans, and most animals). We are not clear on how long the fat reserves last. Many keepers do not provide supplemental D in the winter at all and claim that they have great results, but there are no studies I know of that prove or disprove this idea. Some 'let them coast' on the fat reserves, some feel it is helpful to provide supplemental D for 'inside' tortoises.

There are two basic ways to offer D to an indoor tortoise- artificial light or diet. If you go the light route, you need to find a good bulb, mount it correctly, and replace it as needed- usually 6-12 months. This is a good route, but even with artificial light, you may still want to ensure the proper dosage by adding a low dose of D to the diet.

Dietary supplementation can be via diet, using high D foods or via vitamin supplementation. The problem with the first is that no tortoises foods naturally contain the recommended doses of D, not even Mazuri Tortoise Diet. If you do use the supplement option, you'll want to ensure that it provides enough.

There are some who will argue some 'anti-UVB' issues. My thoughts are...
- "Red-foots are a forest animal and do not get natural UVB"- My answers are: a.) Red-foots are actually a savannah animal and are perfectly comfortable in full sunlight, and b.) Even in deep forest near the Equator, there is still plenty of UVB hitting the ground according to actual measurements.
- "Baby tortoises spend most of their time hiding so do not get UVB in the wild"- My answer is that it only takes small exposures daily and even baby tortoises poke their heads outside to feed once in a while.
- "I've never used UVB or special amounts of D and my tortoises are fine."- My answers include a.) Many of them DO actually offer sunlight or UVB (quite a few lights actually emit some UVB), b.) some of these people struggle with pyramiding which might not be a problem if they offered the right levels of D and calcium, and c.) the term 'fine' in a slow-growing animal is a pretty shaky term. It can take years, even decades, for problems to show up.
- "UVB hurts the eyes"- My reply is that yes, it can, if you use too much, put the bulb too close, use an older-style bulb, etc. Thousands of tortoises do just fine under properly placed UVB bulbs, and a very few get problems. Granted, some major bulb makers have had problems- coiled UVB bulbs used to make a 'hot spot' of too much UVB- but they all seem to be better now.


Bottom line- your tortoise NEEDS vitamin D. It is best to get it from sunlight. After that, there is not a clear consensus as to whether supplements or lighting is the healthier option- HOWEVER, there is good evidence that UV lighting has benefits to reptiles aside from the UVB aspect.

You can check out the lighting article or others at the Tortoise Library, linked below.

Love the info!

 

[tyler0912]

No critisism here....
i have a 5year old redfoot tortoise (picture in signature)
I dont use a UVB i just use cuttlefish and calcium supplement .....
My redfoot has a bit of pyramiding...i personaly have not done this i purchased her in a petshop when i was a newbie i did not know about 'breeders' etc....
now i know petshops dont know how to care for him thats why its got pyramiding....
But i must say it has never got any worse!

 

[jackrat]

I don't use UVB's. I do supplement D3 in the winter,when they are inside. My redfoots never stay in the direct sunshine,when outside. They prefer dappled shade,early morning and late evening indirect sunlight.

 

[tyler0912]

Jackrat...Exactly same as my redfoot!

 

[Madkins007]

Dappled and indirect sunlight contains plenty of UVB, especially in the more southerly states- although not so much in the northern climes.

May I ask what dosages of D3 you are providing?

 

[jackrat]

Dappled and indirect sunlight contains plenty of UVB, especially in the more southerly states- although not so much in the northern climes.

May I ask what dosages of D3 you are providing?

Not sure who you're speaking to,Mark. If it's me,I don't have an exact dosage. I supplement in one of two ways. Usually,it's a weekly meal of moistened,low fat dry cat food,sprinkled with calcium. Sometimes,it's a weekly sprinkle of Reptical with D3.

 

[Yvonne G]

No critisism here....
i have a 5year old redfoot tortoise (picture in signature)
I dont use a UVB i just use cuttlefish and calcium supplement .....
My redfoot has a bit of pyramiding...i personaly have not done this i purchased her in a petshop when i was a newbie i did not know about 'breeders' etc....
now i know petshops dont know how to care for him thats why its got pyramiding....
But i must say it has never got any worse!

Tyler: Your tortoise's pyramiding probably is NOT from calcium or UVB. What Mark said in his informative article above is basically: all the calcium in the world isn't going to help your tortoise unless he also gets vitamin D. Calcium/vitamin D. It works together TOGETHER to make strong bones and shells. They get vitamin D either from the sun (best) or from a UVB light.

 

[tyler0912]

yeh.....my tortoise gets outside almost every day i live in UK everyone says 'I cant get my tort out i live in uk' but as long as its not raining and its not cold it will still get uvb even if it is cloudy xx