Redfoot Restoration

[GGambleGG]

Never had a redfoot before but this guy came from a shitty pet store on Christmas Eve and his shells looking pretty dismal to say the absolute least, he’s staying wet and warm and someone said coconut oil on him will help but what else can we dooooooooooo, he’s been getting soaks and kinda eats when he wants but I haven’t seen any poop in the soak but his little butt is clean and he seems like a pretty happy lil guy but I just am kinda new to the tortoise game but not the reptile game so I’m not a shell expert but I’m pretty sure they should be smooth? I’m tryna hydrate him the best I can and get him all the d3 he can’t absorb. I’ll attach picturesbut:

A) is it too late

B) What do I do

C) does anyone know how to tell their gender or age

This is my first Tort and I think Im doing everything I can for him but I’ve never dealt with shells, I don’t see any cracking or flaking but it’s just rough af and from what I’ve read everywhere that’s no good so if anyones dealt with it before or has any tips they would be greatllyyyyyyy appreciated since now on top of the typical “first species worry warding” I’m spun out about a nutrient deficiency. I knew ahead of time what the case was and I could have not had to deal with the headache and just gone to Petco and got the one that’s been sitting in 60 degeess at 30 humidity since I started building a tort table or ordered one online, but me and this one had a lil moment of eye contact when I bought my spider and knew he was my dude and I’d have to scoop him, I just figured since he was out and about and eating that he was a safe buy but after some direction from people on here, and bouncing around to a few places with people who at least had information I could use to compare and take the similarities as good info I have him in a setup that he should be happy in but by all means take a look at the pics and send some constructive criticism, I’ve already pissed of the ol lady with the budget but I’ll spend whatever I have to go get him back to 100% I have him in a clear tote right now with a substrate salad of the forest floor and reptisoil stuff mixed like 75:25 and then like an inch of the fine coconut stuff across the top. Feel free to lend lighting tips as well, I’m pretty competent so despite being new I feel I’ve done the homework to be able to keep a tort and keep him comfy but I think I went in over my head with how bad I keep hearing his shell looks. I’m not an asshole so if the consensus is he needs to be like professionally treated I’ll find someone around me that has the experience to help but I’m just not 100% sure how bad it really is! Thank you guys in advance

the 2nd to last pic is the place I intended to have as his warm area/hideout and the last pic is where he’s currently chillin under his basking spot/pool

 

[TheLastGreen]

Hi and welcome! He looks good.
There is clear pyramiding ofcourse, but it's never too late to stop it.
Keep him humid, these types of torts need extremely humid conditions, this will also stop the pyramiding.
He seems too small to know the gender, around 4 years you'll be able to see.
@ZEROPILOT is the expert on them
If that is moss, you should remove it immediately, it can cause impaction, strangulation etc.
Here is loads of information on them with caresheets.

Redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises

www.tortoiseforum.org

For babies we recommend a closed enclosure, to keep humidity high and to stop pyramiding

Closed "Chambers"

Been meaning to do this one for a while now... Over the years I have kept a lot of reptiles in a lot of different ways. I've learned a lot of stuff about a lot of species. Since finding and joining this forum almost two years ago, I've learned a TON more. Now I'm not just stumbling around...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for rescuing him, I'm sure he appreciates it. Even though we do advise not to buy from pet stores, it is extremely admirable that you had the heart and guts to save him

 

[GGambleGG]

Hi and welcome! He looks good.
There is clear pyramiding ofcourse, but it's never too late to stop it.
Keep him humid, these types of torts need extremely humid conditions, this will also stop the pyramiding.
He seems too small to know the gender, around 4 years you'll be able to see.
@ZEROPILOT is the expert on them
If that is moss, you should remove it immediately, it can cause impaction, strangulation etc.
Here is loads of information on them with caresheets.

Redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises

www.tortoiseforum.org

For babies we recommend a closed enclosure, to keep humidity high and to stop pyramiding

Closed "Chambers"

Been meaning to do this one for a while now... Over the years I have kept a lot of reptiles in a lot of different ways. I've learned a lot of stuff about a lot of species. Since finding and joining this forum almost two years ago, I've learned a TON more. Now I'm not just stumbling around...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Thanks for rescuing him, I'm sure he appreciates it. Even though we do advise not to buy from pet stores, it is extremely admirable that you had the heart and guts to save him

Thank you for the info on the moss, I’m in it now, typically try to avoid pet stores I couldn’t leave him and I still didn’t know much about shipping and it seemed like so much to have to deal with that I’d be able to sneak away but here we are lol but moss is coming out now, I thought it was ok but I’m glad i can get it out of there quick since he’s been in his hideout since I added it so it’s unlikely he came in contact with any, I have a lid but it’s a screen lid so I’m struggling with humidity, but he’s warm and he’s wet and we’ll get there, thank you also for buying me some sleep by letting me know his shells good, they just seem so fragile when they’re small and they’re biologically fragile so I overthink as I’m sure most do, but thank you, and zeros been super helpful already hopefully he won’t have to answer any more of my stupid questions

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hello.
That's a lot to take in.
First, that moss needs to go asap. It's going to get nibbled on and it causes intestinal blockages.
You need an overall, (ambient) temperature of 80 to 86. Not a hot area and a cool area. A good source of heat would be one or 2 CHE on a thermostat.
You need humidity of over 70% day and night. And you need a source of UVB. Preferably with a T5 HO UVB strip florescent tube. This should also be your primary light source since Redfoot dislike bright lights.
What specific questions do you have?

 

[GGambleGG]

Hello.
That's a lot to take in.
First, that moss needs to go asap. It's going to get nibbled on and it causes intestinal blockages.
You need an overall, (ambient) temperature of 80 to 86. Not a hot area and a cool area. A good source of heat would be one or 2 CHE on a thermostat.
You need humidity of over 70% day and night. And you need a source of UVB. Preferably with a T5 HO UVB strip florescent tube. This should also be your primary light source since Redfoot dislike bright lights.
What specific questions do you have?

We’ll you’ve answered a few right there lol, your name keeps coming up as the guy so I trust your info, basically assumed the temperature shouldn’t differ too much anywhere in there and I just tried to kinda give him a little jungle, and by cooler I just men not directly in the light, more of just a shady spot, the other question is I know he needs the D3 from the uvb light and good hydration, plus the stable temps and humidity to keep his shell healthy but what else can you do to help with hydration and the nutrients so his shell grows healthy and rot free

 

[ZEROPILOT]

We’ll you’ve answered a few right there lol, your name keeps coming up as the guy so I trust your info, basically assumed the temperature shouldn’t differ too much anywhere in there and I just tried to kinda give him a little jungle, and by cooler I just men not directly in the light, more of just a shady spot, the other question is I know he needs the D3 from the uvb light and good hydration, plus the stable temps and humidity to keep his shell healthy but what else can you do to help with hydration and the nutrients so his shell grows healthy and rot free

You should give him a warm water soak in a shallow pan of water once a week. Even more if you have the time.
That UVB bulb will enable him to form D3 from his diet.
Redfoot are forest floor vacuum cleaners. They can and should eat a giant variety of foods including fruit.
Sugary fruits like berries and bananas can be fed fairly often and with other items.But less sugary foods like figs can be part of the daily diet. That's on top of the animal protein, green leafy vegetables and flowers and hibiscus leaves and absolutely hundreds of other items.
If you have any unprocessed fresh food at home, chances are, your Redfoot can eat it. Mine had the raw ends of some yellow squash, cut broccoli stems and a few brussel sprouts added to this weeks feeding just because I cooked those items as part of our HUMAN meal. They also received some non seasoned. Microwave cooked turkey.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Unlike some other exotic pets, feeding a Redfoot couldn't be any easier. Because of the huge food menu