Redfoot tortoise enclosure

[Robog80]

Hi all, im new here.
We got our son a redfoot hatchling for xmas but he passed away over the weekend. We felt we had done everything right....my son bathed him, loved him and offered a very good diet (using tortoise table app).
He was moved 4 times over the course of a month and we feel that may have stopped him eating. We naively asked the petshop owner if this was normal...i was told not to worry.
I wish we had have worried now as my son is devastated.

We will be purchasing another in a few months but doing as much research as possible 1st.

Firstly what age should we look for, is 7 months better than a 3 month old?

We were sold an open top table, i eventually added a lid to try and trap moisture. We were also sold a big UV bulb to run 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Reading these forums this light isnt ideal.

Can someone advise in simple terms which bulb i should look at? Is a self timing mister necessary? We were spraying as often as possible.

Thanks for any help

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings. Sorry to hear about the loss of your young RF, I’m sure are all devastated. . It sounds like you were given some terrible advice on the husbandry & equally bad info on the set-up/enclosure required for proper keeping of a RF.

If you check under the Species —> South American — Redfoot

you will find lots of good information including proper enclosures, food, lighting, heating, substrate.

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-tortoise-care-sheet.175319/

I’m sure moving 4 or more times didnt help. Moved house four times. or u moved the enclosure about in your house that many times?

You didn't mention at all about your heating arrangements. Very critical for a tropical species. Misters/foggers are not usually recommended since they create cool moisture - not really what you want for a tropical tortoise.

Good luck. I’m sure @ZEROPILOT & @Toddrickfl1 can provide more info on RF keeping.

 

[Robog80]

Thanks for the reply we will have a look at those pages.

Moved around the house, he was downstairs over xmas then moved up to my sons room etc....

We had a large UV buld which was on 12 hours, off 12 hours. The temp over night was too low once we had thermostats etc....we then put a perspex top on it, this helped with the humity and temp enough. Im note sure RF's even need a bulb of that yhpe for basking?

 

[Cherryshell]

Thanks for the reply we will have a look at those pages.

Moved around the house, he was downstairs over xmas then moved up to my sons room etc....

We had a large UV buld which was on 12 hours, off 12 hours. The temp over night was too low once we had thermostats etc....we then put a perspex top on it, this helped with the humity and temp enough. Im note sure RF's even need a bulb of that yhpe for basking?

RF don't require a basking spot but they do require their enclosure to maintain an ambient temp of 85ish degrees with 80%+ humidity. Could you provide us picture of the enclosure?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Thanks for the reply we will have a look at those pages.

Moved around the house, he was downstairs over xmas then moved up to my sons room etc....

We had a large UV buld which was on 12 hours, off 12 hours. The temp over night was too low once we had thermostats etc....we then put a perspex top on it, this helped with the humity and temp enough. Im note sure RF's even need a bulb of that yhpe for basking?

Moving around in ur own house probably not an issue, but it doesnt sound like you had any type of heater(s) installed to maintain a solid warm environment 24/7. You pretty much need a fully enclosed enclosure which will really help with maintaining proper heat & humidity.

Don’t rush right out to get a new RF until you can get a good enclosure built to maintain good lighting, heat & humidity.

 

[Robog80]

Moving around in ur own house probably not an issue, but it doesnt sound like you had any type of heater(s) installed to maintain a solid warm environment 24/7. You pretty much need a fully enclosed enclosure which will really help with maintaining proper heat & humidity.

Don’t rush right out to get a new RF until you can get a good enclosure built to maintain good lighting, heat & humidity.

Will putting a lid on a tortoise table work or do i need a vivarium, we 100% wont buy until we have a setup thats fit for purpose.
Im looking through the forum for some ideas.

 

[Robog80]

RF don't require a basking spot but they do require their enclosure to maintain an ambient temp of 85ish degrees with 80%+ humidity. Could you provide us picture of the enclosure?

I was sold a table like this and buld setup....after a month or so we realised our baby rf had become lethagic so we put a perspex sheet on top with a hole for the bulb, it still only had about 60-70% humidity.
Im keen to get a correct setup so do i convert the table or get a vivarium? What type of bulb/heating setup wpuld be best?

 

[Cherryshell]

I was sold a table like this and buld setup....after a month or so we realised our baby rf had become lethagic so we put a perspex sheet on top with a hole for the bulb, it still only had about 60-70% humidity.
Im keen to get a correct setup so do i convert the table or get a vivarium? What type of bulb/heating setup wpuld be best?

Honestly you may as well dump that into the fireplace. Your best bet would be to purchase a horizontal grow tent from Amazon, you'll hand a UVB tube bulb and a CHE no problem. What substrate were you using?

 

[Robog80]

Im defo going to sell it, we were using a soil of sorts from the petshop. The lighting we had seems to be the biggest issue

 

[Cherryshell]

For the substrate, best to use is fine grade orchid chips / coco coir mix. @ZEROPILOT can direct you on the type of uvb florescent tube bulb to get

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

For the substrate, best to use is fine grade orchid chips / coco coir mix. @ZEROPILOT can direct you on the type of uvb florescent tube bulb to get

Yes! @ZEROPILOT is the go to person for this species!