Rf growth

[ashlyn]

Hi! so just a few months ago I acquired a friends neglected rf, who just turned 2 years old. I took care of the problems he had and he's been a happy tort now (no more pyramiding!!) i did some measuring of his size to make him a bigger indoor enclosure back in like beginning of october, and his shell measured 3.5".
i was soaking him this morning and i measured him again and he grew over a whole inch! almost 5" now. is this concerning? is it because he was stunted before bc lack of proper diet, or could I be feeding him too much protein?
i make sure to give him a little boiled egg once a week and follow that rule of giving him the amount the size of his head.
lmk if y'all have any ideas or if his little body is just catching up on missing growth or something.

 

[mojo_1]

Hi! so just a few months ago I acquired a friends neglected rf, who just turned 2 years old. I took care of the problems he had and he's been a happy tort now (no more pyramiding!!) i did some measuring of his size to make him a bigger indoor enclosure back in like beginning of october, and his shell measured 3.5".
i was soaking him this morning and i measured him again and he grew over a whole inch! almost 5" now. is this concerning? is it because he was stunted before bc lack of proper diet, or could I be feeding him too much protein?
i make sure to give him a little boiled egg once a week and follow that rule of giving him the amount the size of his head.
lmk if y'all have any ideas or if his little body is just catching up on missing growth or something.

You can switch up the protein and give him plain boiled chicken. I would say his growth has started do to positive changes to his environment.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

How has the weight gain been?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’m inclined to say it’s testament to his improved care! Well done! Don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you keep him? It’s nice seeing with newer members

What are your temperatures like day&night?
What kind of bulbs are being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
What kind of uvb bulb are you using?
How’s humidity reading? Is it a closed chamber?
What kind of monitoring do you have?
What is the substrate? Looks to be cypress mulch which is good
What are you offering diet wise apart from the egg?

A photo of the full enclosure would be great! Bless you for taking this guy in

 

[ashlyn]

How has the weight gain been?

I haven't weighed him in a hot minute but before he was 46 g and now he's 76 g ish, that was last month though

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I haven't weighed him in a hot minute but before he was 46 g and now he's 76 g ish, that was last month though

He was probably stunted or at the very least small for his age, since redfoot hatchlings weigh about 30 to 50 grams right out of the egg.

 

[ashlyn]

I’m inclined to say it’s testament to his improved care! Well done! Don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you keep him? It’s nice seeing with newer members

What are your temperatures like day&night?
What kind of bulbs are being used specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
What kind of uvb bulb are you using?
How’s humidity reading? Is it a closed chamber?
What kind of monitoring do you have?
What is the substrate? Looks to be cypress mulch which is good
What are you offering diet wise apart from the egg?

A photo of the full enclosure would be great! Bless you for taking this guy in

temps are an avg of 85-95 and humidity 80-85. temps dropped a little bc of some cold fronts so i had to kick up his thermostat but it's normal again.
i'm using a 12" reptosomething uvb it's 5 something i can't remember the unit used for that measurement. it's on a timer for 4 hours midday. and i'm using a CHE can't remember the wattage but i used one recommended to me on here on a prev post.
i used cocoa choir layer then cypress mulch for substrate. he's got a few hides in there a ceramic log and a half of a terracotta pot. he's also got a shallow terracotta dish for water. flat slate rock to eat on and trim his nails
closed chamber.
as far as monitoring i've got a thermostat for the CHE and a humidity/ temperature gage that links to my phone. also a temp gun
his diet is based off a care sheet i was recommended on here for rf, i switch it up by the week to keep some variety but he usually gets red leaf lettuce, collards, mustard, or turnip greens. one time green leaf lettuce but he hated it. fruits and veggies alternating, mango, banana, apple, pear, watermelon (strawberry but not often) and squash zucchini cucumber any bell pepper, a few more i can't remember lol. he seems to really like mustard greens and anything orange. also calcium on monday's and friday's. soaking on mondays and fridays.

 

[ashlyn]

He was probably stunted or at the very least small for his age, since redfoot hatchlings weigh about 30 to 50 grams right out of the egg.

wow i hope his shell turns out ok, so far he seems fine. ty for the info though. i know he was only getting very minimal amt of greens w calcium and no fruits or veggies. poor guy

 

[ashlyn]

You can switch up the protein and give him plain boiled chicken. I would say his growth has started do to positive changes to his environment.

if i were to do chicken, dark or white meat and how much would i give him?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

one time green leaf lettuce but he hated it

If your tortoise refuses something once, it doesn't necessary mean they wont ever eat it or like it. So you can try again some day if you want to.

 

[COmtnLady]

That's amazing! Gold star!

 

[mojo_1]

if i were to do chicken, dark or white meat and how much would i give him?

I just do a boneless breast and cut about a 1 to 2 " chunk off of it for the tortoise and feed roughly a tablespoon of thin sliced and chopped up amount once a week while his growing.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

temps are an avg of 85-95 and humidity 80-85. temps dropped a little bc of some cold fronts so i had to kick up his thermostat but it's normal again.
i'm using a 12" reptosomething uvb it's 5 something i can't remember the unit used for that measurement. it's on a timer for 4 hours midday. and i'm using a CHE can't remember the wattage but i used one recommended to me on here on a prev post.
i used cocoa choir layer then cypress mulch for substrate. he's got a few hides in there a ceramic log and a half of a terracotta pot. he's also got a shallow terracotta dish for water. flat slate rock to eat on and trim his nails
closed chamber.
as far as monitoring i've got a thermostat for the CHE and a humidity/ temperature gage that links to my phone. also a temp gun
his diet is based off a care sheet i was recommended on here for rf, i switch it up by the week to keep some variety but he usually gets red leaf lettuce, collards, mustard, or turnip greens. one time green leaf lettuce but he hated it. fruits and veggies alternating, mango, banana, apple, pear, watermelon (strawberry but not often) and squash zucchini cucumber any bell pepper, a few more i can't remember lol. he seems to really like mustard greens and anything orange. also calcium on monday's and friday's. soaking on mondays and fridays.

Brilliant! All sounds fantastic

 

[ZEROPILOT]

If you don't already have one, get yourself a flat, glass digital food scale. I got mine from Walmart.
They're very inexpensive and an easy way to check for small tortoises weight gains

 

[TammyJ]

There's nothing wrong with giving him boiled eggs. Boil, cut in half with the shell on. Great food for Redfoot. Also plain sardines, and even pinky rats or mice. Pumpkin leaves and flowers, Okra, purslane. Opuntia cactus is excellent.