Soon To Be Redfoot Tortoise Owner-MAJOR QUESTIONS HELP!!

[AJP]

Hi everyone!, I have been looking for my first tortoise. I love animals and plan on being a vet. I have three very friendly dogs (2 Newfoundland’s and one Pug) many fish and a Gargoyle Gecko. We have been interested in getting a tortoise but we have a few questions. The main tortoise we are interested in is the red footed tortoise. I understand that 5% of their diet consists of protein and the rest is mostly leafy greens and fruits and vegetables. Here are some of the main concerns…
1) Do red footed tortoises need to eat protein in the form of frozen mice, worms, or insects to stay healthy?
2) How to these tortoises go to the bathroom? And how often? And is it smelly?
3) At what age is the red footed tortoise considered an adult
4) When the red footed tortoise has reached an adult age, can they roam freely around the house if the house is heated? I live on long island so it is fairly humid and throughout the year our house goes down from 60-75 degrees. Is this a healthy temperature range?
5) Do red footed tortoises go to the bathroom wherever and whenever they want? And how often do they go?
6) If you can’t keep a red footed tortoise outside in our very cold winters is it ok to keep them in the house?
7) How long should red footed tortoises live in a tank
8) Is this a good turtle for a beginner, I recognize they have a long lifespan and want to have a lifelong companion.
9) How often should you clean a red footed tortoise’s tank when they still live in one?

IM SO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE QUESTIONS. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TORTOISE I GET WILL HAVE AS HAPPY OF A LIFE AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!! THANKS SO MUCH AND REPLY ASAP!!!

 

[terryo]

There are some experts here that can answer all your questions. I am a fairly new keeper myself, and my first Tortoise was a Cherry Head RF. She is almost 5 now. I also have a 1 year old. I live in NY, so we have the same weather. I will tell you what works for me...not written in stone.

1) Do red footed tortoises need to eat protein in the form of frozen mice, worms, or insects to stay healthy?
I feed mine boiled chicken breast and occasionally some worms when inside for the Winter, once every two weeks.

2) How to these tortoises go to the bathroom? And how often? And is it smelly?
Mine go almost every day in their water dish. Yes it's smelly....especially if I feed Mazuri.


3) At what age is the red footed tortoise considered an adult
I really don't know that one.

4) When the red footed tortoise has reached an adult age, can they roam freely around the house if the house is heated? I live on long island so it is fairly humid and throughout the year our house goes down from 60-75 degrees. Is this a healthy temperature range?
I was told my a few breeders and long time keepers to never let them roam around the house. Heat rises, and if you lay on the floor you will see that it's much colder than when you are standing up. Also their is a good possibility that they can eat anything they find while roaming....even electrical wires. I wouldn't do it.


5) Do red footed tortoises go to the bathroom wherever and whenever they want? And how often do they go?
They go whenever they feel the urge.....anywhere they want to.

6) If you can’t keep a red footed tortoise outside in our very cold winters is it ok to keep them in the house?
I keep my oldest one in a 125 gal planted vivarium when inside for the Winter. The plants hold the humidity and it's big enough for her to roam.
My one year old is in a 75 gal. plated vivarium.

7) How long should red footed tortoises live in a tank
The older they get the larger the enclosure they will need. I personally like glass tanks better than tables, but that is only my preference. Everyone is different.



8) Is this a good turtle for a beginner, I recognize they have a long lifespan and want to have a lifelong companion.
They need a warm enclosure....mine is in the high 80's through out the vivarium. They need to be outside as long as the weather is warm enough. If you feel you can provide the basic requirements that they need.....why not? As I said these are my first tortoises and I haven't found it too difficult so far. I mostly have box turtles, so that's why I got RF's as they need just about the same care, except for the Winter months when they have to come iniside.


9) How often should you clean a red footed tortoise’s tank when they still live in one?
This is another reason that I like the planted vivarium. I just do spot clean ups...take out any poop when I find it, change the water once a day. I replace the plants every few months also. Otherwise there isn't much work when you have them in a vivarium.
Do some reseaarch and find which one is best for you. Maybe you'd like a box turtle. They stay outside all year and hibernate in the Winter. The only one's I take in are the babies, and all the other's are outside.

This is a post of the large vivarium that I have my 4 yr. old in.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Pio-s-new-vivarium#axzz1cgnBJNeh

This is the post with my 1 yr. olds vivarium
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Solo-s-new-vivarium#axzz1cgnBJNeh

I hope this helps you. I'm still learning myself. Good luck.

 

[ascott]

As always TerryO....I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR VIVS....I always picture them in my head while I am setting up the two RFs enclosures here...fun stuff (mine look no where near the beauty of yours, but still striving to meed that level, ONE DAAAAYYYY )

back on topic here

RFs are a beautiful tortoise with personality for sure....I do not know if they would be my first recommendation for a first "easy care" tortoise....but are lovely just the same....good luck in your search

 

[Madkins007]

Hi everyone!, I have been looking for my first tortoise. I love animals and plan on being a vet. I have three very friendly dogs (2 Newfoundland’s and one Pug) many fish and a Gargoyle Gecko. We have been interested in getting a tortoise but we have a few questions. The main tortoise we are interested in is the red footed tortoise. I understand that 5% of their diet consists of protein and the rest is mostly leafy greens and fruits and vegetables. Here are some of the main concerns…
1) Do red footed tortoises need to eat protein in the form of frozen mice, worms, or insects to stay healthy?

'Need'? Probably not. Many keepers use egg, oily fish, chicken, dog or cat foods, and so on. They seem to benefit from protein, and those you mentioned are my personal first choices, but they don't need much of it.

2) How to these tortoises go to the bathroom? And how often? And is it smelly?

The excrete feces much like most other animals. The smell is largely related to what they eat. Meat, especially fish, is pretty pungent, but other foods are not too bad. I think you will find that this is not really a problem. Heck- most of us rarely even find feces in our habitats for various reasons.

3) At what age is the red footed tortoise considered an adult

They generally slow down in growth at about 7 inches or about 6-8 years old (they grow at variable rates, and size is more important for this than age is.)

4) When the red footed tortoise has reached an adult age, can they roam freely around the house if the house is heated? I live on long island so it is fairly humid and throughout the year our house goes down from 60-75 degrees. Is this a healthy temperature range?

That is pretty cool. We aim for a range of 78-88ish daytime and a little cooler at night is OK. Free-roaming in a house is great when it can work, but it takes a lot of work to make sure the place is warm, safe, and appropriate for a tortoise.

5) Do red footed tortoises go to the bathroom wherever and whenever they want? And how often do they go?

They go when they want, roughly once a day or so depending on their feeding schedule, temps, etc. This is another concern about keeping them loose in a house, but generally the feces are rather dry and dry up quickly and fairly odorlessly... unless they smear them all over. The urine is mostly water and happens about as often.

6) If you can’t keep a red footed tortoise outside in our very cold winters is it ok to keep them in the house?
7) How long should red footed tortoises live in a tank

Keeping them indoors is perfectly OK as long as you can provide enough space, heat, humidity, and light for them. There are several options here, but to be frank, it will cost a bit to get set up right. They can live for many years indoors if things are set up well.

8) Is this a good turtle for a beginner, I recognize they have a long lifespan and want to have a lifelong companion.

This is a tough question to answer. They are great animals and fairly easy for reptiles. The big hard points are space, heat, humidity, and diet. They are about as hard as managing a largish aquarium. While the typical lifespan of a Red-foot is over 30 years (not 100+ as you often hear), sadly, many people will lose their animals in about 5 years because of the challenges listed.

9) How often should you clean a red footed tortoise’s tank when they still live in one?

This depends a lot on how it is set up. My indoor tank takes a few minutes a day (watering, feeding, checking health, refilling humidification system), every week I wash the glass and plastic, and every six months or so I tear it apart for a full cleaning.

IM SO SORRY FOR ALL OF THE QUESTIONS. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TORTOISE I GET WILL HAVE AS HAPPY OF A LIFE AS POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!! THANKS SO MUCH AND REPLY ASAP!!!

No problem- I would MUCH rather answer questions BEFORE someone gets the animal than after!

You might find some helpful info in the Library linked below.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: Red Footed Tortoise QUESTIONS!!!

Hi AJP:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name?

 

[pdrobber]

Hi there, welcome. What's you name? Where on Long Island? I'm from Seaford.

1. Some protein is usually included in Redfoot diet sheets. You can find some diet suggestions, recommendations and guidelines on these websites which are great resources for all your questions as well as the "search" tool feature on this forum located near the top of the page.

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/index.html - created by member here Madkins007
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/feeding_redfoots.html
http://redfoottortoise.com/generalcare.htm
http://tortoiseyard.com/diet.htm
http://turtletary.com/main.htm

2. They will go to the bathroom wherever and whenever they want. They usually go after or during a nice warm soaking, drinking or eating. They'll sometimes eat it too...

3. I think they reach an "adult size" at which they are better able to successfully breed but I'm also not sure about an actual year age that's considered adulthood.

4. Living on LI, I know it can feel quite humid and warm, however the humidity you will strive for in your redfoot's environment is a considerably higher amount of humidity, even condensation on the walls of the enclosure (with some air flow of course) , which at that level in your home would probably not be tolerable (not to mention the potential for mold). Also, 60 F is a bit low for a redfoot, 70s-80s are generally the goal. As Terry said, on the floor it is going to be quite cooler than it is where we feel the air temp 5 ft up.

5. yes

6. Yes, you would definitely need to keep it indoors a good part of the year.

7. I have mine in a tank, but once she outgrows it I'll probably keep her in a bookcase type enclosure with some sort of cover to keep humidity in.

8. they're a common pet tortoise, sold in petco and petsmart. If you put effort and knowledge into your tortoise's care it can be a great experience and without major issues.

9. Depending on the substrate you choose (cypress, coir, soil are commonly recommended) you may want to spot clean. Or, you can establish a "bio-substrate" where there are some bugs and other small organisms in there helping to keep down levels of decomposing leftover food, poop, etc. Hermit crabs are used by some here...you can search bio substrate (I think that's what it's been called here) and hermit crabs using the search tool to find threads and further info on them.