Updated pics of Fabio and a new brother + new enclosure

[Xastur]

Hey guys just wanted to take some updated pics of Fabio for all of you guys out there, plus pics of the new enclosure i built for a little (well not so little ) surprise i got last week. As i was checking my facebook a friend of mine posted pictures of a full grown Redfoot tortoise he found wandering around his yard. Knowing he wouldn't be able to take care of it I gladly offered to take him as my own. I looked in the local paper for missing Redfoot listings but as of yet nothing, so I'm happy to say i have a new fully grown ( i think ) Redfoot male named Bubba! He was in a temporary home all through the weekend but with my dad's help we built him a proper enclosure outside and by tomorrow he should have a nice bed of cypress mulch, more plants, and an actual hide instead of the recycling bins we have been using temporarily.

I do have one question Fabio is now close to 2 years and 240 grams, at what point in time do you think i should move him to the outdoor enclosure with Bubba. I know Bubba is being fed once every 3 days and Fabio is more like everyday sans a day a week here or there. Should i wait another year or two before putting these guys together in the same pen? Pics below!!

 

[Candy]

I love it. It looks like you have a lot of space there for them. How do they like it?

 

[Yvonne G]

That's a great-looking pen!

Bubba looks like he's been kept pretty dry.

A couple suggestions: I would dig those plastic totes down into the ground so that they are half buried. It makes the opening a little smaller and gives the tortoise more dirt to play with inside. I would also move them over under or behind the bushes. Was there a pond in there for them to play in the water?

As to putting them together, I'll bet you're going to have to wait quite a while until Fabio gets almost full grown, to where he can hold his own with Bubba.

 

[Xastur]

Yeah Bubba also seems to have shell rot on his plastron, I'll try and get a pic of it today if i can. I'm actually going to home depot today to buy cypress mulch some potted plants and ill probably see if i can get something close to a garbage can lid to fill up with water for him. Right now i was using that white plastic lid filled with water as a temporary solution. Also, for a hide i'd rather not use our recycle bins full time.. do you guys have any suggestions for a nice good sized dark hide? I will also be picking up some spag moss today for the inside of the hide.

*Edit Also, he loves his new enclosure, fabio hasn't had a chance to check it out as im scared Bubba could harm him in some way, but i have a video of Bubba chowing down on some mango i will try to get uploaded later.

 

[Missy]

Looks very nice and Bubba is a lucky tort

 

[allegraf]

It looks like you are in dade county (the recycle bins gave it away!), I would suggest more shade. It is extra hot this summer in south Florida. Hibiscus does really well down here and creates good shade and an easy food source. I would also suggest feeding Bubba more often. You want to give him enough shade to be able to regulate his temp. With the sun and the weather here, the ambient temp is always cooking.

We use the plastic dog crates, split it and you have two hides. We also use the big plastic pots turned upside down with a door cut out. Bubba does not need the spagnum moss in his hide or anywhere else, cypress mulch will be fine. He is past the size where pyramiding is a problem. In this heat, the spagnum will only breakdown and breed nasty stuff. The shell rot is from being too damp, treat the fungus and keep him on cypress. We keep the hides under the hibiscus plants for double shade since the sun is so HOT here. You can use the plastic trash lids or you can use the creamic planter saucer things in the plant area of HD or Lowes for water.

I would not put the two together until they are similar sizes, but it is likely that Bubba will always be the dominant tort since he is bigger. I may take years based on the current size disparity. Also if you only have the two, it may stress Fabio out depending on whether Bubba becomes a bully. Depending on what sex Fabio turns out to be, you may not want to mix them at all if they are male and female.

I like the colors on your cherryhead, Fabio. Very interesting color, I am sucker for the other than red cherries. Did you get him locally?

Allegra

 

[Xastur]

I like the colors on your cherryhead, Fabio. Very interesting color, I am sucker for the other than red cherries. Did you get him locally?

Allegra

I got Fabio from blue beast reptile which i believe is now www.tortoisesupply.com

I have updates! I visited HD after making my first post and bought a bunch of materials to start renovating Bubba's new digs. I covered the pen in cypress mulch and left an area open where i put top soil in hopes that i can get to a nursery by tomorrow and get some hibiscus and maybe a couple small wide shrubs. I got him a new hide and for now I'm using the lid to give him water, but ill probably switch that out tomorrow for a garbage can lid. I will probably also end up buying another hie as well because the shed blocks the sun during the morning but in the afternoon the rays start peaking inside where it is now. Anyways enough of the talk here are the pics!

 

[Yvonne G]

That's great!!

Do you know someone in your neighborhood who has a fan palm? Ask for some fronds to cover your hiding place. With the sun shining on it like that it will get pretty hot inside.

 

[Xastur]

That's great!!

Do you know someone in your neighborhood who has a fan palm? Ask for some fronds to cover your hiding place. With the sun shining on it like that it will get pretty hot inside.

I will ask around and try and get it covered

 

[Xastur]

Here is a video of bubba eating some mango on the old substrate, excuse the beer cap i made sure it was removed right as the video ended

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IEz20eb7ec

 

[terryo]

Your enclosure is fabulous!! Bubba has some of the most beautiful markings I ever saw.

 

[Xastur]

Your enclosure is fabulous!! Bubba has some of the most beautiful markings I ever saw.

Thank you so much, Pio is beautiful as well!