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The captain RepticTay The captain The captain Tree_frogger Reptilefreak23 RepticTay The captain TurtleBites The captain RepticTay The captain Dr. Dolittle RepticTay The captain |
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The captain View Profile |
Baby redfoot! many pics
i am in love with the little dude. this is my first tort. got him at a show for $100 right now he is in a 5 gallon with peat and sphagnum moss for substrate. i named him torty. tell me if he looks well. sorry the pics are dark i am no photographer.
also a pic of my first beardie
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| 07/12/08 04:38pm |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1792718 Baby redfoot! many pics
Also, it willneed a bigger home than a 5 gallon. and not an aquarium or viv. |
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| 07/12/08 04:48pm |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1792732 Baby redfoot! many pics
just didn’t have anything at the moment. the shell seems nice and hard. he bobs his head alot. |
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| 07/12/08 04:53pm |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1792748 Baby redfoot! many pics
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| 07/12/08 05:20pm |
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Tree_frogger View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1792798 Baby redfoot! many pics
nice red foot! |
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| 07/12/08 06:39pm |
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Reptilefreak23 View Profile |
Message To: Tree_frogger In reference to Message Id: 1792911 Baby redfoot! many pics
ok now here is my redfoot care sheet Sexingand Characteristics: In males the tail is always longer (can only tell when when tortoise is truly matured). Males also have a habit to fold there tails under their shells, where females usually will not. A females tail will often have a bulge at the base of it. This bulge quickly becomes a skinny tip. This aids them with egg-laying ability. In males there is no bulge or bump, and the size of the tip is not very much smaller than the size at the top. The tip of the males tail tends to be slightly rounded, however the females tail ends in more of a point. Females have a circular or semi-circular vent. Males vent tends to be a vertical slit. Males often have concave plastrons(bottom shell), but some females can also be slightly concave. If the plastron is very concave, the animal is more than likely male. If it is only slightly concave, it is hard to tell. The most obvious one, look for a penis. Look at the animals tail right after you soak them, or when they are urinating. If you see the tip of a pink penis the animal is 99.9% male. There has been cases of tortoises with a penis who have laid viable eggs. Lighting/heating: They require UVB 12 hour cycle and a basking spot of 95-100 degrease (F) with a cool damper side at 60-65 degrease (F). At night temps should remain around 70 degrease (F) with the help of a Under Tank Heater or night heat lamp (usually purplish blue). Humidity: Humidity should remain around 70-80 Substrate: A good substrate for these tortoises is a 50/50 mix of pot soil (no pesticides, magic grow etc...) and play sand with a light layer of tomothy hay over it. (with plants and keep the cage moist, humidity 70-80) HOUSING RED-FOOTS INDOORS HOUSING RED-FOOTS INDOORS: The best form of indoor housing for small or medium sized red-foot Tortoises is a “tortoise table’ To all appearances it looks like a bookshelf unit or two turned onto its back. A good size for a hatchling is 2 feet by 3 feet as the tortoise grows the size of his habitat should increase. For an adult red-foot tortoise the indoor housing should be at least 6 feet by 4 feet at the bottom of its“tortoise table” holes can be cut to allow for the sinking of food , water and eventually nesting containers flush with the surface for easier animal access. But I would most recommend a large rubermaid tub for juviniles.(to keep humidity better) Diet: Red Foot tortoises are omnivorous. Precise tastes and requirements may vary seasonally. Attempting to sustain a Red-foot tortoise on a diet of mixed grasses would not be advisable; this species is ill equipped to effectively metabolize large quantities of silica-rich grass. One consequence of the higher protein, higher purine content diet of Red-foot and Yellow-foot tortoises is that they must always have access to fresh drinking and soaking water, and must be provided with adequately humid enclosures or terrariums. Dehydration is a very serious hazard to any tortoise consuming higher protein and purine content foods (mushrooms, for example). It is no coincidence that all species with this class of dietary preference occur in high rainfall, high humidity ecosystems with regular access to free water. In practical terms, both species require high humidity maintenance. As with all tortoises, they also require a high ratio of calcium to phosphorus, additional trace elements and vitamin D3. Sprinkle the food every seven to ten days with Rep-Cal Calcium supplement or Miner-All. Use without vitamin d3 for outdoor specimens and with vitamin d3 for indoor specimens. Red-foot and Yellow-foot tortoises do not bask to the same extent as arid-habitat species, and therefore obtain much of their D3 needs in nature from the animal component of their diet. The Red-Footed Tortoise has excellent color vision. They need dark leafy greens such as dandelions, turnip greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, collard and beet greens. Toppings such as alfalfa hay, timothy grass, ryegrass and oats are good for fiber in the Red Foot’s diet. Their diet should be supplemented with protein such as crickets, worms, cooked egg and low calorie cat food or dog food and occasional portions of commercial tortoise foods. These should only be as supplements and not with every feeding. Limit the intake of meats to about once every week. Rinse all grocery store greens and fruits to remove pesticide residues. Mader’s ’Reptile Medicine and Surgery’ (1996), recommends 75% vegetables and greens, 20% fruit, and 5% high-protein-content foods. As with any turtle or tortoise variety is key. Feed your Red-Foot a mix of chopped greens such as romaine lettuce, dandelion, mustard and collard greens sprinkled with fibrous toppings such as alfalfa hay, timothy grass and oats. On every second to third feeding, along with the chopped greens and grasses add some chopped papaya, mango, prickly pair or similar fruits. Fruits are normally consumed in a very ripe state after they have fallen from the tree. Once every 7 days, along with the chopped greens and grasses, add small portions of protein such as chopped worms, crickets, chopped cooked egg or possibly even a commercial tortoise food. The greens, grasses and fruits mentioned above are just examples of a wide variety of foods that your Red-Foot can and will eat. You can substitute comparable foods in most cases. Some suggestions are mushrooms, sow thistle, summer squash, green beans, yams, hibiscus and dandelion flowers and leaves, plumbs, grapes and cantaloupe and berries such as blackberries, strawberries and mulberries. Do not feed bananas. Hatchling tortoises should be fed daily. A diet of chopped greens (kale, endive, mustard, dandelions, etc.) and (once a week) a commercial tortoise diet (15% to 18% protein) should be fed to the tortoises. They should be soaked in shallow lukewarm water every day. Do not keep them on sand. Slightly moist peat moss or moist coconut husk is an ideal substrate that will help elevate humidity. It must be changed regularly to prevent bacteria and mold build up. It is best not to feed the tortoises on the peat moss. They seem to be able to pass the peat moss safely however if eaten in small quantities. If your tortoise is kept warm, fed and watered regularly, and given adequate room it should live for years. Small tortoises can grow about 2 inches per year. |
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| 07/12/08 10:12pm |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: Reptilefreak23 In reference to Message Id: 1793170 Baby redfoot! many pics
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| 07/13/08 06:23am |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1793367 Baby redfoot! many pics
not sure the exact dims. it has a hide on the warm side. there is a red radiant heat lamp in the clamp. 50 watt. water dish under the lamp flipped plastic container on the other side with an entry pointed away from the light.
thats most of it, seems ok but i don’t know how to keep humidity in with the open top.Sad i can only mist down the soil and the hides, but he prefers the log. any suggestions? is the setup ok? thanks sam |
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| 07/14/08 05:21pm |
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TurtleBites View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1795190 Baby redfoot! many pics
that’s the same tub type thing i use for my torts. seems to work well till they are bigger and try escaping all the time. |
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| 07/15/08 02:53pm |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: TurtleBites In reference to Message Id: 1796384 Baby redfoot! many pics
a bit boring, but he is great. LOL i like the setup, but i dont know how to keep the humidity up! |
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| 07/15/08 03:52pm |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1796463 Baby redfoot! many pics
im sure he loves it. Usually with redfoots, if having an open enclosure like so... you moist in the hide, and keep the certain spot warm some how. Many people also use misters and stuff like that. |
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| 07/15/08 05:03pm |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1796560 Baby redfoot! many pics
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| 07/15/08 05:45pm |
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Dr. Dolittle View Profile |
Message To: The captain In reference to Message Id: 1796615 Baby redfoot! many pics
However Under tank heaters are a big no no for all tortoises. It’s unatrual for heat to come from the ground. And tortoises heat from the top to the bottom not the other way around. Also red radiant heat lamps are unatrual as they wouldn’t have a red light in the wild! Sorry for having to be negative! Good luck wih your new tort. DD |
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| 07/16/08 08:47am |
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RepticTay View Profile |
Message To: Dr. Dolittle In reference to Message Id: 1797479 Baby redfoot! many pics
In saying that though, many people have had red lights for sullys and leopards, and they have had no worries with them at all. Personally, a light is a light. I dont think it matters of the coloration of a light. Now a tortoise would not come across a uv or basking light in the wild now would they? So they wouldn’t know any different. The bigger importance here is the under tank heating, they are bad. Tortoises need heat to come from above, rather than below. Also below it can burn them when digging and burrowing to sleep in where the heat is. |
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| 07/16/08 10:13am |
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The captain View Profile |
Message To: RepticTay In reference to Message Id: 1797576 Baby redfoot! many pics
no uth, but i will try to get a ceramic heat emitter over a hide. |
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| 07/16/08 01:41pm |
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