Hi:)

[GreyCheyenne]

My sister & I adopted a red-footed tortoise from petco yesterday. His owners had returned him so he was only $50. His name is Davey Crockett & he is about 4in long. He is doing pretty good(I think)! He lets us pet his head/neck, etc. He is eating well. He has had some clover, and a couple pieces of banana & strawberry, & a tiny piece of apple. He is our first tortoise & we hope he does really well. My sis wants to have her own daycare someday & Davey will prob have his own indoor/outdoor pen there so the kids can watch him.

Anyway, I have a few questions;

~How old would he probably be?
~How much should he way?
~Is it normal for them to breathe heavy?
~How fast will he grow?
~How much of the year would he be able to live outside (we are in NE Missouri)?

Thanks for help!

 

[coreyc]

Hi welcome to the forum

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Grey Cheyenne:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

 

[wellington]

WELCOME . Your new member looks good. Get him outside as much as possible when it is warm. Keep water available at all times. I can't answer any of the other questions, sorry. However someone will be along tomhelp you out.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome...

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum and what a beautiful little Redfoot and great you were able to give him a home....

How long is he--measure the bottom of the shell (plastron) from front to back....then we can have fun guessing is age for you...knowing for certain is difficult..

How much he should weight depends on how big he is...so again, we can have fun guessing approximate desired weight....however, every tortoise is unique in many factors so one will not weight the exact as another but a general weight can be guessed..

When you say breath heavy? Do you refer to his head moving about while breathing and also you seeing his neck move as he breaths? If yes, then that is what they do...as long as you don't see gasping for breath or a crackly juicy wet sound while breathing..

How fast they grow has alot to do with their personality, the food types you offer and how quickly he becomes adjusted and settled into his new home....so that can vary as well..

And as Wellington stated, outside time is crucial in their over all mental and physical well being...so out as much as you can for warmth, exercise, sun and fresh air...exposure to a place to get in the sun as well as a place to move into the shade --both are very important to allow them to regulate their body temps as well as since your tort appears small still they love to hide under plants and bushes to feel a bit more secure (they are little so they know lots of stuff want to eat them so they hide a bit more while they are young and small....



There are lots of folks here who have tons of info that you will find helpful so ask away....

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Welcome!

 

[jasmine_1234321]

Welcome from Terance and I

 

[CLMoss]

Welcome! Cute tortoise!

 

[cTraylo]

Welcome!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[ada caro]

Welcome.

 

[GreyCheyenne]

Thanks for all the welcomes My name is Kyla. And I'm not sure exactly how long Davey is, but it's around 4 inches.

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Welcome!