New member here!

[Sam & Ella]

New member. I have two female redfoots, "Samantha and Ella" since hatchlings in 1997. 1998: Twin hatch, male female pancakes, colonized to 12 now. The redfoots are 13 pounds. They stay outside in the summer in a big pen with a timer-heated DogGloo.

The original M-F pancakes (Flapjackie and Buckwheat) are 7" and one pound. Flapjackie and three of her "daughters" usually lay twin eggs, and the last six hatches have been females (higher incubation temp)! Never had twin eggs both hatch yet.

Note: A name brand commercial tortoise "daily diet" food costs about $1.08 per ounce. I found VERY similar ingredients and vitamins and similar percentages in a name brand rabbit food, which I pulverize in a food blender and sprinkle heavily on wet, fresh greens and veggies. The rabbit food is 13.3 cents an ounce. What's the downside of that?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Welcome to the forum from another Redfoot Keeper.

 

[Thomas tortoise]

Welcome!!!!

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome would love to see pics of your crew.

 

[Karen(pebbles)]

Welcome

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! *waves* I think pancake tortoises are interesting. Never have had them, but they are on my bucket list. So you are saying twins, but really you mean are clutches of two egg, correct? Rather then twins being two hatchlings from one egg. Just trying to clear up my minds confusion which happens often. 🤪

 

[Sam & Ella]

You are correct! "fraternal" twins from two different eggs. My misnomer.

 

[Sam & Ella]

Welcome would love to see pics of your crew. SEE BELOW ALSO...That's a 20 x 10 foot outdoor with partitions and a heated (industrial 30" pig mat) Dogloo for the redfoots. on cooler nights. Electric, low voltage "dog fence" wire is strung around the top with a timer for raccoons. No problems for 20 years...maybe a placebo. Dunno if racoons would care here, but they do attack box turtles. The pancakes are real climbers, like snappers too!

 

[Sam & Ella]

Welcome to the forum from another Redfoot Keeper.

What do you think about my food supplement conversion?

Thanks.

 

[Yvonne G]

Read the ingredients carefully to make sure it doesn't contain any type of medication

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Read the ingredients carefully to make sure it doesn't contain any type of medication

It's also likely hay based. And that is not at all a correct diet for a Redfoot.
(If you're feeding it to them)

 

[Sam & Ella]

It's also likely hay based. And that is not at all a correct diet for a Redfoot.
(If you're feeding it to them)

What about timothy or alfalfa? I tossed the package.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What about timothy or alfalfa? I tossed the package.

I use Mazuri. It contains finely ground hay. (Something I must've not considered back when this was first posted)
Hay isn't dangerous to a Redfoot. It's just that I don't think they'll eat it per se. Not hay by itself. Also hay gets moldy quickly in a Redfoot type environment.
I see no good reason to spend your good money on hay for a Redfoot. To me, it has no purpose in Redfoot keeping.
They can and do eat hundred of items. And get most of their dietary fiber from leafy greens. In the case of my own group, that's most likely the hibiscus leaves and stems.

 

[Sam & Ella]

I use Mazuri. It contains finely ground hay. (Something I must've not considered back when this was first posted)
Hay isn't dangerous to a Redfoot. It's just that I don't think they'll eat it per se. Not hay by itself. Also hay gets moldy quickly in a Redfoot type environment.
I see no good reason to spend your good money on hay for a Redfoot. To me, it has no purpose in Redfoot keeping.
They can and do eat hundred of items. And get most of their dietary fiber from leafy greens. In the case of my own group, that's most likely the hibiscus leaves and stems.

Thanks. I pulverized "rabbit food" for the fiber content, and occasionally sprinkle it on wet greens. I also have the commercial "grassland tortoise food" as a sprinkle or wetted occasionally. In the summer, everybody grazes on clover leaves and white blossoms 2-3-times a week. (Maybe too much protein?) And grass on the side.

 

[COmtnLady]

Redfoots didn't evolve as grass eaters. Grass or hay shouldn't be considered any sort of "main dish" for them.

Most tortoises can't eat/metabolize fruits very well, but Redfoot can, and do well with some included in their regular diets. Think 75% greens, 20-25% fruit, but it really doesn't need to be strictly measured.

All sorts of green leafy plants should make up the bulk of what you give them.
(I you have to rely on grocery store fare, aim for organic - don't trust them to not spray pesticides and other preservatives on the regular stuff. And wash it off well. )

Go for :
all different kinds of lettuces, endive, escarole (not iceberg)
kale - mine only likes lacinato kale, which is sometimes called dinosaur kale, not the ruffley types, but yours may be different,
chard, bok choy, collards, mustard greens, turnip tops
"spring mixes".
During growing season also include grape leaves, hibiscus leaves and flowers, dandelions (mine loves the buds but isn't thrilled with the leaves), and other EDIBLE flowers/leaves
..........

Redfoot Tortoise edible landscaping

Raddicio, also called chickory or Italian Lettuce (it looks like a small head - softball-sized - of wine-red and white cabbage and is usually on the top shelf in the produce department because so few people buy it)
Cactus pads though mine didn't eat them anytime I tried
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries big favourites
bananas (this is so loved that if I need to trick her into eating something, this is what I put it in or on)
Mango
melons
apple

carrot (I usually boil slices until they are not-quite-soft just because torts don't have teeth and carrots are awfully hard. DO NOT SALT ANYTHING YOU GIVE YOUR TORT)
cherry tomatoes (yellow are her faves)
squash
bell pepper in various colors

Mealworms make good protein sources and are really easy to 'grow'. They're kind of expensive to buy from a petstore. I'm not entirely sure, but I think waxworms and superworms are types or stages of mealworms. My tort dislikes earthworms, but they are supposed to be good sources, too. I tried putting in a cricket for her, once, but it just sort of kept her company and she didn't eat it.
Once or twice per week I offer meal worms or some other sort of protien. This is another area where she will be voracious for a few days than totally disinterested for a month.

As to Mazuri - its supposed to be the best, most balanced, but mine refuses to eat any of it. She will, however, eat the pelleted "complete tortoise food" that Thrive makes. I give her that and enough fresh that she has been doing well for quite a few years now (thanks to a lot of info from Tortoise Forum).

The best diet is one that contains a wide variety of greens, weeds (flowers and leaves), fruit and vegetables, and some protein once-to-twice per week. Re-try rejected things again in a couple months, rotate.

Make sure all plants in your various enclosures are edible. They will get grazed upon if they can be reached - even plastic ones, avoid fake plants!

Keep in mind that any particular tort will refuse some foods presented, or avidly eat something for a while then suddenly not want any more of it for a while.

I started chopping leaves into "bite-sized pieces" and only put in whole leaves when she looks bored. The fruit and veggies still get chopped or sliced into small pieces. I put her salad in and leave it. Sometimes she will eat all the fruit first then walk away, but comes back hours later and eats the greenery. If yours eats everything like a starving dog, the emphasis is on "starving" and your tort needs more quantity. A good conceptualization is the size of the tortoise's shell, that way a tiny one gets 1/4 cup, while a seven-year-old has a pile the size of a serving bowl. Still, if they eat it all before walking away it means they are hungry. give them more. There was a cruel archaic thought that said to only feed them a couple times per week, but that is so wrong. In the wild they could continue hunting for food, but we are holding them hostage in a box, so its up to us to provide enough of everything they need.

 

[COmtnLady]

Here's a piece I found years ago, but is in keeping with what TF endorses.

Redfoot Tortoise Diet

​

Redfoot tortoises are omnivorous. They consume both animal and plant material in the wild.

GREENS
Most grocery stores have a decent selection of greens that redfoot tortoises readily eat. Ideally the greens should be organic and pesticide free. However this is the real world and not all tortoise keepers have access to "ideal" food. So, I have this section as a starting point for a varied diet. The following greens are easily found in my local stores:
Romaine lettuce
Red and green leaf lettuce
Endive
Escarole
Chicory
Radicchio
Turnip greens
Mustard greens
Kale
Collards
Spring Mix (mixed salad greens)
cabbage (on occasion)

VEGETABLES
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Winter squash
Pumpkin
Carrots (on occasion)
Green Beans (on occasion)

FRUIT
Papaya
Mangos
Apples (be sure there are no seeds)
Strawberries
Blackberries
Cactus fruit
Tomatoes

OTHER GOOD CHOICES
Some other favorites of my tortoises that are available:
Hibiscus (flowers and leaves)
Opuntia cactus pads
Hosta
Sedum
Mulberry leaves
Hen and Chicks
Ice Plants
Prickly pear flowers, fruit and pads (burn the spines off)
Dandelion
Plantain (not the banana type fruit....the weed plantago major)
Mallow (flowers and leaves)
Henbit
Rose (flowers and leaves....make sure no systemic pesticides were used)
Chrysanthemum flowers
Cornflowers Plagiobothrys ssp
Forsythia (flowers and leaves)
Dayflower Commelina diffusa (flowers and leaves)
Californian Poppy escholzia

Make sure all are pesticide and herbicide free.

MEAT etc.
In the wild redfoot tortoises eat a variety of animal matter including carrion. Redfoot tortoises fed exclusively a plant based diet frequently develop hind leg paralysis. They also have low fertility and hatchlings often fail to thrive. It is often recommended to feed them low fat cat food as often as every other feeding. I have found this to be unnecessary and a contributing factor in pyramiding.

My approach is to feed pre-killed pinkies (new born mice), shrimp, chicken, organ meat, boiled eggs etc. once a month when outside. Here in South Carolina there is an abundance of worms, slugs, pill bugs and other bugs in their pen. My tortoises feed on them on a regular basis. In the winter bugs are less plentiful so I feed animal protein every other week

For the torts I keep indoors over the winter, I also feed Butterworms (extremely high in calcium and great for hatchlings) and superworms.

With the above one can develop a good diet. Once again (and I can't stress this enough) variety is the key!
Don't feed the same food day in and day out. Mix varieties and choose a different green as the basis every few days.



AVOID
The following food items should be avoided for a variety of reasons. there are many books and groups that go into great detail...so I won't repeat them here. At the end of the page are a few links).
Iceberg lettuce
Bok Choy
All grains (including bread, pasta etc)
All human food except what's been listed as "good"
Pellet type foods (An often overlooked factor of pyramiding is grain based diets. These are the pellet food that some claim to be essential to health. They typically contain soy, wheat and or rice. These are high in omega 6 fatty acids which has a negative effect on health. They also have an acidifying effect which causes a leaching of bone. They are high in phytate which binds calcium and other minerals. They also have an unfavorable ca/ph ratio and a low ca/mg ratio which has a negative impact on calcium metabolism. Grains alter Vit D metabolism. Diets high in grains can have a negative impact on bone growth in spite of adequate exposure to sunshine. (http://www.sawellnesscenter.com//nutrition/Diet/Cereal article-1.pdf)

ANTI-NUTRIENTS
A number of food items contain chemicals that interfere with a tortoises ability to absorb nutrients from food. Although most food items have some of these...a varied diet can minimize the harmful effects.
(more info can be found at Cornell University Poisonous Plants Informational Database)

Oxalic Acid:
This is a naturally occurring element in many plants and imparts a bitter taste in greens such as mustard greens. This substance binds minerals...
the most important being calcium. It binds with minerals which must be eliminated through the kidneys. In large amounts (or in small quantities
with improper hydration) can lead to kidney stones and kidney damage. Avoid rhubarb and beet greens....limit (don't eliminate) spinach,
Phytic Acid: This is found in high concentration is peas, beans and cereals. This chemical also binds minerals as well as proteins.
Tannins:
Although tannins are beneficial for the most part, in large quantities (as with all anti-nutrients) they bind protein and interfere with digestion.
Purines:
Purines are well known in humans as being a contributing factor in gout. Redfoot tortoises fed large amounts can develop kidney disease.
Goitrogens:
This compound is implicated in the development of enlarged thyroid glands (Goiters). They interfere with the uptake of iodine. Some eperts believe that all the Brassicae family should be avoided like the plague due to this. Limit (don't eliminate) the quantities of kale, mustard, and other cruciferous plants.


SUPPLEMENTS
One of the most important supplements is calcium. If there is a good source of UVB as with tortoises kept outdoors, a light dusting of the food with calcium daily is sufficient. Indoors use phosphorous free calcium with D3. Minerall is a great product with trace minerals as well as calcium. The main problem with using calcium powders is using too much. This can lead to bladder stones and dehydration. Calcium powders can also interfere with absorption of other minerals such as zinc.

My preferred method for supplying calcium is to feed high calcium food, keep cuttlebone with them at all times and dust food with the TNT® Supplement from Carolina Pet Supply. This is a nutritionally balanced formula which provides the vitamins and minerals that or often lacking in the captive diet. It’s formulated from a variety of dehydrated and powdered flowers and weeds.