Petsmart Redfoot

[jdmanzana]

I bought my last redfoot from petsmart back in september.I felt sorry for him, he was as light as a feather and dry as a bone.He was eating the little colored pebbles(well atleast thats what was in his bowl).Anyways I bought him on sept.22nd and his weight was 241 grams and by oct 30 th he was up to 314 grams.His diet is fresh dark greens,some fruit and I supplement with mazuri.He eats like a pig and we named him nubbs(after his pyramiding)lol...Oh well, we love him just the way he is.

Wow.. I bought/rescued my lil "nubby" from Petsmart in Sept. as well and for being 4.5", it has some pretty horrid pyramiding. It also is a lil piggy and will out eat my larger RF (7") if I let it. I told the sales associate that whoever their breeder is needs to be fed a diet of saltines & water and locked in a bath tub the rest of their life. I haven't named the lil one yet but I'm thinking "Nubs" sounds perfect!!! I was aiming for "Piggy" but that's so... wrong. LOL.

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Oh man, if there was a smooth 8" female RF near me for $70 I'd be all over that. All I see around here are unhealthy 5" guys. Plus all the petstores around here charge $200...

I had to run to Petsmart yesterday morning to pick up some Ghost Shrimp for my tanks and they have an 8" RF, smooth as a whistle... crammed into a small 10 gallon tank with fruity pebbles as well, and a soaking dish the size of a postage stamp. I've been watching this one for a while because it has beautiful coloration and such a smooth shiny shell. The poor baby came out to eat, and then back into the hide like a hermit crab. As much as I would love to rescue it ($69 less the 30% off w/pet perks card), I have a hatchling on the way this week from Tortoisesupply.com. I'm hoping someone w/RF experience will rescue it soon!

 

[Edna]

I just visited a Petsmart on my Thanksgiving travels. They had only one tortoise, a redfoot. The clerk voluntarily got her out for me to handle, beautiful 5" or so, weighed like a ton of bricks in my hand, very personable and friendly (both the tort and the clerk ). The tank was not ideal, but I could see evidence that there was humidity present. The food dish had fruity pebbles (thank you MarKat for this term) but also had greens and a bit of fruit. The tort was in her hide when the tank was opened, and the clerk placed her back in her hide when returning her to her tank, which I thought was considerate and respectful. $99.00, the first redfoot I ever met. Overall good impression of Petsmart.

 

[Marty333]

I held one of the redfoots at petsmart today the one with the funky scutes. As I was putting it down it sneezed. Can they just sneeze like us or does it mean they are sick? It smelled very musty in its enclosure like there was barely any circulation.

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also they were sleeping in their poop yuck!

 

[Balboa]

Not an expert, but as they lack a diaphram, I doubt they can sneeze, but who knows.

I'm going to guess that what you heard was the "sneeze like sound" they make as they rapidly retract their neck. If he/she had been comfortable with you and had their neck out-stretched, setting them down in the cage can startle them, causing them to retract rapidly. Just a thought.

As to musty smell, if they're trying to do it "right" and keep them humid, a musty smell can be hard to avoid. Its a tough balance to ensure adequate heat, humidity and air circulation.

 

[Marty333]

Ok I was worried the little guy was sick Glad im not a redfoot I would be such a drama queen if it was that humid!

 

[Balboa]

Heck you live in florida don't you?
you're the envy of all of us redfoot keepers, we want more humidity for our torts. Of course I've experienced really hot and humid before. UGH.

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I should add that there is every possibility of it being ill, but if it doesn't have a runny nose, I'd be unlikely to suspect it.

 

[Marty333]

Heck you live in florida don't you?
you're the envy of all of us redfoot keepers, we want more humidity for our torts. Of course I've experienced really hot and humid before. UGH.

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I should add that there is every possibility of it being ill, but if it doesn't have a runny nose, I'd be unlikely to suspect it.

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The humidity messes up my hair LOL I prefer Florida summer over their winters any day to cold in the winter Im thinking about redfoots for when Im ready for another tort because they probably would do well here in Florida.

 

[Balboa]

I agree, really a good choice for down there. I honestly feel they are a terrible choice for where I live, but I don't feel like shipping them off so I'll do the best I can.

 

[Marty333]

I dont know where you are so lol

 

[Balboa]

LOL almost as far away from you as I can be and still be in the continuous 48. Washington State

 

[Kristina]

And COLD lol.

Markat, a Redfoot would be PERFECT for you. They are happy little clowns, too, always doing something funny and full of personality. Look into it

 

[fhintz]

Themistocles is from Petsmart. She was pretty cramped there, but she herself was in good condition. She's pretty awesome in my opinion, full of personality, but pretty anti-social. Not sure if that's from being WC or being stuck in the store or just her nature. She puts up with me well enough though.

She was about 6 inches when I got here. She's maybe 7 and a half or so, really due for a measurement. I did a decent amount of research before getting her, but somehow didn't find my way to this forum until afterwards.

So, anyways, I love my redfoot, and while Petsmart may not have been the ideal source, ultimately going through them turned out well for me.

 

[Balboa]

You got it Kristina, humid and COLD. Terrible place for tortoises, which might explain why none live here naturally

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Themistocles is from Petsmart. She was pretty cramped there, but she herself was in good condition. She's pretty awesome in my opinion, full of personality, but pretty anti-social. Not sure if that's from being WC or being stuck in the store or just her nature. She puts up with me well enough though.

She was about 6 inches when I got here. She's maybe 7 and a half or so, really due for a measurement. I did a decent amount of research before getting her, but somehow didn't find my way to this forum until afterwards.

So, anyways, I love my redfoot, and while Petsmart may not have been the ideal source, ultimately going through them turned out well for me.

This is more or less how I got my RF Kiwi (even got her from petsmart) and even their sizes are close. Kiwi was more like 5" when I got her, but she's been growing really well and has put on probably close to 2/2.5 inches in the last year. Not bad.

Petsmart worked out for me as well and I wouldn't trade Kiwi for a non-petsmart tort or any such nonsense, but in hindsight I do wish that I had gotten a known captive bred tort that was in better health. I just really would have liked to have known more about her previous care and been assured that it was good. Kiwi was pyramided and her underside was entirely rotted and scarred (scars are still there and you can definitely tell when she started receiving proper care. It's a night and day difference on her plastron.) I handpicked Maui my hatchling from a good breeder and it's great knowing exactly how she was kept and that had I been there since birth, that's how I would have taken care of her.

Katerina, if you want a redfoot, then you do live in a great area and they really do have great personalities. I've only kept russians and redfoots, but my redfoots have been by far the more personable and more fun to watch (please don't hate me all you people with russians!!!) and be around. Fantastic torts.

 

[Cherbear]

I bought my first redfoot from petsmart a couple months ago and my second also from petsmart about a week ago. They're like chips you know. I don't think you'll regret getting one of these guys, they do have nice personalities. I've thought about naming the second one Rudulph cause he doesn't have much red on his head, but does have a bright red nose. Also, he has no red on his legs at all. I was just drawn to him.

 

[Marty333]

Well I tried my best to sex them and the funky scute one AKA Clover looks female and the second one AKA Clovis looks male. Yes I've named them I go to petsmart a lot

 

[Cherbear]

Are you going to buy these guys? They were on sale here where I live for 70 bucks until Nov. 28th I think.

 

[Marty333]

Probably not but they are still on sale here in Florida