Basic red tort questions

[brian4342]

Hi guys, well I've just got my self a red foot and have some basic questions that I can't find on google properly.
Setup:
I've got a custom built viv for the tort with plenty of ventilation. What temperature should the basking spot be and what temperature should it be at night?
Diet:
I feed him a mix of spring greens, kale, rocket, water cress.
How often do they need meet (I have a lot of frozen pinkies just dunno how often to feed then)
And how often can they eat fruit?

Well that's my main questions for now, and thanks in advance

 

[Redstrike]

Hi Brian,
Do you have a hatchling, juvenile, or older?

I usually keep the cool, dark end of my enclosure around 79-81ºF and the warm, bright end between 86-88ºF. I have 2 yearling cherryheads.

The more variety in the diet, the better! Wild weeds like dandelion, plantain (not the fruit), violet, common mallow, etc. are great in the spring, summer, and fall. I provide mine fruit sparingly, maybe once every week or two. It gives them runny BM's. They're hind-gut fermenters, so all that sweet fruit sits there for a while and can boost the liklihood of protozoan parasites.

Meat/protein I provide once ever 2-3 weeks.

You should check out this site for more information:
https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/

 

[brian4342]

Thanks for your post, it's a juvenile tort. And I am trying to grow some dandelions in my greenhouse but there growing soo slowly lol
Also I've been giving him pinkies once a week, guess that's too often then.

 

[Redstrike]

Thanks for your post, it's a juvenile tort. And I am trying to grow some dandelions in my greenhouse but there growing soo slowly lol
Also I've been giving him pinkies once a week, guess that's too often then.

Pinkies once every week probably isn't over doing it, but you may be able to cut back a little with no ill effects. The diet we feed in captivity is much richer than their wild diet would be (especially grocery store greens). Just keep this in mind.

I really like this book and I recommend picking it up when you get the opportunity:
http://www.pingleton.com/redfoot/redfoots.htm

If you can't invest the $, Mark's site that I provided previously is an excellent, free resource.