Brand new Red foot owner!

[Michelle P]

Hello everyone! I just got myself a baby red foot named Deadpool, I've done lots of research to care for him, but since he's my first reptile I decided to join the group in case I have questions.

 

[Linhdan Nguyen]

Hello everyone! I just got myself a baby red foot named Deadpool, I've done lots of research to care for him, but since he's my first reptile I decided to join the group in case I have questions.View attachment 171663

Hello ! Welcome to the forum there are many redfoot tortoise owners on this forum (i am not one, though would like to be in the future). Ask lots of questions, were always happy to help!

 

[spud's_mum]

Welcome!
What a lil cutie you have there!

 

[Michelle P]

Hello ! Welcome to the forum there are many redfoot tortoise owners on this forum (i am not one, though would like to be in the future). Ask lots of questions, were always happy to help!

Thank you! I have already looked at a couple forums to help perfect my little ones home so it'll be a happy little tort!

 

[Michelle P]

Welcome!
What a lil cutie you have there!

Thank you!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Michelle!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Nice little tortoise.
I keep them, myself.
Welcome aboard.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Michelle

 

[mike taylor]

Welcome to TFO !

 

[lisa127]

Welcome from another redfoot owner!

 

[Michelle P]

Thank you for all the warm welcomes!

 

[Michelle P]

So I was looking through some of the forums and I saw a lot about putting plants in the habitat to keep the humidity up (which I'm finding on day one to be tricky) do you guys have any plant recommendations for me? I've also found a couple other tricks that I'm going to try starting tomorrow to get my humidity up.

 

[Sara G.]

Spider plants are awesome. Cheap too and they reproduce like crazy.
Hibiscus are also very good.
I think succulents are sometimes used though I don't think they'd hold up very well in high humidity environments.
Either way make sure you either get trimmings from an already long time established plant, or get plants that aren't fertilized/had chemicals/insecticide on them.
Which can be very difficult sometimes.
If you can't get them without all that, plant them outside the enclosure in a separate pot for 6 months to a year before letting your torts snack on them.
The Tortoise Table has a good list of plants too

 

[MPRC]

Welcome! I started with a little Redfoot like yours and now I have 5!
I use a substrate of coco coir and spag. Moss mixed together with a closed top and I have great humidity.

 

[Michelle P]

Spider plants are awesome. Cheap too and they reproduce like crazy.
Hibiscus are also very good.
I think succulents are sometimes used though I don't think they'd hold up very well in high humidity environments.
Either way make sure you either get trimmings from an already long time established plant, or get plants that aren't fertilized/had chemicals/insecticide on them.
Which can be very difficult sometimes.
If you can't get them without all that, plant them outside the enclosure in a separate pot for 6 months to a year before letting your torts snack on them.
The Tortoise Table has a good list of plants too

Thanks! I should be able to get some spider plants, I know they are pretty hardy plants

 

[Michelle P]

Welcome! I started with a little Redfoot like yours and now I have 5!
I use a substrate of coco coir and spag. Moss mixed together with a closed top and I have great humidity.

I have a mix of cypress mulch and spag moss, but an open top I read a forum where they mentioned using a shower curtain over the top so I'm going to put that on tomorrow and see how it works. I'm also finding I'll probably need a heater for at night, at least until Wisconsin decides its done with winter.

 

[JoesMum]

With the heat of the lamps, I would be concerned about the shower curtain melting

 

[Michelle P]

With the heat of the lamps, I would be concerned about the shower curtain melting

I was planning on just putting it over about 3/4 of the tub leaving the light area open and to let in some air, but I will keep a very close eye on it.

 

[DutchieAmanda]

Hi and welcome, what a cute little redfoot!

Unless your house is very humid, you'll probably need to cover the whole enclosure. Humidity should be around 80%. Do you have a good (digital) hygrometer?

The temperature should also be higher then house temperature, even at night. I recommend a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) on a thermostat for heat.

The Tortoise Library and The Tortoise Table are great websites for more info on red foot care and food.

If you share any pics of your enclosure we might be able to give you more tips!

 

[Michelle P]

Hi and welcome, what a cute little redfoot!

Unless your house is very humid, you'll probably need to cover the whole enclosure. Humidity should be around 80%. Do you have a good (digital) hygrometer?

The temperature should also be higher then house temperature, even at night. I recommend a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) on a thermostat for heat.

The Tortoise Library and The Tortoise Table are great websites for more info on red foot care and food.

If you share any pics of your enclosure we might be able to give you more tips!

I do need to get a better hydrometer and probably a Che, my thermometers are reading right above 70f for the night, during the day it was reading in the 90s though the humidity was pretty low between 55 and 60. That's why I'm looking for solutions. I'll get pictures in the morning of what I have now and what I was thinking with the shower curtain. Deadpool is a pretty healthy looking tort and I really want to keep it that way.