bright 4eva?
- Thread starter Mr.Ryan
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I have heard of colors fading, becoming more vibrant, or staying the same in Redfoots. Someone else should come along with more info soon.
Bumping shells (aka pyramiding, where the scutes raise vertically), is now thought to primarily be caused by lack of humidity, with secondary causes including poor diet such as too much protein for a vegetarian tortoise, and lack of exercise. The advice on how to prevent it is more species-specific, but typically involves having a moist substrate to create humidity at the substrate level (more important than air/ambient humidity but both are important), a proper diet, and large enclosures.
For Redfoots, you want to create a rain forest environment where the tort is literally dropping wet at times. See www.redfoots.com for enclosure advice on how to create humidity. Many people limit the use of lighting, have a heat emitter, and either a combination of moist soil or coconut fiber substrate with sphagnum moss, or sphagnum moss alone. You moisten and mix up the substrate to keep it humid. Wet and warm is good but wet and cold is bad. See more specifics about how to keep the substrate wet without having shell fungus by having different layers of it to drain in the enclosure section here. You want an enclosure as large as you can make it, as long as you can keep increasing its size as the tortoise grows (if it is not already full grown). The diet plan on www.redfoots.com is the only one I have heard of being recommended. It is easy to follow as you feed a specific food group each day (vegetable/greens, fruit, and protein).
Want to share more about your specific tortoise/s and their care? Or, are you doing research before you obtain one? Best wishes.
Bumping shells (aka pyramiding, where the scutes raise vertically), is now thought to primarily be caused by lack of humidity, with secondary causes including poor diet such as too much protein for a vegetarian tortoise, and lack of exercise. The advice on how to prevent it is more species-specific, but typically involves having a moist substrate to create humidity at the substrate level (more important than air/ambient humidity but both are important), a proper diet, and large enclosures.
For Redfoots, you want to create a rain forest environment where the tort is literally dropping wet at times. See www.redfoots.com for enclosure advice on how to create humidity. Many people limit the use of lighting, have a heat emitter, and either a combination of moist soil or coconut fiber substrate with sphagnum moss, or sphagnum moss alone. You moisten and mix up the substrate to keep it humid. Wet and warm is good but wet and cold is bad. See more specifics about how to keep the substrate wet without having shell fungus by having different layers of it to drain in the enclosure section here. You want an enclosure as large as you can make it, as long as you can keep increasing its size as the tortoise grows (if it is not already full grown). The diet plan on www.redfoots.com is the only one I have heard of being recommended. It is easy to follow as you feed a specific food group each day (vegetable/greens, fruit, and protein).
Want to share more about your specific tortoise/s and their care? Or, are you doing research before you obtain one? Best wishes.
Mr.Ryan said:
There are a few kinds of fading...
- A loss of intensity as they get older. Many animals loose the brilliant colors they have as babies as they grow. Beautiful pumpkin oranges on a Red-foot may shift to a plainer orange as the animal grows. Not much you can do about this, but the proper vitamins and nutrients probably help minimize it.
- Mottling, marbling, etc. Some Red-foots develop white spots or lines between the scutes as they grow. While this is fairly common in Red-foots from Brazil, it has been seen in those from other places as well. Mottling is generally considered attractive and desirable.
- Fading from lack of UV light. Some keepers report that their tortoises show their best colors under UVB lighting, especially as they get older, and that the colors fade without out. Offering at least some low-level UVB probably helps. Offering vitamin D in the diet or in supplements may help as well, but probably not as well as good UVB lighting.
Bumpiness is called 'pyramiding', and most people today think it is mostly from low humidity. These guys seem to do best when at least part of their home is about 95% or more humid. Making sure they have moist foods, drinking water, etc. helps as well.
Try http://www.redfoots.com or www.turtletary.com for some good ideas for young Red-foot care. Get it started right, and things will be a lot better for both of you.
From what I have observed.. Redfoot hatchlings are about as colorful as a redfoot will get. This example is in the top 10% of the 200 or so that I have hatched.. ( watch the dates in the lower right )..
A Colombian ( northern ) redfoot -
( June '07 )
( April '08 )..
( Jan. '09 )..
So not a lot of "fading" so far.. with about 50%/50% inside under NO UVB and outside under natural sunlight. No "supplements" other than the minute amount of D3 in the dry catfood after 6 months of age.
The smooth growth rate I credit to the "ambient" humidity.. constant "spraying-till-they-drip" inside. And high humidity outside.. combined with sprinkler system.
And what "Brazilians" do.. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v41/clemmysman/CHERRYS/
More than you wanted to know.. I realize!
I have found that the Brazilians do "fade" quicker as they age. My 10/08 Northern hatchlings have faded very little over the years. http://www.turtletary.com/redfoot.htm - follow the links too.
Just trying to share...
Redfoot NERD
A Colombian ( northern ) redfoot -
( June '07 )
( April '08 )..
( Jan. '09 )..
So not a lot of "fading" so far.. with about 50%/50% inside under NO UVB and outside under natural sunlight. No "supplements" other than the minute amount of D3 in the dry catfood after 6 months of age.
The smooth growth rate I credit to the "ambient" humidity.. constant "spraying-till-they-drip" inside. And high humidity outside.. combined with sprinkler system.
And what "Brazilians" do.. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v41/clemmysman/CHERRYS/
More than you wanted to know.. I realize!
I have found that the Brazilians do "fade" quicker as they age. My 10/08 Northern hatchlings have faded very little over the years. http://www.turtletary.com/redfoot.htm - follow the links too.
Just trying to share...
Redfoot NERD
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