Cherry head help.

JoesMum

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As for all redfoots, they are creatures of the forest floor. They need high humidity in a closed chamber and a steady 80-85F day and night. Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) with a thermostat in a closed chamber to achieve this. They don't need a basking lamp, but they do need UVB. The UVB doesn't need to be intense. A 5.0 fluorescent tube will do the job.
 

Matt1769

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As for all redfoots, they are creatures of the forest floor. They need high humidity in a closed chamber and a steady 80-85F day and night. Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) with a thermostat in a closed chamber to achieve this. They don't need a basking lamp, but they do need UVB. The UVB doesn't need to be intense. A 5.0 fluorescent tube will do the job.
Ok thanks
 

Matt1769

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As for all redfoots, they are creatures of the forest floor. They need high humidity in a closed chamber and a steady 80-85F day and night. Use a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) with a thermostat in a closed chamber to achieve this. They don't need a basking lamp, but they do need UVB. The UVB doesn't need to be intense. A 5.0 fluorescent tube will do the job.
What do you mean closed chamber?
 

JoesMum

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A closed chamber is an enclosure with a roof. It must not be open topped. An open top will let the heat and humidity escape.

If you search the enclosures forum you will see plenty of examples.
 

Matt1769

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A closed chamber is an enclosure with a roof. It must not be open topped. An open top will let the heat and humidity escape.

If you search the enclosures forum you will see plenty of examples.
Ok, thank you.
 

jsheffield

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Changing my redfoot's enclosure to a closed system made keeping my Darwin easier and better for him ... the humidity and heat are simple to maintain now compared to when I started with it as an open system.

Jamie
 

Toddrickfl1

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If you live somewhere it stays warm enough in the winter and you can bring your Torts outside for natural sunlight a few hours a week you don't need UVB lighting.
 

Redstrike

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If/when you can get them outside for natural sunlight, that's the best UVB option.

The care sheet referenced above puts scientists in quotation marks. As a "scientist" I can tell you that most terrestrial animals on the planet derive Vitamin D3 through exposure to natural UVB radiation. It's a required vitamin for survival.

I'm absolutely appalled that a care sheet with such apparent bias and opinion has been added as an important thread to the Redfoot section of this forum. The tone of the lighting discussion is condescending and flippant toward the scientific community, for which we owe a great deal of respect.
 

Redfoot NERD

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If/when you can get them outside for natural sunlight, that's the best UVB option.

The care sheet referenced above puts scientists in quotation marks. As a "scientist" I can tell you that most terrestrial animals on the planet derive Vitamin D3 through exposure to natural UVB radiation. It's a required vitamin for survival.

I'm absolutely appalled that a care sheet with such apparent bias and opinion has been added as an important thread to the Redfoot section of this forum. The tone of the lighting discussion is condescending and flippant toward the scientific community, for which we owe a great deal of respect.

In case you hadn't noticed @Redstrike this is not a "scientific" community. "Scientists" do seem to have a different 'view' on things. ( your view is a very very very small % here ) You can't make a "Science" out of anything you can't control the parameters on -- surely you know that. At best this is a study...

And yes UVB is a source of D3 ... but not the only one ! Basking is great for 'basking Herbivores' - however .carbonaria is not one.
 

Redfool

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I always thought D3 and UVB we’re completely different things. Isn’t D3 a vitamin and UVB is needed to synthesize that vitamin? Does UVB make D3 or just let the torts body use that vitamin whether it’s from supplements or a natural source? This is what I always thought, just trying to educate myself.
 

JoesMum

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I always thought D3 and UVB we’re completely different things. Isn’t D3 a vitamin and UVB is needed to synthesize that vitamin? Does UVB make D3 or just let the torts body use that vitamin whether it’s from supplements or a natural source? This is what I always thought, just trying to educate myself.

Yes. You are correct

Vitamin D3 is necessary for the processing of dietary calcium.

Tortoises and humans both make their own vitamin D3 on exposure to certain wavelengths of UVB light.

Humans can also absorb vitamin D3 through diet which compensates for them wearing clothes and not living outdoors 24/7 these days.

The debate is open on whether or not Tortoises can take dietary calcium. It is thought that some species may do it better than others.

Redfoots are omnivores and are more likely to take in vitamin D3 through diet... this dietary choice may be because their natural home has low UVB levels on the forest floor. Testudo and Sulcatas are vegetarian and spend hours in unobstructed natural daylight and their gut processes may well not have evolved to take dietary vitamin D3
 

mark1

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here's some facts on redfoot and yellowfoot habitat …… i'd recommend you check out the bios of the the 3 authors , I always do , the internet is full of misinformation (Mario Vargas-Ramírez & Jérôme Maran & Uwe Fritz) ……………..

I don't believe there is any question they are not rainforest species …… their habitat and behavior pretty much mirrors our eastern box turtles , minus the cold adaptation behavior , and even that does to a point ….… as for light , daylight bright with lots of cover so they can be comfortable , as full of a spectrum as you can achieve , sunlight is what their lives revolve around , it's way more than d3 , google "uvb in the shade" …… fluorescent bulbs in a 4 light fixture would be my choice , two 6500k , is like kitchen and bath bulbs , one 2800k , and a uvb one …….. basking bulbs I do believe pyramid their shells ……..

Red- and yellow-footed tortoises, Chelonoidis carbonaria and C. denticulata (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae ), in South American savannahs and forests: do their phylogeographies reflect distinct habitats?

https://www.researchgate.net/profil...hylogeographies-reflect-distinct-habitats.pdf
Chelonoidis carbonaria occurs primarily in savannah habitats and adjacent forest areas...…………….

C. carbonaria prefers savannahs and open habitats, resulting in the observed genetic structure corresponding to its patchy distribution associated with such habitats...………………..

the extant diversity of C. carbonaria was shaped by dispersal enabled by retreating rainforest and subsequent vicariance caused by forest re-expansion, leading to population fragmentation in ‘savannah islands’.
 

mark1

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this article is pretty straightforward …….. the uv intensity at the latitudes redfoots live in is probably at least 20-30% greater than what we experience at the mid latitudes ……..



Evidence-based practice


How much UV-B does my reptile need? The UV-Tool, a guide to the selection of UV lighting for reptiles and amphibians in captivity
Frances Baines1*, Joe Chattell2, James Dale3, Dan Garrick4, Iri Gill5, Matt Goetz6, Tim Skelton7 and Matt Swatman3

https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=5888d6c7f7b67e97167f3923&assetKey=AS:454459043127296@1485362887628
 

Redfoot NERD

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Being a "non-scientists" - meaning I 'studied' their behavior outdoors ( first ) and indoor ( I attempted to duplicate from the 'study' of outdoor observations) - and then made an attempt to write a ( middle-of-the-road ) Caresheet on how to care for Redfoot tortoises.

As mentioned previously ( which of course I agree ) ... it's more than just lighting and does matter where on the planet any one keeper is maintaining their Redffot . Sooo - "Keep the basic 4 parameters 'IN BALANCE' - the challenge is which and how much.

Again ... not educated on all that "light" data [ from that lengthy article ] - @mark1 do you believe that "less-is-best" when it comes to the uvb bulb in your formula .. in other words 'how much' ? As difficult as that may be to answer... thank you!
 

mark1

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believe me i'm far from an expert on lighting , I go by what I see , and what science tells me I don't see .........my answer would be some , uvi of more than 1 and less than 3 , which I believe you'd get if your uvb bulb worked at all , of course given proper distance ......… I don't believe you can do any harm with any commercial fluorescent reptile uvb tube available , if you could it'd need to be new and you'd have to set it on their backs …… I could see possibly doing some harm with a mercury vapor bulb put to close , but I've never seen a problem , and I used mercury vapor bulbs before I ever saw self ballasted uvb bulbs for reptiles at a pet store …...…...

my "formula" is just trying to get what i'm told is a wide spectrum ,and lots of lumens , if I never got outside i'd want bright ……. you can see from the pic the uvb bulb is beyond the spectrum of kitchen and bath or soft white fluorescents ……. I just started using them cob bulbs , those are BRIGHT …...

giphy.gif


reptile vision

Aspects of Light and Reptile Immunity

Dr Henry Brames, Reptile Clinic, Munich, Germany 2006



http://isahh.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Aspects-of-Light-and-Reptile-Immunity.pdf
 

Redfoot NERD

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Sorry [ I suspect I'm not alone ] I understand virtually none of that written! This I do know... my redfoot tortoises ( omnivores / almost carnivores ) did not like the sun outside... and my stars ( herbivores ) did like the sun outside... and my K.erosa - forest-hingebacks ( mushroom / animal protein lovers ) were ONLY out under the moon-light... seldom / almost never during the day.
In the early days we used the "Vita-lights" I believe they were called.. used in offices to simulate sunshine!

@mark1 .. what are cob bulbs?
 

Toddrickfl1

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All I can say on this matter is my personal experience. I don't know anything about the scientific aspect but I do not use an artificial UVB lamp. Haven't for the year I've had my Redfoot. Granted he got direct sunlight outside in the summer months but no UVB for the entire winter, and hes healthy, has more than doubled in size, and no signs of MBD whatsoever.
 

Redfoot NERD

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Thank you @Toddrickfl1 - all I can say is = acquired 3 hatchlings in 1998 [ Oct. 1998 hatched ? ] - Feb. 2005 they made their first babies... raised exclusively by current Caresheet - Dec. 2011 the next generation hatched = do we see a pattern here?

To the best of my knowledge no less than one of those females is in a breeding situation = raised until Jan. 2017 here...before going to new owner who has maintained current Caresheet.
 

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