Cross Posted - Newbie Needs Help

[Kemperly_Williams]

Brand-New Tortie Owner Needs Advice!

I just purchased a young female Red Foot Tortoise and have noticed that she has very small, whitish, oblong bugs crawling on her shell and legs. What are these ? Should I get rid of them ? If so, How do I get rid of them ?

Also I need info about what lights to buy for her. I am very much a newbie to Torts. I just converted from a Red Tail Boa owner. LOL.

So I need to know what lights and heat range she needs plus all the different foods she can have. Right now she has carrots, mcintosh apples and romane lettuce. Oh, and timothy hay.

I know she shouldn't have iceburg lettuce or spinach but what else is a no no ? Does she need any vitamin/mineral powders ? HELP ME! lol

Kemp

 

[Cameron]

they are probably wood mites. what are you using for substrate? i had them when i was using cypress mulch for my tegus. i had to freeze the mulch to get rid of them. they aren't parasitic (if they are indeed wood mites), so they won't harm the tortoise.

as for the rest of your info, i don't keep redfoots so i don't know...however, there are lots of informations threads on those subjects in the redfoot tortoise section....

 

[Kemperly_Williams]

ahhh ... yes she is in cypress. What would be a better substrate ? I examined her to the best of my ability prior to purchase and I never saw mites on her at all.

Kemp

 

[HarleyK]

Welcome to the tortoise world. There is a lot of debate on whether or not RFs need UVB, but you need a heat source like a ceramic heat emitter and some sort of light source so that tortoise knows when it is day and night. I read on here that feeding rf's fruit once a week is good and their diet should consist mostly of dark leafy greens. Is your tort indoors most of the time?

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ahhh ... yes she is in cypress. What would be a better substrate ? I examined her to the best of my ability prior to purchase and I never saw mites on her at all.

Kemp

there are some options out there...like orchid bark and some moss (mosser lee moss bran can be found at lowes) to keep the habitat humid.

 

[Cameron]

i don't know much about redfoots, but i'm sure the cypress is fine. just freeze it before you put it in the enclosure to kill off the mites. it worked for me. they aren't parasitic to the animals, so the tortoise isn't in danger, but they may stress it out and annoy it. i would just take out what is in there, clean the enclosure well, freeze the mulch overnight and put it back in the enclosure. be sure to soak the tortoise also to get rid of any that may be crawling on it.

 

[Kemperly_Williams]

the mites are on me now and I already have a problem with high levels of histamine in my body. Great. More benadryl for me .... And now I'm gonna get rid of this Cypress for something else. And is a infrared light okay for viewing/daylight and a ceramic coil heater okay ? Or do I need something else for UVB ? Also do I need calcium powder added to my torts diet ?

and as for food fruit once a week.

dark leafy greens every day ... how much ? and what kind ?

Kemp

PS. anybody know any really good books on tortie care !?

 

[LindaF]

these are the best web sites ever for rf care http://www.redfoots.com/ & http://www.turtletary.com/ they will set you straight. They have saved my baby rf.
Good luck

 

[Missy]

Cocoanut choir (brick add water) and plain bag soil mixed works well. As for advise on Redfoots you can type that into the search box and find all the threads on them. That is the best way to learn because your same questions have been asked and answered already. After reading through the threads if you still have questions then ask away. Happy reading and welcome to TFO

 

[Mandolynn]

Hi, I have 2 RFs and I use Cypress with sphagnum moss for them, but I freeze it like RedEarth Exotics suggested. As far as their general care goes, you're going to find a lot of different opinions and debate. I think that one of the most important first things a new tortoise owner should do is take their new pet to a knowledgeable Herp veterinarian for a check-up. This site has amazing information on it, I'm new as well, so I'm digging through the threads still.

redfoottortoise.com is one the best sites I have found so far specifically for RFs.
tortoiseyard.com and tortoisetrust.org are also good.
Just remember to be sure that all tortoises are not created equal.
Good Luck!

 

[HarleyK]

the mites are on me now and I already have a problem with high levels of histamine in my body. Great. More benadryl for me .... And now I'm gonna get rid of this Cypress for something else. And is a infrared light okay for viewing/daylight and a ceramic coil heater okay ? Or do I need something else for UVB ? Also do I need calcium powder added to my torts diet ?

and as for food fruit once a week.

dark leafy greens every day ... how much ? and what kind ?

Kemp

PS. anybody know any really good books on tortie care !?

I have been eyeing this book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441494030/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

But seriously, I just got my first redfoot and this forum was the only resource I had and he's doing great imo. I would rather spend the money on tortoise essentials if you are tight on money like me. There are some amazing posts if you run a search good luck.

 

[Mandolynn]

This is one of the most correct and informative sites I've found. Plus, because it's a forum, you get all the perspectives, because there's still a lot of gray area in tortie care. The Redfoot manual is an informative and helpful book, but it's not free. You don't have to own a book just to raise a healthy Redfoot. We are still learning a lot about their care. Best bet is to check out reliable sites, including this one, and come to your own consensus about whats best for your pet, and learn as you go along. There are alot of brilliant experts on this site, but even they are still always learning.
I agree with HaleyK, you don't need a book, you can find more updated info online.

 

[Madkins007]

Brand-New Tortie Owner Needs Advice!

I just purchased a young female Red Foot Tortoise and have noticed that she has very small, whitish, oblong bugs crawling on her shell and legs. What are these ? Should I get rid of them ? If so, How do I get rid of them ?

Also I need info about what lights to buy for her. I am very much a newbie to Torts. I just converted from a Red Tail Boa owner. LOL.

So I need to know what lights and heat range she needs plus all the different foods she can have. Right now she has carrots, mcintosh apples and romane lettuce. Oh, and timothy hay.

I know she shouldn't have iceburg lettuce or spinach but what else is a no no ? Does she need any vitamin/mineral powders ? HELP ME! lol

Kemp

CYPRESS. This is usually fine right out of the bag. Hopefully you just got a bad batch. Are the bugs really fast sometimes? A common pest of damp substrates (almost any substrate) are springtails or snow fleas. This is a common pest in much of the US and should not be causing you problems personally.

If you decide to use a different substrate, we can make other suggestions depending on the torts size/age and your location.

LIGHTS. Daytime lighting is usually nothing special unless this is your main source of UVB or vitamin D, in which case you should consider low-level UVB bulbs. If they get natural, unfiltered sunlight then UVB is unnecessary. Note that you can raise a Red-foot without UVB lighting but it does seem to help if you use it.

IR is OK for heat, but there are usually better options. I like a ceramic heat emitter for overall heat and a UVB or plain bulb for light better, though.

DIET. Your original diet is not the greatest. There are a lot of sites that offer assistance. Besides those listed earlier, also consider http://www.tortoisetrust.org or my care sheet posted at https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/red-foots/red-foot-care

SUPPLEMENTS. When your diet is solid, you should not need much more than an occasional pinch of calcium carbonate. This is also discussed in most of the sites mentioned.

GOOD BOOKS. These are all available at Amazon.com
- Mike Pingleton. "The Redfoot Manual". My personal favorite, a good, balanced, and helpful book.
- Vinkes and Vetters. "South American Tortoises". My favorite to learn about Redfoots and other tortoises in a larger sense. The care section is solid, but harder to wade through.
- Amanda Ebenhack. "Yellowfoots and Redfoots". I rank this about halfway between the other two in coverage, but I prefer the other two overall.

As has been mentioned, I think sites offer more up-to-date info, but I appreciate having a lot of info neatly organized rather than searching or asking and wading through the answers.

Also keep in mind that there a.) is rarely a single right answer, and b.) a lot of the info offered is based on opinion or personal experience rather than research. There is just a lot we DO NOT KNOW for sure on tortoises.

 

[Kemperly_Williams]

YAY thank you everyone for being sooooo kind to me. I had originally planned to get a tortie in 2 months after some research was completed. But one came up for sale that was good and BAM! I had a tortie on my hands. This is all so helpful I'm gonna copy & paste the advice into Microsoft Word so I can re-read when needed.

*hugs to everyone*

Kemp & Ellie ( my redfoot )

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Hi, I have 2 RFs and I use Cypress with sphagnum moss for them, but I freeze it like RedEarth Exotics suggested. As far as their general care goes, you're going to find a lot of different opinions and debate. I think that one of the most important first things a new tortoise owner should do is take their new pet to a knowledgeable Herp veterinarian for a check-up. This site has amazing information on it, I'm new as well, so I'm digging through the threads still.

redfoottortoise.com is one the best sites I have found so far specifically for RFs.
tortoiseyard.com and tortoisetrust.org are also good.
Just remember to be sure that all tortoises are not created equal.
Good Luck!

I can't freeze the cypress. I have tiny freezers and the bags I buy are nearly as big as me!

I think I might just switch out of using cypress. Because my tortie tank is enormous and I'm disabled, it makes it easier for me to just switch to something low maintainence.

Kemp

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I have been eyeing this book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1441494030/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

But seriously, I just got my first redfoot and this forum was the only resource I had and he's doing great imo. I would rather spend the money on tortoise essentials if you are tight on money like me. There are some amazing posts if you run a search good luck.

let's just say, my pets eat more frequently and better then I do because of financial strain!