First tort, Red Foot. Advice Welcomed.

[Abi]

Hello everyone, I'm Abi, I'm from Ohio. I just purchased my first tortoise from a reptile show on saturday. I have kept reptiles before but never tortoises. I have a few questions, and am open to any beginner tips or advise.

Lighting, I have read so many mixed reviews that red foots dont need a basking spot or a uvb bulb, as long as there is a warm side and it is humid, then another website says i absolutely need a bulb. Additionally i have read to keep the tank a variety of temps from 68 all the way to 95.


Currently- I have some leds over the enclosure, and a undertank heater on one side, the substrate is coconut and moss on top and i mist 2-3 times daily, i also soak Bowser in warm water for 15 minutes daily.

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[tortdad]

UVB is a Must unless you get him outside for natural sunlight. People are still debating on how much is needed, some say as little as 2 hours a week. Some RF like to bask and other don't. It's not needed for them but good to have one for them if they want it. I use a ZooMed brand mercury bulb (powersun 100w). It does both basking and UVB rays. Keep the basking area at 90-95 degrees and you can keep the rest of the area in the mid 80's and the do very well. They like it humid so you need to keep a constant 80-90% at the sub straight level which is why most of us RF owners us a 100% enclosed table to trap the moisture. Some people like more of a temperature range so they do 95 at the basking are, a warm side in the mid 80s an a cooler side in the mid to upper 70s.

How old is your RF. Baby's are very susceptible to dehydration so you shod soak him is a shallow water dish for 20-30 mins a day. Plus must him and his enclosure a few times a day.

Welcome to TFO an be sure to scheme out the Redfoot section to get the care sheets and a list of what to feed him. Also check out the enclosure section for ideas on how to house him. Be sure to post up plenty of pics too

 

[Abi]

I am also interested in tort-safe plants that are easy to grow inside the enclosure. I have a lot of succulents indoors but i figure they wouldn't do well in the humidity

 

[Abi]

UVB is a Must unless you get him outside for natural sunlight. People are still debating on how much is needed, some say as little as 2 hours a week. Some RF like to bask and other don't. It's not needed for them but good to have one for them if they want it. I use a ZooMed brand mercury bulb (powersun 100w). It does both basking and UVB rays. Keep the basking area at 90-95 degrees and you can keep the rest of the area in the mid 80's and the do very well. They like it humid so you need to keep a constant 80-90% at the sub straight level which is why most of us RF owners us a 100% enclosed table to trap the moisture. Some people like more of a temperature range so they do 95 at the basking are, a warm side in the mid 80s an a cooler side in the mid to upper 70s.

How old is your RF. Baby's are very susceptible to dehydration so you shod soak him is a shallow water dish for 20-30 mins a day. Plus must him and his enclosure a few times a day.

Welcome to TFO an be sure to scheme out the Redfoot section to get the care sheets and a list of what to feed him. Also check out the enclosure section for ideas on how to house him. Be sure to post up plenty of pics too

I have him in a long tank right now with half the top covered, and all glass sides blacked out but one, i have been soaking him for 15 mins a day but i will up it. I mist constantly, I'm being ocd about his humidity because i read that babies get dehydrated.

'Less than six months' was the most accurate age i could get out of the "breeder" at the show.

his tank is about 80 degrees now, maybe 90 on the warmer side, I'll pick up a uvb bulb tonight.


he has been spending a lot of time buried, like all the time except after i soak him he eats and then re burrows. Is this normal?

 

[tortdad]

Heat rocks and heat pads are no the way to go. You can heat during the day with the basking light and at night with a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or one of those infrared night lights.

Also be use to keep his water and food dish pushed down into the substraight so it is flush and can be walked into easily. For a water dish the best thing to use is a $0.75 terra cotta flower pot saucer. Make sure he has a place to hide in and keep his sub straight moist but not soaking wet, you don't want him to develop she'll rot. This is also eh you need to keep part of his floor dry.

The best description I got for how much moisture to put on the floor was to think about a forest floor, damp not wet like a swamp.

 

[Abi]

Okay so ditch the heat pad when i get home. His food and water are shallow and level with substrate, and he has a nice big moss ball in his hide that he burrows in, I have a rock under the leds, they were for saltwater tanks, so they do emit some heat, but i will switch to an actual bulb

 

[tortdad]

Just don't get the coil type UVB bulb. It will burn his eyes.

 

[tortdad]

Very normal for him to hide all day

 

[naturalman91]

go with a tube uvb instead of a powersun reds arent really fond of bright lights

 

[tortdad]

go with a tube uvb instead of a powersun reds arent really fond of bright lights

Mine does but I've also got plants in there to create shade for him.

 

[naturalman91]

Mine does but I've also got plants in there to create shade for him.

it's a debatable topic that we've all already gotten into before lol i agree i catch mine sun bathing all the time but thats only off a normal household light in the enclosure he doesn't sun bath like say a sulcata or a russian

 

[Abi]

That's why i was originally just had the leds and the heat pad under a thick layer of substrate for warmth, because i had read that red foots didnt love bright light. So much info to sift through, its overwhelming!

 

[Abi]

I have a t5 uvb light, would that be suitable?

 

[Abi]

it is a tube , inside of a hood

 

[pfara]

Hey Abi and welcome to the forum! No matter what you research, you'll always get mixed answers; it gets pretty frustrating at times. There's no one right way to approach tortoise husbandry but here's a site that helped me a lot in the beginning- http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/

As for your plant questions, many houseplants tend to require the same environment as redfoots (low light, warm, high humidity). The short list I recommend to people is: spider plants, pothos, dracaena (marginata or warneckii), wax begonia, wandering jew, prayer plant, christmas cactus, ferns (boston, bird's nest, asparagus, maidenhair), lipstick vine. Feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

And I see one of your major concern is light intensity. If you provide options like a basking spot (high intensity) and shady spots (where there's no light coverage) then you can observe what your tortoise prefers. But it's always good to provide a wide variety for your tort to keep him/her happy. Heavy planting can help buffer the amount of lights you provide. My reds hid from everything for the first year which made me think they didn't like lights. But now, at a year and a half, that theory proves to be false because they love basking and running around; they were just incredibly shy the first year.

 

[Abi]

okay thanks i will keep that in mind! It is encouraging to get so much advise right off that bat, thank you all!

 

[FLINTUS]

I have a t5 uvb light, would that be suitable?

T5 is the best artificial UV type around. Which brand is it?

 

[Abi]

I forget, I used it to grow coral in my first salt tank but have upgraded to leds since

 

[tortadise]

Welcome

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!