Hello from Ontario

[bellamia]

Got my first tortoise yesterday he is a 9 month old redfoot.
Now its time to do some more serious research so he is happy healthy and outlives me !

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[AnnV]

Welcome. Redfoots are wonderful!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi:

Welcome to the wonderful world of tortoises! ...and to the Forum.

There's some pretty good redfoot info here at the Tortoise Library

 

[diamondbp]

Welcome. We look forward to getting to know you and your red foot

 

[reptile_couple]

Hello and welcome fellow Ontarian.

 

[bellamia]

Thank you all, I think I have the diet all figured out, but still a little confused about heat and lightening ... he is in a 55gal tank... I have a uv strip light sitting on top and heat lamp...I was told to turn them both off at night ? The tank has crushed walnut as ground cover... should I spray this daily for moisture ? he will also have his regular soaks. Thanks

 

[reptile_couple]

Fist thing I would do is get rid of the crushed walnut that stuff is probably one of the worst things for your little red foot. I would change it up for some coco coir. You can find it at any pet store. Look for zoomed Eco earth or exoterra plantain soil. Is your uv on top of the screen ? If so I would try to find a way to hang it from the lid. The screen will filter out a lot of vital uv rays. Also to keep the humidity up I would try to cover up some of the lid to help hold in the humidity.

 

[bellamia]

Fist thing I would do is get rid of the crushed walnut that stuff is probably one of the worst things for your little red foot. I would change it up for some coco coir. You can find it at any pet store. Look for zoomed Eco earth or exoterra plantain soil. Is your uv on top of the screen ? If so I would try to find a way to hang it from the lid. The screen will filter out a lot of vital uv rays. Also to keep the humidity up I would try to cover up some of the lid to help hold in the humidity.

 

[bellamia]

Fist thing I would do is get rid of the crushed walnut that stuff is probably one of the worst things for your little red foot. I would change it up for some coco coir. You can find it at any pet store. Look for zoomed Eco earth or exoterra plantain soil. Is your uv on top of the screen ? If so I would try to find a way to hang it from the lid. The screen will filter out a lot of vital uv rays. Also to keep the humidity up I would try to cover up some of the lid to help hold in the humidity.

thank you I will get rid of the crushed walnut...and I will try and find a way to hang uv light inside,

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

Hello and welcome fellow Ontarian.

Hello and welcome from another fellow Ontarian! I also have an awesome red foot
Coco coir really is great substrate, and at only $10 for 3 bricks (each one expands 8 times its dry size) it's pretty cheap. You can also grow plants in it, for her/him to munch on and to provide shade. The Hosta, with its big leaves offers security, your tort is more likely to come out of hiding and walk around if she can "hide" herself and peak at you. Picture a toddler playing hide and seek, I can't see you you can't see me! ;-)
I also plant organic lettuce heads and kale or arugula, the kind you find at Loblaws with the root ball attached.

The red foot is an awesome species, very friendly and interactive. Enjoy

 

[bellamia]

Thank you I will buy Coco coir today and change it, and I will add a hosta and spider plant for shade.Do you mist this Coco coir daily ? or just pour some water under it ?

 

[reptile_couple]

I like to pour water in the corner of my tank I keep underneath moist. If the tort spends most of its time on wet or really damp substrate you start to run the risk of shell rot and no one wants that lol. One thing that I found handy is a small humidifier. You can get them at Walmart or crapy. The one I got is from walmart I picked it up for like 40 bucks I will attach a pic of it. I got the hose and elbow from Home Depot. The hose is for a dish washer and the elbow is a 1 inch to 1 inch poly from the plumbing section. . Hope this helps .

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO fromAZ
USA good luck with your new tort

 

[bellamia]

Thank you all for your help, does this look okay ?