Hello!

[Andreaza]

Hi! I'm Andrea and I live in Venezuela. I have 3 red foot (or maybe yellow foot?) tortoises, I'm pretty sure they're all females.
There's 2 smaller ones, about 1.5 to 2 years old, Sonya and Natasha, they were gifted to me a year ago by someone whose torts had just had babies, so they're siblings. And there's a bigger one, Bruna, that I adopted in december from a friend who didn't have the space for her anymore. Bruna is about 4 years old, I keep her separated from the little ones because she is about twice their size and I don't know if having them together could be dangerous.

Turns out there's quite a lot of misinformation where I live about how to properly care for a tortoise! If it weren't for the internet i'd probably just be feeding them lettuce everyday
I try my best to feed them a varied diet, i alternate fruits and greens and give them boiled egg about once a week since I've read RF tend to eat a little more protein than other species. The recommended greens are surprisingly hard to find in vzla, and It seems there's not a lot of info on tropical plants and which ones are safe to feed,,,

The only thing that worries me is rainy days, they have a roof, but their floor still gets wet and it scares me that they may get too cold

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

I'm geographically challenged. Are RF or YF tortoises native to Venezuela? If so, then I wouldn't worry about the weather. But you can always put up a light under their shelter to help keep them warm.

 

[Andreaza]

Yes, they're native to Venezuela (we're on the northern part of south america)
Thank you for answering!

 

[Bee62]

Yes, they're native to Venezuela (we're on the northern part of south america)
Thank you for answering!

Hello Andrea and welcome to the forum.
I would be very glad when you can post some pics of your torts and their outside enclosure. I keep two redfoots too, but they are still young.
How cold is it outside where you live when it rains ? I know that redfoots love water and wet ground. Digging in muddy ground is what my torts do too.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Andrea

 

[Lark_Tortoise]

Welcome! Good luck!

 

[Andreaza]

Hello Andrea and welcome to the forum.
I would be very glad when you can post some pics of your torts and their outside enclosure. I keep two redfoots too, but they are still young.
How cold is it outside where you live when it rains ? I know that redfoots love water and wet ground. Digging in muddy ground is what my torts do too.

According to my phone the coldest it gets is 24 degrees celsius. I dont know how accurate that it though.

Here are pictures of the tortoises:

And the enclosure (i hope im doing the pictures right):

This is kind of my backyard, where we have our water tank and grill (I'm not sure about how big the space is, maybe its 2x3 meters?? Could be wrong). Right now there are some water containers to the side because of a water supply problem in my community : /
There's a mettalic net on the top so bugs can't get in.

I think the small torts need a bit of an expansion, they've grown a bit since i put them there...
I know its not necessarily the most ideal enclosure, lm trying,,,

 

[Andreaza]

According to my phone the coldest it gets is 24 degrees celsius. I dont know how accurate that...

Forgot to mention they have plates where i put water for them, they're not in the picture because i was washing them

 

[Bee62]

According to my phone the coldest it gets is 24 degrees celsius. I dont know how accurate that it though.

Here are pictures of the tortoises:
View attachment 236482 View attachment 236483 View attachment 236485
And the enclosure (i hope im doing the pictures right):
View attachment 236481 View attachment 236484
This is kind of my backyard, where we have our water tank and grill (I'm not sure about how big the space is, maybe its 2x3 meters?? Could be wrong). Right now there are some water containers to the side because of a water supply problem in my community : /
There's a mettalic net on the top so bugs can't get in.

I think the small torts need a bit of an expansion, they've grown a bit since i put them there...
I know its not necessarily the most ideal enclosure, lm trying,,,

Hello Andrea, thank you for the pictures. Your torts are cute. How old are they ? They look like the ones I have.
Your backyard is small. I understand that it is difficult to give your torts much space but I think they would be happy about a little more space. Do you have an indoor enclosure for them too or do they live outside the whole year ?
I have no idea about your temps in summer and winter so it is interesting to learn more about temps in Venezuela.
24 C lowest temps is fine for your redfoots. I only would be a little bit worried about the naked ground of their outdoor area. Naked stones can get very cold.
How long do your own your redfoots and where do you get them from ?
I hope you don`t mind my curiosity.

 

[Andreaza]

Thank you! And it's fine, I dont mind the questions
The big one is about 4 years old, I've had her since december, she used to belong to a family member. I don't know where they got her from though
The smaller ones are about 2 years old, maybe a bit younger. I got them about 1 year ago from a friend who had some torts that had babies.
They live outside, and yeahh the ground worries me too a little
There aren't seasons in venezuela, there's only rain and drought periods, so the temperatures dont vary too much throughout the year, it just rains more sometimes then it stops raining and so on.

 

[Bee62]

Thank you! And it's fine, I dont mind the questions
The big one is about 4 years old, I've had her since december, she used to belong to a family member. I don't know where they got her from though
The smaller ones are about 2 years old, maybe a bit younger. I got them about 1 year ago from a friend who had some torts that had babies.
They live outside, and yeahh the ground worries me too a little
There aren't seasons in venezuela, there's only rain and drought periods, so the temperatures dont vary too much throughout the year, it just rains more sometimes then it stops raining and so on.

Thank you for being so kind and answering my questions.
When I was a child I have had a girlfriend who was born in Venezuela. Her father worked as a professor on the university of Göttingen / Germany. The family stayed for 4 years in Germany and then moved back to Venezuela. My little girlfriends name was Maricarmen Tredunlo Gonzales. After she and her family left Germany we have had a letter corresspondation for a few years then loosing contact. I know that she now lives in Florida.
She had wonderful long, dark hair when she was a child and I was envious on her long beautiful hair. LOL.
But this only by the way.
I have an idea to give your tortoises more space. What do you think about building them a kind of "table" with a wooden "fence" on one side of your backyard ? You can use the space under the table and the torts have more room to walk around and they are not longer on the ground. On this table you can give your torts soil to dig in. I think they will feel much more comfortable with natural soil on the ground.

 

[Hawaiifornia]

Hi Andrea, welcome to the forum.

 

[Andreaza]

Thank you for being so kind and answering my questions.
When I was a child I have had a girlfriend who was born in Venezuela. Her father worked as a professor on the university of Göttingen / Germany. The family stayed for 4 years in Germany and then moved back to Venezuela. My little girlfriends name was Maricarmen Tredunlo Gonzales. After she and her family left Germany we have had a letter corresspondation for a few years then loosing contact. I know that she now lives in Florida.
She had wonderful long, dark hair when she was a child and I was envious on her long beautiful hair. LOL.
But this only by the way.
I have an idea to give your tortoises more space. What do you think about building them a kind of "table" with a wooden "fence" on one side of your backyard ? You can use the space under the table and the torts have more room to walk around and they are not longer on the ground. On this table you can give your torts soil to dig in. I think they will feel much more comfortable with natural soil on the ground.

Sorry it took me a bit to answer

Thats nice, Venezuela used to receive many immigrants from all parts of the world (though that isnt the case anymore, the situation has changed)

Thank you for the idea, it's a creative solution, I'll see what I can do about it