Im trying to figure out what I should feed my red footed tortoise?

[sheldo]

this is my first time as a tortoise keeper I am still trying to figure things out such as enclosure maintenance, diet, housing, and much more does anyone have any suggestions I have been feeding him spinach, lettuce, straw berries, and this turtle food my friend recommended(she is a tortoise keeper and where I got sheldo from)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Well, you can slowly use up those pellets as maybe 10% of what you're feeding. Then replace it with Mazuri 5M21.
Redfoot can eat a huge variety of foods. And I repeat....This is for Redfoot only!
They can have over 60% fruit. They can eat green leafy vegetables. Mushrooms. Cactus. Edible flowers like hibiscus. Other common vegetables and most fresh. Unprocessed foods that you and your family eat. Including most types of meat and whole, boiled eggs.
There is probably at least 10 items in your home. In your refrigerator and growing outside that you can feed.
DO NOT feed the same 1 or 2 things daily.
You're in Hawaii. Can your RF live outside?
Since your Redfoot has had such a spartan diet, I'm going to assume that you might have other issues with your Redfoot keeping.
He/she needs 75% plus humidity 24/7. How are you providing that?
He also needs a temper of between 80 and 86 degrees. How are you providing that?
He also needs a correct UVB source.
I've got to warn you that if you've bought everything from a pet shop. It might all be wrong.
Read this. Try to give us photographs of what you have as far as enclosure. Lights, etc. And ask more questions

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[sheldo]

Well, you can slowly use up those pellets as maybe 10% of what you're feeding. Then replace it with Mazuri 5M21.
Redfoot can eat a huge variety of foods. And I repeat....This is for Redfoot only!
They can have over 60% fruit. They can eat green leafy vegetables. Mushrooms. Cactus. Edible flowers like hibiscus. Other common vegetables and most fresh. Unprocessed foods that you and your family eat. Including most types of meat and whole, boiled eggs.
There is probably at least 10 items in your home. In your refrigerator and growing outside that you can feed.
DO NOT feed the same 1 or 2 things daily.
You're in Hawaii. Can your RF live outside?
Since your Redfoot has had such a spartan diet, I'm going to assume that you might have other issues with your Redfoot keeping.
He/she needs 75% plus humidity 24/7. How are you providing that?
He also needs a temper of between 80 and 86 degrees. How are you providing that?
He also needs a correct UVB source.
I've got to warn you that if you've bought everything from a pet shop. It might all be wrong.
Read this. Try to give us photographs of what you have as far as enclosure. Lights, etc. And ask more questions

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

thank you for the info I will try my best to answer your qeustions
1:i only feed him straw berries and spinach once daily
2:yes I have an outdoor enclosure for him to play in I do not know if they need exercise but I made a little out door area for him
3:i do not know what a spartan diet is? but i do have other issues
4: I am providing heat on a timed heat lamp for when I am at school for 4 hours I put it on medium heat so I assume that is enough but please let me know if I need to change it

 

[wellington]

You need to know the temps not just guessing.
Yes they need exercise and should have a large outside area if it's an adult. If it's a hatchling it needs a closed chamber indoor enclosure with all correct lighting and heat and humidity until it's big enough to live outside.
The diet is poor, you must add a bunch more items like Zeropilot mentioned. He also needs water available 24/7 in a clay saucer that is big enough for him to get into.

 

[jsheffield]

I feed my Redfoot:

• a mix of greens everyday
• fruit (primarily papaya and mango) 2-3 times a week
• veggies (primarily butternut squash and pumpkin) 2-3 times a week
• some kibble (either Mazuri or zoo-med or fluker) 1-2 times a week
• mushrooms 1-2 times a week
• animal protein 1-2 times a week
• a dried mix of flowers and weeds and seaweed shaken over their food everyday

Variety is important.

As others have said, humidity and heat and UV are also critical factors and you should have a good idea of what you're providing your tort in their enclosure.

Jamie

 

[Tom]

View attachment 360041View attachment 360040this is my first time as a tortoise keeper I am still trying to figure things out such as enclosure maintenance, diet, housing, and much more does anyone have any suggestions I have been feeding him spinach, lettuce, straw berries, and this turtle food my friend recommended(she is a tortoise keeper and where I got sheldo from)View attachment 360038

What size and age is Sheldo?

RFs don't need a basking lamp. They need even heat all over and they need it 24 hours a day. You need a large closed chamber for your tortoise with either ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels controlled by a thermostat. You can then use an LED light source set on a timer for 12 hours a day. Since your tortoise gets outside time in the sun periodically, you will not need indoor UV.

 

[sheldo]

What size and age is Sheldo?

RFs don't need a basking lamp. They need even heat all over and they need it 24 hours a day. You need a large closed chamber for your tortoise with either ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels controlled by a thermostat. You can then use an LED light source set on a timer for 12 hours a day. Since your tortoise gets outside time in the sun periodically, you will not need indoor UV.

he is one year old and about 6 inches give or take as for the heat I do not own a thermostat but the out door area might work?

 

[TammyJ]

It seems as if you may find it very difficult to provide what your tortoise is going to need so that he will thrive and be healthy. Tortoises do not do well or grow right if their specific conditions are not met. They make awesome pets if you have the means and time to spend to get them correctly set up, with the right temperatures, humidity, lighting, substrate and diet.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm assuming that your Hawaiian outside temperature and humidity are nearly perfect for a Redfoot.
Let's attempt to get you set up outdoors with a secure and safe pen. And let your Redfoot live outside as much as possible.
This way, you can spend less time trying to get your indoors enclosure right. Because it needs a lot to make it work. And it's also too small.
Take advantage of your location like I do here in south Florida. Most Redfoot keepers don't have the options that we do.
What new foods have you found to feed him?

 

[TammyJ]

If anyone here can help you set up your redfoot tortoise, it's Zeropilot!

 

[sheldo]

It seems as if you may find it very difficult to provide what your tortoise is going to need so that he will thrive and be healthy. Tortoises do not do well or grow right if their specific conditions are not met. They make awesome pets if you have the means and time to spend to get them correctly set up, with the right temperatures, humidity, lighting, substrate and diet.

I do not really want him to grow I do not think I could provide the proper amount of space for him to grow as I do not have a back yard

 

[sheldo]

What size and age is Sheldo?

RFs don't need a basking lamp. They need even heat all over and they need it 24 hours a day. You need a large closed chamber for your tortoise with either ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels controlled by a thermostat. You can then use an LED light source set on a timer for 12 hours a day. Since your tortoise gets outside time in the sun periodically, you will not need indoor UV.

how often should he be pooping too he has only been pooping once or twice in the couple weeks I had him?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I do not really want him to grow I do not think I could provide the proper amount of space for him to grow as I do not have a back yard

I don't understand this post.
He's going to grow. And fast.
Why did you get this tortoise of you're unwilling or unable to care for it correctly?

 

[wellington]

I do not really want him to grow I do not think I could provide the proper amount of space for him to grow as I do not have a back yard

Then you need to re-home him!!! That is a cruel and neglectful statement, that you don't want him to grow. That means you want to be cruel and neglectful so he doesn't grow. How sick is that!
If you can't provide much better than you have so far, give him to someone that is not an animal abuser and let the poor thing live a long proper life!!!

 

[Jkwon1005]

I concur. You can't just want your tort to not grow because it's an inconvenience to you. Would you do the same to a dog or a child?

I'm responding to this post because I also have an RF. I live in rural Iowa, where it's the wrong climate almost year-round and it's nearly impossible to find somewhere to exercise my tortoise because of all the pesticides and fertilizer. I live in a small apartment with a child and two dogs.

My boyfriend brought the tort home 5 years ago with little-to-no planning because I'd told him I'd had a Russian tort as a kid. Thankfully, the pet store guy did okay and at least sent my bf home with a heat lamp and UVB light. We started in a 70-gal tank; she was about palm-sized then.

In 2019, just before COVID hit us, I built a hutch for her--it's only 2x4 feet, but we get her out. It's wooden, sealed with triple-layered polyurethane (properly set and ventilated prior to use); I also sealed the bottom and cracks with silicone and lined the bottom with plastic sheeting to prevent moisture escaping.

The lid is hinged down the middle, so it's easy to open from either side. One side of the lid is solid wood and dark beneath; the other side is just utility cloth (large-gauge metal mesh like chicken wire, but sturdier) in a frame; the UVB light sits on this screen. There is a removable panel in the lid that is plastic to help prevent humidity/heat escaping from the mesh part in the winter and there is an acrylic window on the side with the light and humidity/temp gauges.

Inside, she had a little hidey-hole, located on the dark/quiet side of the hutch, that I made from the scrap wood from my project (I'm replacing it this week because I found rot). The other side, beneath her lamp and UVB, has her bath (it's actually a tiny baby pool, made for sitting in one spot and splashing). It holds a couple gallons and has a ramp to get out. Having the bath below the light and heat makes sure the water is a good temp. It also evaporates the water for added humidity in the winter.

In addition to the bath, I created a humidifier system. We are NOT wealthy people--I'm a full-time community college student; my son has ASD and requires special childcare. So the humidifier system is literally just a $20 cool-mist Safety First humidifier from Walmart that I modified by sticking PVC down the humidifier's output hole; the PVC goes through the solid panel on the dark side of the hutch where humidity would otherwise be lower, and comes into the tank as a t-shaped intersection to distribute output more evenly.

I just got a couple of those 10-lb compacted ReptiChip bricks off of Amazon for substrate--the fine coconut fiber and the breeder block of coarse coconut chip. Prior to now, I've used compressed brick substrate and Zoo Med Forest Floor or Zoo Med ReptiBark. With any substrate, read reviews and instructions. My substrate is mixed up with water prior to use--maintaining proper humidity prevents dust. I put the coarse coconut chip on top of the finer, dirt-like substrate because it prevents her from tracking the finer, dirt-like substrate into her bath.

Excluding the initial cost of tortoise, heat lamp, and UVB light, my whole set up cost is far less than buying a fish tank. I have no income. As I said, we live in a tiny rental apartment (we don't even have closets; the hallway is the kitchen). I have no building or power tool experience (if I'd used power tools, I could've done this in a day; instead, it took me about ten days to cut each of the boards to size with a hacksaw and drive the screws by hand). This was the first project I've ever built. If I can do provide the bare necessities for my now 13" tortoise, you can, too!