I am finally the (very excited) owner of a new Redfoot tortoise, and have a question. Is there a way to tell how old the tortoise is?
My new Tatu
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Welcome, congrats.
Welcome to the forum 
can you post some pic's of your redfoot? where are you located?
can you post some pic's of your redfoot? where are you located? 
Hi welcome to the Forum
Welcome! To answer your question, there is no way to positively age them. We can make educated guesses based on species, how it looks, and things. Different growths happen depending on things like diet, it's environment, not to mention individual growth patterns will cause variances between animals. So it's all guesswork in the end.
To answer your question, there is no way to positively age them. We can make educated guesses based on species, how it looks, and things. Different growths happen depending on things like diet, it's environment, not to mention individual growth patterns will cause variances between animals. So it's all guesswork in the end.Thanks for the welcome and advice everyone! I have one more question. If humidity is a problem, is there a way to compensate? I have a woodstove and it keeps the main area of the house pretty dry. We are in the process of figuring out how to regulate that, but in the meantime, is soaking and ensuring that there is fresh water enough for now?
Hello and welcome.
And I thought I was going to see a new tattoo!! (Don't get me wrong , a new tort is wonderful too.!) But no pictures either way!!
Nay
And I thought I was going to see a new tattoo!! (Don't get me wrong , a new tort is wonderful too.!) But no pictures either way!!
Nay
Nay said:
The story is that I have wanted both a tattoo and a tortoise for awhile. My husband is not crazy about me getting a tattoo, so I got a "Tatu" instead
Hi "My Wild Love:"
May we know your name and where you are?
Welcome to the forum!!
May we know your name and where you are?
Welcome to the forum!!
Welcome to the forum
Welcome to the forum!
Welcome
Thanks everyone! To answer earlier questions, I'm Erin, and from NY, and here's an update on Tatu We had a little bit of a struggle getting the temperature and the humidity right, but finally got everything we needed yesterday. Temperature is still around 70 or so in the evening and overnight, which I think is cooler than it should be, so I will have to figure something out for that, but during the day stays around 80. The humidity is 70 or above, and usually closer to 85-90% for most of the day. I did have to get creative and use saran wrap and tin foil for the lid, so it's not the prettiest enclosure, but it seems to be working for now. I originally had a cypress substrate, but switched to a moss that I soaked, and that keeps the humidity in much better. For now I have her in a 30 gallon glass tank (not ideal, I know, but plans are in the works for something bigger and better.) I've got an aloe plant, a spider plant and an african violet in pots buried in the substrate, and a log hide at one end. She has a little bit of pyramiding, I assume from the pet store, so I have been taking her our of her hide and soaking her for at least 10-15 minutes every day. I still have to show her her food and water to get her to eat/drink - she doesn't come out of her hide on her own much yet (although I am admittedly impatient, and probably don't give her a chance to; she is in front of a window, and the tank gets sun for awhile in the morning, so I have been a little overeager in pulling her out in the morning to let her get some natural sunlight). This morning was the first morning with the improved humidity and temperature settings, however, and she did wake up and seem to think about coming out on her own, which is a step in the right direction - up until today I had to wake her up to bring her out.
I am a little worried about her eyes, especially her left eye. She seems to have a little trouble opening that one when she first comes out, and rubs it against her leg a lot. Once she is moving around a bit and after she rinses the substrate off her face, it seems better, but it still seems to bother her every once in awhile; occasionally she will jerk her head and rub her eye like something poked her. I have read that dehydration can affect their eyes, so I am going to give it a few days in the improved humidity, and hopefully that will help it. Any ideas what that could be?
Other than that, she seems happy, and is unbearably cute, so we are very excited to have her. Any thoughts/criticisms/concerns from anyone are greatly appreciated, and thanks to everyone for the warm welcome!
We had a little bit of a struggle getting the temperature and the humidity right, but finally got everything we needed yesterday. Temperature is still around 70 or so in the evening and overnight, which I think is cooler than it should be, so I will have to figure something out for that, but during the day stays around 80. The humidity is 70 or above, and usually closer to 85-90% for most of the day. I did have to get creative and use saran wrap and tin foil for the lid, so it's not the prettiest enclosure, but it seems to be working for now. I originally had a cypress substrate, but switched to a moss that I soaked, and that keeps the humidity in much better. For now I have her in a 30 gallon glass tank (not ideal, I know, but plans are in the works for something bigger and better.) I've got an aloe plant, a spider plant and an african violet in pots buried in the substrate, and a log hide at one end. She has a little bit of pyramiding, I assume from the pet store, so I have been taking her our of her hide and soaking her for at least 10-15 minutes every day. I still have to show her her food and water to get her to eat/drink - she doesn't come out of her hide on her own much yet (although I am admittedly impatient, and probably don't give her a chance to; she is in front of a window, and the tank gets sun for awhile in the morning, so I have been a little overeager in pulling her out in the morning to let her get some natural sunlight). This morning was the first morning with the improved humidity and temperature settings, however, and she did wake up and seem to think about coming out on her own, which is a step in the right direction - up until today I had to wake her up to bring her out.I am a little worried about her eyes, especially her left eye. She seems to have a little trouble opening that one when she first comes out, and rubs it against her leg a lot. Once she is moving around a bit and after she rinses the substrate off her face, it seems better, but it still seems to bother her every once in awhile; occasionally she will jerk her head and rub her eye like something poked her. I have read that dehydration can affect their eyes, so I am going to give it a few days in the improved humidity, and hopefully that will help it. Any ideas what that could be?
Other than that, she seems happy, and is unbearably cute, so we are very excited to have her. Any thoughts/criticisms/concerns from anyone are greatly appreciated, and thanks to everyone for the warm welcome!
Red foots are great! Welcome to the forum!
As to your problem, could you post a picture of the enclosure and of the eyes? Perhaps the substrate is too fine and is agitating her eyes? Its hard to say without pictures... Maybe somebody else can help you more as well. I would post these concerns in a different section as well... people might not pickup on your questions here. I would post in general or in the South American section.
As to your problem, could you post a picture of the enclosure and of the eyes? Perhaps the substrate is too fine and is agitating her eyes? Its hard to say without pictures... Maybe somebody else can help you more as well. I would post these concerns in a different section as well... people might not pickup on your questions here. I would post in general or in the South American section.
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About the eye, if she's dehydrated you could place her in her water bowl (assuming you have one in her enclosure) to encourage her to drink and it will let her soak as well and she can walk out whenever she feels like so you're not stressing her with a forced soak with no way to get out.
You said the humidity is up there and stays there now so that should help as well. If it's not a dehydration problem, I'm not sure. I just know that because my tortoises had that problem when I acquired them.
What types of lights/heating elements are you using? As far as I know, UVB rays can't penetrate glass so the window the sunlight is coming through and the tank glass block those. You'll need a bulb, long tube shape preferred, that gives off UVB.
You said the humidity is up there and stays there now so that should help as well. If it's not a dehydration problem, I'm not sure. I just know that because my tortoises had that problem when I acquired them.
What types of lights/heating elements are you using? As far as I know, UVB rays can't penetrate glass so the window the sunlight is coming through and the tank glass block those. You'll need a bulb, long tube shape preferred, that gives off UVB.
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