New to forum

[Mindi]

Hi. I am new to this forum and would love some information on our rescue tortoise, Samon. I don't now much about him, we have had him awhile now but would really love to truly take care of him correctly. What should his indoor living area look & feel like this time of the year? We live about 45 minutes north of Houston, Texas. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Mindi

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. He should have an outdoor enclosure for the warm temps and a proper indoor until then. The floor of a room is too cold. Take a look under the Redfoot section caresheet, I think there is one there and also look on the tortoiselibrary.com for great Redfoot info. It's one of our members sites.

 

[Mindi]

Hello and Welcome. He should have an outdoor enclosure for the warm temps and a proper indoor until then. The floor of a room is too cold. Take a look under the Redfoot section caresheet, I think there is one there and also look on the tortoiselibrary.com for great Redfoot info. It's one of our members sites.

We had him in a pool with heat lamp, moss, sand, and shallow water dish but he can now climb out of it. Thank you for the information I will check it out.

 

[wellington]

LOL, what a bugger. No sand, it can cause impactions. Much safer if mixed, but I wouldn't waist time on it. Shallow water dish is good, but make sure it's big enough that he can fit into it.

 

[hingeback]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome! You'll find lots of great up to date information here from experienced keepers worldwide.
In addition to the Redfoot caresheets you may find the Beginners Mistakes useful to save having the same problems as others (see link below) and the Enclosures thread has lots of great ideas too.

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Mindi

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Mindi, and welcome to the Forum!

Here's a link to the Tortoise Library

 

[Mindi]

LOL, what a bugger. No sand, it can cause impactions. Much safer if mixed, but I wouldn't waist time on it. Shallow water dish is good, but make sure it's big enough that he can fit into it.

Thank you for the insight! I have been doing a lot of reading, really excited to make a perfect home.

 

[Mindi]

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you!

 

[Mindi]

Hi and welcome! You'll find lots of great up to date information here from experienced keepers worldwide.
In addition to the Redfoot caresheets you may find the Beginners Mistakes useful to save having the same problems as others (see link below) and the Enclosures thread has lots of great ideas too.

Thanks! In the process of my research yesterday I realized our he is really a SHE. When we rescued her we took it to a pet story for a little help and they said it was a boy. How funny, we never looked.

 

[Lyn W]

Thanks! In the process of my research yesterday I realized our he is really a SHE. When we rescued her we took it to a pet story for a little help and they said it was a boy. How funny, we never looked.

I have a leopard called Lola - vet told me it was a she - this last year she has 'shown' me she is definitely a he!!

 

[Careym13]

Welcome to TFO!!

 

[yillt]

Hello and a very warm welcome. Your reply
Tortoise is beautiful but has got a bit of pyramiding on his she'll
Good luck with the improvements

 

[Pearly]

Hi Mindi and welcome to the Forum! I keep Redfoots but mine are still small babies (3-3.5in) so they still live in their very humid very warm nursery tank. Yours looks much bigger, and SHE is beautiful! Do you have a name? Also I've learned to NEVER seek any advise from pet stores especially the bigbox ones (Petco/Petsmart) your chances of being lead in good direction are close to zero there i'm glad you found us here. At the beginning it maybe overwhelming with so many things to do. Just do one thing at the time beginning with the essentials. Remember: safety first! We have to create safe environment for them, keep our tors from getting hurt (dog bites, or swallowing non-food items), and jeep them from getting sick (by keeping their place warm and humid, feeding them good diet). You already know about the safe substrate. Another immediate needs are the heating and giving her nice warm, humid and dark place to hide. My babies will start spending daytime in my garden in their own enclosed area thisSpring. Till then they live in their warm/humid nursery tank. When they get to be the size yours is my priority will be to provide them with heated outdoor night house in thegarden or figure out a place in my house to make for them to spend nights and cold central Texas days. I'm in Austin area so not too far from you. We are lucky here to live in our mild climate zone but still have few weeks of winter and some chilly nights in early spring/late fall to contend with. Redfoot should love the Houston area humidity. these are my babies couple of wks ago when we had 85F day. We take them out for a walk whenever we can to give them a chance to walk. Exercise is essential for their health. I always feel bad about the size of their enclosure, but that goes really for any pet. The trade off for them is never having to worry about survival. Do you know how old your tort is?

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Mindi !

 

[Mindi]

Hi Mindi and welcome to the Forum! I keep Redfoots but mine are still small babies (3-3.5in) so they still live in their very humid very warm nursery tank. Yours looks much bigger, and SHE is beautiful! Do you have a name? Also I've learned to NEVER seek any advise from pet stores especially the bigbox ones (Petco/Petsmart) your chances of being lead in good direction are close to zero there i'm glad you found us here. At the beginning it maybe overwhelming with so many things to do. Just do one thing at the time beginning with the essentials. Remember: safety first! We have to create safe environment for them, keep our tors from getting hurt (dog bites, or swallowing non-food items), and jeep them from getting sick (by keeping their place warm and humid, feeding them good diet). You already know about the safe substrate. Another immediate needs are the heating and giving her nice warm, humid and dark place to hide. My babies will start spending daytime in my garden in their own enclosed area thisSpring. Till then they live in their warm/humid nursery tank. When they get to be the size yours is my priority will be to provide them with heated outdoor night house in thegarden or figure out a place in my house to make for them to spend nights and cold central Texas days. I'm in Austin area so not too far from you. We are lucky here to live in our mild climate zone but still have few weeks of winter and some chilly nights in early spring/late fall to contend with. Redfoot should love the Houston area humidity. View attachment 160782 these are my babies couple of wks ago when we had 85F day. We take them out for a walk whenever we can to give them a chance to walk. Exercise is essential for their health. I always feel bad about the size of their enclosure, but that goes really for any pet. The trade off for them is never having to worry about survival. Do you know how old your tort is?

Thanks! No we don't know how old, not sure if there is a way to tell or not. Her name was Samon when we thought she was a he, now the kids what to give her a girl name. I definitely need to do better housing for indoors. There is really a lot to do. I need to get a warm, humid spot for her. This summer I will get her an area outside ready for the winter months. Her cage outside is huge like 70 feet by 80 feet so when we bring her in she doesn't like to be in small space, maybe I should convert just a corner of the area for her. I love Austin, we try to go every couple months just for a couple day get away. Thanks again for in put!

 

[Pearly]

Thanks! No we don't know how old, not sure if there is a way to tell or not. Her name was Samon when we thought she was a he, now the kids what to give her a girl name. I definitely need to do better housing for indoors. There is really a lot to do. I need to get a warm, humid spot for her. This summer I will get her an area outside ready for the winter months. Her cage outside is huge like 70 feet by 80 feet so when we bring her in she doesn't like to be in small space, maybe I should convert just a corner of the area for her. I love Austin, we try to go every couple months just for a couple day get away. Thanks again for in put!

You're welcome. I live in Austin's "satelite city" called Round Rock, about 30 min ride North from Austin downtown where all the action is Keep us posted here with your progress and enjoy your tortoise.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Mindi and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Samon.
i think Samon's a fine name ( but not as good as Adam) and you should stick with it. (Samon won't know).
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Nice to have you both with us!