New to red foots

[Popcorns17]

So i just got this little girl i couldn't help myself shes a little over 3 years old. I just want to make sure i have everything right because im used to marginated and Russian tortoises. I have a mercury bulb for her i have a water dish large enough for her to soak with substrate that is a mix of cypress mulch and coconut coir. Shes in a large rubber maid tote for now i know she is a fruit eater also the dark greens can she have night crawlers and snails if so where is the best place to get them? I know to soak her ever few days dust the food every few days. Will the pyramiding she has continue to get worse or effect her? And one last thing she blew a bubble with her nose when i gave her a bath it has yet to happen again should i worry? Thank you for your time!

 

[dmmj]

my redfoot loves snails and slugs. I get them right from the garden. just be careful of snail bait.

 

[dmmj]

bubbles from the nose after a bath is normal

 

[Popcorns17]

Okay thank you so much!

 

[Lu_x85]

Although you won't be able to reverse the pyramiding if you're keeping her in the ideal set up (humidity is vital here) with the correct varied diet any future growth should be smoother.

Do you know the humidity of your enclosure? Ideally you're looking to keep humidity at 80%. The substrate choice will help with this, keeping a closed system and live planting does too. Have you got an pics of her enclosure?

 

[Travis]

Make sure you're keeping her well hydrated and in an enclosure with higher humidity around 80-85%. She is looking kind of 'dry' in that picture you posted, so I would make an effort to soak her everyday for the next week or two then bring it to soaking 2-3 times a week.

The pyramiding she currently has wont go away. Most you can do is give her propor care/diet/humidity and the rest of her growth should be smooth. As she gets larger, if the rest of her growth is smooth, her current pyramiding wont look as noticeable.

My red foots LOVE their water dish, which is about an inch-inch and a half deep. (Comes about half way up their shell). They will soak in their dish for hours on end almost every day. I've also found that one of my red-foots are obsessed with carrots. Whenever i put in a mixed variety, he always goes for the carrots first, he is about 3 years old as well. The hatchlings I have just kind of eat whatever.

Although, the 3 year old red foot i have will take Mazuri over literally anything. He completely ignores any food I put in his enclosure if there is mazuri in there. Hatchlings are indifferent as they may be too young to really develop a personality/taste for things.

 

[Popcorns17]

Thank you all so much, that was right when i got her home before the first soak and she only likes strawberries so its going to be a lot of testing with food for what she likes

 

[TerrapinStation]

Congratulations!

mine loves fruit- mango, papaya, kiwi, strawberry, banana, also mushrooms, cabbage, kale, mazuri,. He is not picky at all!

 

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

Strawberries are a good part of the diet, but she needs a lot more. Let her get hungry for a few days, & then try her on Mazuri. Our redfoots will all eat that right off the spoon!

Ken

 

[allegraf]

Even though they love fruit, you want a diet that has more greens incorporated. As someone above stated,the pyramiding won't go away but with the right upbringing the new growth should be nice and smooth. Yours is past the fragile hatchling stage and will be pretty forgiving from here on out. Enjoy, she is a beauty!

 

[Lu_x85]

If your tort has become accustomed to only eating fruit, in particular strawberries I would try to vary that asap. A varied diet is vital in forming a nice healthy smooth shell.

I ensure my RF has different greens each day including grape vine leaves, endive, raddicio, rocket, butterhead, chard (green and red), spring greens, chicory, hibiscus, occasional kale or baby kale, coriander, occasional parsley, romaine lettuce and a variety of other green and red salad leaves. I have one day where I only offer greens but the other days I rotate between greens with a little bit of mushroom (the size of my torts head) and then rotate to greens with a piece of fruit (again the size of his head). My tort loves fig (with skin) and enjoys mango and watermelon but I do like to feed raspberries as they're lower in sugars.

Aristotle also enjoys eating his live plants in his enclosure.

Protein is also important but is fed less often. You can use pinkies, mealworms, boiled chicken or boiled eggs. I've used mealworms and egg so far.

 

[Lemonade]

Mine love his Muzuri, and I vary it with fruit. Bananas are one of his faves.

 

[Popcorns17]

Where can i find Mazuri?

 

[cmacusa3]

Where can i find Mazuri?

Amazon for small amounts prices are a little high
Mazuri.com for a 25 pound bag. 30.99 plus shipping http://www.mazuri.com/mazuritortoisediet.aspx
Some feed stores can order it for you and you may not have to pay shipping

Make sure you get the original formula, most torts don't like the LS formula

 

[Popcorns17]

Is it worth it? Or should i just stick to a varied diet

 

[Lemonade]

I would go to the Muzuri web site. They probably have a link to show where you can buy it in your area. I buy mine from a local feed store, where I can buy the big bag or smaller bags. Recently, they were back ordered on the small bag, so the owner opened a big bag and made a small bag for me. If you buy a big bag, you will want to freeze most of it (if you have freezer space) so it won't go bad. The expiration is about a year, and it will last several with your one tortoise.

 

[cmacusa3]

I would go to the Muzuri web site. They probably have a link to show where you can buy it in your area. I buy mine from a local feed store, where I can buy the big bag or smaller bags. Recently, they were back ordered on the small bag, so the owner opened a big bag and made a small bag for me. If you buy a big bag, you will want to freeze most of it (if you have freezer space) so it won't go bad. The expiration is about a year, and it will last several with your one tortoise.

You don't have to freeze it, you can put in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. It won't go bad

 

[Lemonade]

You don't have to freeze it, you can put in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. It won't go bad

What are you basing that on? I've read other owners talk about it going bad. It does come with an expiration date, and it's hard to believe it wouldn't go bad after several years.

 

[cmacusa3]

What are you basing that on? I've read other owners talk about it going bad. It does come with an expiration date, and it's hard to believe it wouldn't go bad after several years.

I've done it, keep it dry and room temp. Obviously nobody would keep it for years

 

[Popcorns17]

How do you guys entertain your tortoises