New to the Forum

[Zman]

Hi Everyone,

My daughter is a new owner of a redfoot tortoise. I didn't know what I am going through before I said yes to her request to buy a tortoise. I live in Los Angeles area and I went to a local Petco and bought our first redfoot tortoise. I am not sure if it's a boy or girl and maybe someone here can help me to identify that. It's about 5 3/4" long and 3 3/4" wide. After spending some time in the internet and also finding this great forum , I finally set up a nice wooden box for it with lighting, hideout, etc. I let her/him out few hours a day in a little fenced area that I created for it.
Long story short my family fell in love with this little redfoot and I am so glad to found this forum. Looking forward to learn more about tortoises.

Regards,
Zman

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum! Cute tortoise. If you want to know boy or girl post a picture of the bottom plastron and tail area. @ZEROPILOT will be able to help you with your questions.

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome! Glad you came here, you'll get the best help possible!

 

[Zman]

Thanks for your comments. Here are some photos for @ZEROPILOT
I appreciate your help Sir!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Sorry I'm late.
I had some work done on my eyes yesterday and today. I'm not able to offer much advice because I can't actually see.
Please photograph your enclosure. Indoors and out. Let us see your lighting. Your heating and how you are getting your 70% plus 24/7 humidity and are maintaining your temperature of 80 to 88.
We have many Redfoot knowledgeable members that can steer you in the right direction.
I'm just trying to catch spammers today.
I'll likely be back in force tomorrow

 

[Zman]

Thanks for your reply. I am trying to get the right temperature and humidity as close as possible but I am not there yet. I ordered a Reptitemp termostat and Repti Porcelain clamp lamp so I can control the temperature better. The clamp lamp I have now does not support the heat emitter wattage so I am not using it. As far as the humidity I am planning to add a humidifier but it won't be enough for the entire encloser. The Terrarium is Aivituvin Tortoise Habitat. The Light is Reptisun 24" LED UVB and I am planning to put it on top of the Terrarium but I realized it works better when hanged or placed in a higher distance. I am still not sure if I should get a 36" inch instead or just keep the 24".

Another problem I have with my redfoot is that she/he goes inside the hideout and never comes out. When I remove the hideout she tries to go under the soil/bark or just goes to a corner and stays there.
While outside she tries to find a corner and stays there. As far as eating and drinking she is doing alright when I put her next to the food or water dish. She is trying to adopt the environment I guess or maybe I am doing something wrong.

 

[wellington]

Sadly, you have a lot wrong going on. The enclosure is way too small. The ceramic heat emitter is in too small of a dome. The disc are inaccurate.
Get a greenhouse like in the pic I have attached. A 3x12 or bigger will last for quite a bit of growth and give you room to add lots of plants which she needs. No humidifier should be used, they are not good for tortoises unless you use it in the room, not the enclosure. The greenhouse when done right, will hold the humidity she needs.
A 3x6 would also work for a short time, maybe a year or so. They come in a few different lengths.

 

[Josh]

welcome @Zman !

 

[wellington]

Oh, as far as her hiding. Get the bigger enclosure and add lots of plants. You can hang some and plant some, just be sure they are tortoise safe. RF need coverage to feel safe.

 

[wellington]

Being in CA, you could build her an outside enclosure if you have a deep shaded area. Otherwise, you can plant plants and even grow veggies to give her coverage and plants to nibble on. Add a mister or sprinkler to help raise humidity and cool the area when it gets too hot.

 

[SinLA]

Hi @Zman welcome to the forum from another Angelino (I'm your neighbor in Burbank, @Tom is up in SCV).

So yeah - pet stores are the worst places to get info about tortoises (most of the internet is not much better) or to buy one.

As others have suggested, a greenhouse environment inside will help keep up the humidity. They aren't really meant to be in our climate - Glendale is similar to Burbank and its really too dry here. They are much better in Florida and other really humid places.

That said, this link a good place to start. I know its really dense, but there's a lot of good info here:

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

Please get rid of that water bowl ASAP - its a total drowning hazard, and you are going to need a lot more room. Those "tortoise houses" are rubbish, and aren't big enough for even one russian, much less a redfoot. Here is a photo of my indoor setup (FOUR of those tortoise houses) for my Russian who needs less room than your and its still not big enough. Mine is only this small because he also has a 10' x 12' outdoor space he spends most of the year in

Don't hesitate to ask questions, we'll help how we can!

 

[SinLA]

Also give a search for @ZEROPILOT's photos of his outdoor enclosures, and @Maggie3fan for her indoor ones. Those are redfoot specific.

Just know you kind of bought what you thought was a dog, only to find out its a pony, and you were hoping you could keep it in your bathroom, and are now learning you need a barn, and you're climate isn't right for it to be outside in a regular barn in your area.

Its a lot, sorry!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

This is one of my few YOUTUBE videos.
This thing has been in use for just about 7-8 years. Back then it was one male and three females in the group.

Also Redfoot are not as uvb needy as most other species.
A belated welcome to the forum from South Florida

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thanks for your comments. Here are some photos for @ZEROPILOT
I appreciate your help Sir!

Hello and welcome!

I see some white spots on his/her plastron - can you check them? If they are soft and can be scraped with a toothpick, this can be the beginning of a fungal infection. Don't worry - redfoots often get it from wet substrate and it's easy to treat. Get some cheap over-the-counter Athlete's Foot creme (no prescription is necessary) and apply over the spots daily for 1 week. In a few days you can gently scrub off the spots.

Here is a care sheet for Redfoots: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-tortoise-care-sheet.175319/
You can check if you are in-line with the recommendations there and ask any further questions (like "do I really need this or that", "how to achieve that").

As you are concerned with your tortoise hiding a lot - try turning off the UVB LED. It's really a strong light source and he/she may be just avoiding it. Also I see you have other fluorescent tube, what is this lamp, do you use it too?

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Zman]

Sadly, you have a lot wrong going on. The enclosure is way too small. The ceramic heat emitter is in too small of a dome. The disc are inaccurate.
Get a greenhouse like in the pic I have attached. A 3x12 or bigger will last for quite a bit of growth and give you room to add lots of plants which she needs. No humidifier should be used, they are not good for tortoises unless you use it in the room, not the enclosure. The greenhouse when done right, will hold the humidity she needs.
A 3x6 would also work for a short time, maybe a year or so. They come in a few different lengths.
View attachment 370048

Thank you @wellington for you reply. I will consider an outside enclosure like that suitable for my area whether.

 

[Zman]

Being in CA, you could build her an outside enclosure if you have a deep shaded area. Otherwise, you can plant plants and even grow veggies to give her coverage and plants to nibble on. Add a mister or sprinkler to help raise humidity and cool the area when it gets too hot.

I love the idea of building an outside enclosure with some plants and veggies. I really appreciate your help. I can leave her outside most of the day specially we are getting into the summer now.

 

[Zman]

Hello and welcome!

I see some white spots on his/her plastron - can you check them? If they are soft and can be scraped with a toothpick, this can be the beginning of a fungal infection. Don't worry - redfoots often get it from wet substrate and it's easy to treat. Get some cheap over-the-counter Athlete's Foot creme (no prescription is necessary) and apply over the spots daily for 1 week. In a few days you can gently scrub off the spots.

Here is a care sheet for Redfoots: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/redfoot-tortoise-care-sheet.175319/
You can check if you are in-line with the recommendations there and ask any further questions (like "do I really need this or that", "how to achieve that").

As you are concerned with your tortoise hiding a lot - try turning off the UVB LED. It's really a strong light source and he/she may be just avoiding it. Also I see you have other fluorescent tube, what is this lamp, do you use it too?

Thanks for mentioning it. I checked and they are not coming off with toothpick and I am afraid of damaging her plastron. I will get some OTC foot care.

 

[Zman]

Hi @Zman welcome to the forum from another Angelino (I'm your neighbor in Burbank, @Tom is up in SCV).

So yeah - pet stores are the worst places to get info about tortoises (most of the internet is not much better) or to buy one.

As others have suggested, a greenhouse environment inside will help keep up the humidity. They aren't really meant to be in our climate - Glendale is similar to Burbank and its really too dry here. They are much better in Florida and other really humid places.

That said, this link a good place to start. I know its really dense, but there's a lot of good info here:

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

Please get rid of that water bowl ASAP - its a total drowning hazard, and you are going to need a lot more room. Those "tortoise houses" are rubbish, and aren't big enough for even one russian, much less a redfoot. Here is a photo of my indoor setup (FOUR of those tortoise houses) for my Russian who needs less room than your and its still not big enough. Mine is only this small because he also has a 10' x 12' outdoor space he spends most of the year in

Don't hesitate to ask questions, we'll help how we can!

Thanks @SinLA for the info. Glad to be here as I see a lot of great people that are trying to help others. As you mentioned internet reading led me to the wrong direction and also didn't get any useful information from the pet store either. I am going to focus on building an outside habitat as the weather is going to be pleasant for the next couple months. Thanks again.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thanks for mentioning it. I checked and they are not coming off with toothpick and I am afraid of damaging her plastron. I will get some OTC foot care.

Just to be sure - these three spots look a bit off. This can be old, treated fungus. OTC antifungal creme won't do any harm, so you can try and then scrab them again in a few days, after soaking. Of course, gently.