Newbie looking for opinions on my Redfoot enclosure!

[apriltankdavis]

Hello! I just recently got a redfoot tortoise from a local pet store. I feel like I rescued her because she had been there for over a year! Anyway, her name is Clementine, and she is a welcomed addition to my agriculture education classroom.

I have a 400 gallon aquaculture tank in my classroom that was not being used, so I turned it into what we like to call "tortoise time". Half of the enclosure is for the tortoise and the other portion is for a student or two to spend some time watching the tortoise. We love it!

I will be adding some plants soon, but we're excited to see the clover we planted in her substrate sprout! No matter what foods we have tried (lettuce, kale, grapes, watermelon, strawberries) free clover from outside is one of her favorite things.

I just want to have the best possible environment for her and do the right thing, so I would appreciate any and all advice! I have read through other posts, and there are lots of different things out there! So here's what I got:

1) We're in Northeast Georgia
2) UVB on a timer for 12 hours per day
3) Infrared bulb on 24/7 over the water area and paver (temp stays around 92). I have an additional infrared light that I used to increase the temps when it was freezing (my classroom gets pretty chilly at night)
4) substrate of coconut fiber around hides and mix of reptibark and cypress mulch everywhere else
5) I have an additional digital thermometer/hygrometer hanging in the middle of the enclosure and it seems to remain around 75
6) I soak her everyday while I get her food ready as well as spray her and her bedding during the day. I have never seen her get in the water in her enclosure, so I have purchased some terracotta saucers to make it easier for her to get in and out.
7) I have only seen her actually drink water four or five times (I have had her a few weeks now) and there are times when her eyes are so dry they won't open (the pet store told me this is a normal occurrence for her)
8) Humidity stays between 40 and 60% (the pet store recommended that as well)
9) Finally, I have no control over the thermostat in the classroom when we are not at school (it turns off at 4:00 each day and stays off on the weekends). I am thinking of putting a tarp over the enclosure to hold in some moisture. Is a UVB necessary? I feel like it is drying everything out so fast!

Thanks in advance for any help! We are in love with her already!

April

 

[wellington]

Without any outdoor sun exposure, UVB is very important. The humidity should be higher and it's not normal for a tort to not be able to open her eyes because they are too dry, raise humidity to 80% make sure top layer of substrate stays dry, they area prone to shell rot. I would add plants for her to hide in and possibly eat. I would also get some CHE 's for night and weekend heat when needed. Put them one thermostat. Covering the enclosure would be a good idea for holding in temps and humidity.
Take a look at one of,our members sites. Tortoise library.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . Torts rule !

 

[crimson_lotus]

Welcome! Unfortunately pet stores generally provide out of date/incorrect information for tortoises/reptiles in general, so I would recommend checking out this site for your Red Foot info instead:

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

Like wellington said, it is NOT normal for tortoises to not open their eyes and this is because there is not enough humidity, so it sounds like that pet store was clueless regarding the proper conditions for this animal. Red's need about 80% constant humidity and they thrive in 80-85 degree temperatures. Also keep in mind that Red's do also need protein sources as well, which can range from weekly to monthly depending on how you want to do it. Their diet should consist of primarily greens/flowers with fruits offered every few days.

I would also recommend creating a closed chamber for her to keep the humidity and heat in. It will be very, very hard to maintain the proper conditions otherwise since heat and humidity can easily escape in an open enclosure.

He looks very tiny for his age, although I could be wrong. You will notice he has a bumpy shell when it should be smooth. That is because he was raised in a dry environment, and we call this pyramiding. Tortoises also grow slower in dry environments as well.

And sorry, one last thing! I would replace the infrared bulb with a lightless Ceramic Heat Emitter. Tortoises, like us, have trouble sleeping if it's not dark. There have been some accounts of tortoises eating their substrate with those red bulbs as well. Coil bulbs are also known to cause eye problems so be careful with that too.

I would also take that screen off of the UVB light. They get reduced exposure to UVB through screens. Without UVB they will get Metabolic Bone Disease which causes shell and bone issues. I've seen a bunch of tortoises lose the use of their legs because of it. Dont forget these need to be changed every 6 months!!

 

[crimson_lotus]

My tortoise was a "work tortoise" before I took her home, and they would turn off her lights on weekends. She ended up with pneumonia and nearly died. Please make sure she has the proper heat when you're not there!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Years of experience await you and we believe this is the most up to date tortoise information available.
Clementine is not perfect, but still a very beautiful tortoise.
Hope the information given helps you . My Tidgy is a different species, so I can't do more than those above.
Best wishes to you, the students and especially little Clementine.

 

[christinaland128]

Maybe lower the UVB light too? Shouldn't it be 8" above Tort? What do you think @crimson_lotus ?

Welcome to the forum!

 

[crimson_lotus]

That depends on the type of bulb, like a 10.0 UVB light can be farther than a 5.0. I use a 10.0, the distance recommendation should come with the light. Here's a good chart for Zoomed lights:

http://zoomed.com/Library/ProductDBFiles/UVB-Reach.pdf

 

[apriltankdavis]

Welcome! Unfortunately pet stores generally provide out of date/incorrect information for tortoises/reptiles in general, so I would recommend checking out this site for your Red Foot info instead:

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

Like wellington said, it is NOT normal for tortoises to not open their eyes and this is because there is not enough humidity, so it sounds like that pet store was clueless regarding the proper conditions for this animal. Red's need about 80% constant humidity and they thrive in 80-85 degree temperatures. Also keep in mind that Red's do also need protein sources as well, which can range from weekly to monthly depending on how you want to do it. Their diet should consist of primarily greens/flowers with fruits offered every few days.

I would also recommend creating a closed chamber for her to keep the humidity and heat in. It will be very, very hard to maintain the proper conditions otherwise since heat and humidity can easily escape in an open enclosure.

He looks very tiny for his age, although I could be wrong. You will notice he has a bumpy shell when it should be smooth. That is because he was raised in a dry environment, and we call this pyramiding. Tortoises also grow slower in dry environments as well.

And sorry, one last thing! I would replace the infrared bulb with a lightless Ceramic Heat Emitter. Tortoises, like us, have trouble sleeping if it's not dark. There have been some accounts of tortoises eating their substrate with those red bulbs as well. Coil bulbs are also known to cause eye problems so be careful with that too.

I would also take that screen off of the UVB light. They get reduced exposure to UVB through screens. Without UVB they will get Metabolic Bone Disease which causes shell and bone issues. I've seen a bunch of tortoises lose the use of their legs because of it. Dont forget these need to be changed every 6 months!!

Thanks for all the info! I want to provide the best possible environment for her, so I appreciate all your input! The only reason I used the screen was because I didn't have a way to suspend the light (other than putting wire directly around them), but I will work on that tomorrow! She definitely doesn't have a problem sleeping, but that is a good point about the infrared bulb. From what I've read, I was thinking that her lights were too high and her enclosure wasn't getting enough heat (because she wasn't as active), so I lowered all her lights and she seemed to like it more.

Can the pyramiding be reversed?

 

[apriltankdavis]

That depends on the type of bulb, like a 10.0 UVB light can be farther than a 5.0. I use a 10.0, the distance recommendation should come with the light. Here's a good chart for Zoomed lights:

http://zoomed.com/Library/ProductDBFiles/UVB-Reach.pdf

Thanks! I had it at about 12 inches (as suggested on the box). I think the angle of the picture is deceiving!

 

[apriltankdavis]

Maybe lower the UVB light too? Shouldn't it be 8" above Tort? What do you think @crimson_lotus ?

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks! I had it at about 12 inches (as suggested on the box). I think the angle of the picture is deceiving!

 

[apriltankdavis]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Years of experience await you and we believe this is the most up to date tortoise information available.
Clementine is not perfect, but still a very beautiful tortoise.
Hope the information given helps you . My Tidgy is a different species, so I can't do more than those above.
Best wishes to you, the students and especially little Clementine.

She's not perfect?!?!? But she's perfect to us?!?!

 

[apriltankdavis]

My tortoise was a "work tortoise" before I took her home, and they would turn off her lights on weekends. She ended up with pneumonia and nearly died. Please make sure she has the proper heat when you're not there!

Don't worry @crimson_lotus, I am super protective of her, and my janitors would never turn her lights off! They love her just as much as we do! I have an at-home enclosure in the works and plan to finish it tomorrow for breaks (like spring break this week) and weekends. The only reason I feel comfortable leaving her now is because a) I have a key to the school and b) I go there everyday to feed and soak her.

 

[apriltankdavis]

Welcome! Unfortunately pet stores generally provide out of date/incorrect information for tortoises/reptiles in general, so I would recommend checking out this site for your Red Foot info instead:

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

Like wellington said, it is NOT normal for tortoises to not open their eyes and this is because there is not enough humidity, so it sounds like that pet store was clueless regarding the proper conditions for this animal. Red's need about 80% constant humidity and they thrive in 80-85 degree temperatures. Also keep in mind that Red's do also need protein sources as well, which can range from weekly to monthly depending on how you want to do it. Their diet should consist of primarily greens/flowers with fruits offered every few days.

I would also recommend creating a closed chamber for her to keep the humidity and heat in. It will be very, very hard to maintain the proper conditions otherwise since heat and humidity can easily escape in an open enclosure.

He looks very tiny for his age, although I could be wrong. You will notice he has a bumpy shell when it should be smooth. That is because he was raised in a dry environment, and we call this pyramiding. Tortoises also grow slower in dry environments as well.

And sorry, one last thing! I would replace the infrared bulb with a lightless Ceramic Heat Emitter. Tortoises, like us, have trouble sleeping if it's not dark. There have been some accounts of tortoises eating their substrate with those red bulbs as well. Coil bulbs are also known to cause eye problems so be careful with that too.

I would also take that screen off of the UVB light. They get reduced exposure to UVB through screens. Without UVB they will get Metabolic Bone Disease which causes shell and bone issues. I've seen a bunch of tortoises lose the use of their legs because of it. Dont forget these need to be changed every 6 months!!

Oh! Also, about the diet....I read that they need a protein source but have found conflicting information about how often. I tried a super worm. Her eyes got huge once she saw it, and she looked so excited to eat it...and then freaked out and went back in her shell when it started whipping around! It was pretty funny. I decided to try some shredded chicken, and she LOVES it!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Sadly, pyramiding cannot be reversed, but as you say, she's perfect anyway and as long as the humidity and conditions are kept correct from now on she will grow smoothly and normally, so the pyramiding will barely show. See Tidgy, left, as an example.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi April, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[crimson_lotus]

Oh! Also, about the diet....I read that they need a protein source but have found conflicting information about how often. I tried a super worm. Her eyes got huge once she saw it, and she looked so excited to eat it...and then freaked out and went back in her shell when it started whipping around! It was pretty funny. I decided to try some shredded chicken, and she LOVES it!

Yeah a lot of us with Red Foots on the forum have different opinions on how often they should be fed protein. The most common (none of them are really wrong) are weekly, every 2 weeks, every 3, or every month. I would suggest staying within the week-month range, you don't want too much or too little. I feed mine protein monthly, you can do boiled chicken, shrimp, worms, pinky mice, some fish (I've only done tuna) and MAYBE eggs, some tortoises don't react well to them (like vomiting, runny stool), mine seems to be fine.

Like Tidgy's Dad said, pyramiding cannot be reversed, but in the proper humidity and conditions, the new growth coming in can balance the pyramiding out.

 

[apriltankdavis]

Hi April, and welcome to the Forum!

Thanks so much! I'm so excited to have my first tort....I'm sure there are more to come! (don't tell my husband)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome. You'll find that Redfoot need to be warm, but aren't especially fond of heat.. Mine have always preferred a temp of just around 79-84 degrees.
I would also get rid of the infra red light. In place use a C.H.E.
I use Orchid bark covered with another layer of potting soil. The orchid bark can be watered through the corners and will hold the moisture while the soil remains dry. Humidity, but not wet is what you want. (75%-90%+) This can also be greatly aided by covering or partially covering the tank with glass or plexiglass, (remembering that U.V light can NOT pass through either.)
Also, if you haven't already, go to Walmart or Home Depot and get yourself a digital humidity and temp gauge. They are only ten bucks and are far superior to anything you'll find at the pet shop.
Also, don't get another one with your current situation. They are solitary creatures. Most of us that have more than one have a dedicated out door pen of large proportion. Here they live outdoors.

 

[christinaland128]

You can make a Fogger easily to add humidity... But like they said you need some sort of cover trap in humidity.