Possible outdoor enclosure

[2redfootinfl]

Hi guys, my sister gave me these two red foot tortoises. I am trying to find a new set up for them and considering this space.. I would obviously clear out some mulch and make a basking area and fence in right inside of these bushes, which I believe are Cattley guava in the center is a bougainvillea but not much that they could get to at the base.
Trying to find out if any of these are toxic if they were to be eaten, I could plant some collard greens and one on there as well to much on, anyone have any idea if this is a safe space considering the plants? Thanks in advance

 

[wellington]

@ZEROPILOT

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Guava are edible. The Bougainvillea is just going to be a royal pain in the rear. But not dangerous to your tortoises.
My Redfoot live in a yard that was bordered on 2 sides by Bougainvillea until I took a chainsaw to all of it.

Place your enclosure in an area of your yard that is at least mostly shady for most of the day. Redfoot will be much more comfortable if they aren't in direct sunlight. Although part of a very large enclosure can be.
Use hiding areas,bushes, at least one large, heated "night house" that can just be a non heated night house most of the year and at least two wading pools. Also feed them by placing the food in many areas to keep them from feeling the need to compete for the food. Even so, two Redfoot (or any species) might not get along no matter how much room they have. So be prepared to make that a double enclosure.
Another option would be to increase your group to include more Redfoot. Groups work most of the time. Pairs work almost none of the time. And to a beginner, a lot of agression and bullying looks like "they're being friends".
However, it's very stressful.
Watch them. The same tortoise will always be walking away and the same tortoise will always be following right behind.
The happiest tortoise is a solo tortoise that has everything to itself. Including you. The second happiest tortoise is one that can go about it's business without being near another tortoise. So make that enclosure as large as you can and thank me later. Let them grow into something that they recognize and you won't be out there every 6 months making more space.

 

[wellington]

I second the pairs and bullying. Lots of threads about why pairs should not be together.

 

[2redfootinfl]

Guava are edible. The Bougainvillea is just going to be a royal pain in the rear. But not dangerous to your tortoises.
My Redfoot live in yard that was bordered on 2 sides by Bougainvillea until I took a chainsaw to all of it.

Place your enclosure in an area of your yard that is at least mostly shady for most of the day. Redfoot will be much more comfortable if they aren't in direct sunlight. Although part of a very large enclosure can be.
Use hiding areas,bushes, at least one large, heated "night house" that can just be a non heated night house most of the year and at least two wading pools. Also feed them by placing the food in many areas to keep them from feeling the need to compete for the food. Even so, two Redfoot (or any species) might not get along no matter how much room they have. So be prepared to make that a double enclosure.
The other option would be to increase your group to include more Redfoot. Groups work most of the time. Pairs work almost none of the time. And to a beginner, a lot of agression and bullying looks like "they're being friends".
However, it's very stressful.
The happiest tortoise is a solo tortoise that has everything to itself. Including you.

Thanks for all the info, really helpful!
My sister gave them to me and there probably around 3-4 years old and have always been together. A lot of times there in the hide together. I like the idea of two wading areas because I live in Florida. I’ve had them a few months in a different area but thought this has better shade, we had a couple cold fronts and I brought them into the garage if it got below 60 * Also thanks for replying, just wanted to make sure nothing was dangerous to them!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Mine are outdoors in south Florida.
Remember what I mentioned about " it looks like they're friends"?
They're not.
That's bullying.
I know it's hard for us cuddly mammals to try to think like a tortoise. But trust me. One is trying to intimidate the other.
Three or more tortoise helps because it spreads out that behavior and individual tortoises can get some rest.
At my peak, I kept 7 females in a yard.
I also kept one male with 5 females.
Currently I keep 3 females together. And they are closely monitored. I also have a male who lives alone.
Don't even think about keeping multiples unless you have a few hundred square feet of room for your enclosure.

 

[Tom]

Hi guys, my sister gave me these two red foot tortoises. I am trying to find a new set up for them and considering this space.. I would obviously clear out some mulch and make a basking area and fence in right inside of these bushes, which I believe are Cattley guava in the center is a bougainvillea but not much that they could get to at the base.
Trying to find out if any of these are toxic if they were to be eaten, I could plant some collard greens and one on there as well to much on, anyone have any idea if this is a safe space considering the plants? Thanks in advance

Here is an example of a heated shelter that can make it much easier to separate them:

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org