I have read many of the posts here over a good bit of time. I have seen debates go back and forth over what I consider to be trivial issues. Sometimes I have chimed in, other times I decided not to add to the lunacy.
At some point though one cannot just sit back and remain silent.
I have kept redfoots since 1973 and have been breeding them since 1978 or 79. In all that time I have tried to provide what I felt was the best possible life for my animals. As I learned more about their life in the wild I have tried to replicate those conditions for those tortoises that I have kept.
But more and more I see people posting about what is "Needed vs. Not needed", and other posts that scream "Keep it simple!" which for me translates into, "Tortoise keepers are all morons so don't confuse them with advanced care".
Recently there was a thread about feeding red cabbage that got reduced to an argument about the minutiae of food ratios or what was the ONLY thing to ever feed a tortoise. Sheesh! How about considering quality of life for your animals?
It is true that redfoot tortoises probably do not need access to UVB light or natural sunlight. It is also probably true that they do not 'need' a varied diet. But I would wager that they DO BETTER when provided with these things. I would also wager that those keepers who provide a varied diet, natural sunlight (or the next best thing) have higher fertility, a higher hatch ratio and HAPPIER animals than those who don't give such things. I know that my adult cherryheads get the above and I get nearly 100% fertility and close to 100% hatching with NO deformities, year after year. I also get huge clutches of huge eggs from my females. Is this a coincidence? I doubt it. And for the record, when provided with natural sunlight redfoot tortoises will often bask in it like lusty co-eds on spring break...regardless of the fact that some people tell you otherwise.
True, I could keep my redfoot tortoises in a 10' X 10' indoor pen and I would still get some hatchlings. I could feed them nothing but Mazuri chow or a few greens and still get some hatchlings. But once again, I would bet that because mine get a 50' X 75' outdoor enclosure with as varied a diet as I can provide that I get the results I do. I would go on to add that I think my tortoises might even live longer under this regime. But, do they 'NEED' it?
Well, a human child can live and grow completely indoors and with a diet that provides only essential nutrients. But would you subject your child to such treatment? What if someone told you that giving your child fresh air and sunshine and the occasional treat was making things too complicated? I know what you'd say. You would say that "That person is full of crap!"
Me too.
I watch my animals. I watch what they eat when wandering around in my yard that is landscaped with palms, bromeilads, flowering bushes (non-toxic, of course) and other things they can browse on. I watch them when they line up and bask in the early morning sun--even in the summer. Should I go out and spank them when they are munching on the bromeliads and tell them "You don't NEED that!" Or should I go out and lecture them about the evils of basking in the sun because someone on the Internet swears they never do?
Of course not.
I try and give them a good life. Maybe the calcium/potassium ratios aren't perfect. Maybe they should never get the mangos I give them in the summer or the mushrooms they seem to like so much. Maybe I shouldn't let them eat the Neoregelia and Vriesea bromeliads (oh gosh, what is the calcium/potassium ratio of those things?!) or the Heliconias that grow in the yard because its all too complicated and not simple.
No way. My tortoises will continue to get what I can give them. I will always try and provide more than the barest minimum for them. And they in turn will keep giving me back jumbo fertile eggs year after year. I could go the route of many snake keepers who just tuck their animals away in sterile shoeboxes that have no light and only enough room to turn around in. But I want better than only what is 'needed'.
And don't keep preaching to me to keep it simple as if I am some idiot.
At some point though one cannot just sit back and remain silent.
I have kept redfoots since 1973 and have been breeding them since 1978 or 79. In all that time I have tried to provide what I felt was the best possible life for my animals. As I learned more about their life in the wild I have tried to replicate those conditions for those tortoises that I have kept.
But more and more I see people posting about what is "Needed vs. Not needed", and other posts that scream "Keep it simple!" which for me translates into, "Tortoise keepers are all morons so don't confuse them with advanced care".
Recently there was a thread about feeding red cabbage that got reduced to an argument about the minutiae of food ratios or what was the ONLY thing to ever feed a tortoise. Sheesh! How about considering quality of life for your animals?
It is true that redfoot tortoises probably do not need access to UVB light or natural sunlight. It is also probably true that they do not 'need' a varied diet. But I would wager that they DO BETTER when provided with these things. I would also wager that those keepers who provide a varied diet, natural sunlight (or the next best thing) have higher fertility, a higher hatch ratio and HAPPIER animals than those who don't give such things. I know that my adult cherryheads get the above and I get nearly 100% fertility and close to 100% hatching with NO deformities, year after year. I also get huge clutches of huge eggs from my females. Is this a coincidence? I doubt it. And for the record, when provided with natural sunlight redfoot tortoises will often bask in it like lusty co-eds on spring break...regardless of the fact that some people tell you otherwise.
True, I could keep my redfoot tortoises in a 10' X 10' indoor pen and I would still get some hatchlings. I could feed them nothing but Mazuri chow or a few greens and still get some hatchlings. But once again, I would bet that because mine get a 50' X 75' outdoor enclosure with as varied a diet as I can provide that I get the results I do. I would go on to add that I think my tortoises might even live longer under this regime. But, do they 'NEED' it?
Well, a human child can live and grow completely indoors and with a diet that provides only essential nutrients. But would you subject your child to such treatment? What if someone told you that giving your child fresh air and sunshine and the occasional treat was making things too complicated? I know what you'd say. You would say that "That person is full of crap!"
Me too.
I watch my animals. I watch what they eat when wandering around in my yard that is landscaped with palms, bromeilads, flowering bushes (non-toxic, of course) and other things they can browse on. I watch them when they line up and bask in the early morning sun--even in the summer. Should I go out and spank them when they are munching on the bromeliads and tell them "You don't NEED that!" Or should I go out and lecture them about the evils of basking in the sun because someone on the Internet swears they never do?
Of course not.
I try and give them a good life. Maybe the calcium/potassium ratios aren't perfect. Maybe they should never get the mangos I give them in the summer or the mushrooms they seem to like so much. Maybe I shouldn't let them eat the Neoregelia and Vriesea bromeliads (oh gosh, what is the calcium/potassium ratio of those things?!) or the Heliconias that grow in the yard because its all too complicated and not simple.
No way. My tortoises will continue to get what I can give them. I will always try and provide more than the barest minimum for them. And they in turn will keep giving me back jumbo fertile eggs year after year. I could go the route of many snake keepers who just tuck their animals away in sterile shoeboxes that have no light and only enough room to turn around in. But I want better than only what is 'needed'.
And don't keep preaching to me to keep it simple as if I am some idiot.