Red foot

[kleacret]

I have had my red foot for six years. He is now in a large wooden enclosure with a UVB light and ceramic heater lamps. He has a large water dish that he can soak himself in and does so very regularly. The floor of the enclosure is covered with cypress mulch (this is what the pet store recommended) I have tried several other floor coverings as well. He eats mainly romaine or green leaf lettuce topped with the phosphorus free calcium powder. I have to admit he doesn't get fed everyday because he won't eat everyday and I was wasting more food by preparing it everyday. I can never get the humidity to be where it needs. I have a humidifier in there but that serves no purpose. I recently stumbled upon pyramiding. I have never in my six years of having him, heard of pyramiding. Is there anyway to help this? And what in my case could be causing it? Also, is it necessary to trim their nails?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kristen:

Do you moisten the cypress mulch (called substrate)? I normally pour a whole pitcherful of water over it, then mix it up with my hand.

There are a few good redfooted articles in the Tortoise Library

I think you will find some other feeding suggestions in there too.

 

[allegraf]

If you have had him for 6 years, it is unlikely he will pyramid now. The damage to the shell seems to occur within the first few years. Don't get me wrong, if the shell has already started to pyramid and the tort is still kept in poor conditions, the pyramiding will continue.

 

[N2TORTS]

Hello ..... How come the humidifier does nothing? Does it work? How about your tort box does it have a lid , what room is it in ? Any type of warm air vaporizer should humidify a room no problem .
The nail thing can be addressed with trimming ...you can use heavy duty clippers, future helpfulness would be to place a few bricks ( around water dish is a good spot) level with ground , so the tort can scrape naturally their nails down. Another thing to consider ....if your tort has very long nails to begin with - you may have a female.

JD~:shy:

 

[kleacret]

He is a male because he has the concaved area on his belly. The humidifier just doesn't seem to do much because his skin still looks dry. I use vitamin e oil on him occasionally because that is what his vet told me to use. I don't think with the set up that I have that bricks would work around is water dish. I will try to post a picture of his home. I do have a cool air humidifier....should I be using a warm mist humidifier? I bought one of the reptile-fogger things from petsmart...it didn't seem to do much good either. Any and all suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

 

[kleacret]

In this picture it shows the green reptile floor covering, this has been taken out.

 

[theelectraco]

Do you have proper humidity levels in that set up? From the looks of it, the rest is ReptiBark?

---

Also do you have a hiding spot for him?

 

[Wherethetortiroam]

Hi Kristen:

Do you moisten the cypress mulch (called substrate)? I normally pour a whole pitcherful of water over it, then mix it up with my hand.

There are a few good redfooted articles in the Tortoise Library

I think you will find some other feeding suggestions in there too.

That library is da **** but I wish it would tell you why ya know like for instance, what does to much bananas grapes and citrus do to them? And if you can lightly cook them an egg- what's that look like? How much egg do u give them cause vie tried worms before and other insects but my Hebert wont touch them.


Ps I like your red foot Kristin

 

[Nixxy]

I wouldn't say the pyramiding is very bad at all, Kristin.

Could you explain to me your humidifier setup? I have one set up on the outside of my gal's pen, and use a hose to get it in.

That, along with the soaking, and keeping her environment appropriately moist (Spraying it down with water, etc.), seems to work fine for me.

 

[TORTOISELOVER11]

you probably want to take him to a vet

 

[cemmons12]

Take him to a vet? I must have missed the part that gives a reason to do that, I will reread the posts. I use coco coir as it seems to be very good at holding moisture and it doesn't mold. From the picture your tort looks to be in real good shape. So I wouldn't get overly concern'd. Just make sure to try and keep humidity levels up as best u can, feed the right foods, and a good bath in a warm bathtub wouldn't hurt. I still bath my 23 month old sully everyday, 1: to keep him hydrated good, and 2: because he gets to run the living room and sleep in his heating blanket and he won't go on the floor if he has had his daily bath. Best of luck to you!