redfoot personalities

[biglove4bigtorts]

What can some of the experienced and not so experienced keepers tell me about the Redfoots' personality and interaction with thier keeper? I know each tortoise is an individual and a lot depends on how secure the tortoise is in its sorroundings and how the keeper interacts with the tortoise, but I am looking for generally how they are. Please be specific as possible, giving me specific behaviors and incidents that portray thier propensity towards human interaction and demonstrate thier intelligence.
Thanks in Advance,
Andrew

 

[Redfoot NERD]

They are smarter than most keepers.. and the less you try to interact with them the smarter they are! They are very gregarious and active as long as you don't blast them with a lot of light. No more than 1/3 of their enclosure should have light!!! Warm humid hides are vital.

Even tho they are very 'forgiving'.. no reason to stress them.

You can learn from them...... leave them alone!!!

NERD

 

[terryo]

I think they have wonderful personalities. At least mine does, especailly since he got older. When he was little I had 6 in. covered across the front of his enclosure, until a boxie breeder friend of mine told me he never covers his Viv.'s as he wants to interact with his boxies....they are his pets......not specimens. I lowered the front barrier, and now Pio can see out. I don't know how he knows I am in the living room, but when I am in there cleaning he will come out and just watch me and as I move around, he keeps moving too so he can see me. Doesn't mean much ...I know. When I sit on the edge of his outside enclosure, he will come out and sit right next to my foot....just sit with me, while I read. No, he is not looking for food. There is loads of food in his enclosure. When he was small I kept a boxie with him...(I know ..against everyone's advice) They grew up together. He followed that boxie all over the viv. Slept in the same hide even when he had his own. When I took the boxie out, Pio didn't eat for days, and kept searching all over for her. Now this doesn't seem like much, but after all he is a tortoise. He makes me laugh all the time, and I think he is full of personality. Some people have many tortoises, that they breed, raise etc. Others only have one or a two, that they keep as pets. Mine is a pet, who I interact with all the time.

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

This is just the sort of information I am looking for! Thank you Terry!

I think they have wonderful personalities. At least mine does, especailly since he got older. When he was little I had 6 in. covered across the front of his enclosure, until a boxie breeder friend of mine told me he never covers his Viv.'s as he wants to interact with his boxies....they are his pets......not specimens. I lowered the front barrier, and now Pio can see out. I don't know how he knows I am in the living room, but when I am in there cleaning he will come out and just watch me and as I move around, he keeps moving too so he can see me. Doesn't mean much ...I know. When I sit on the edge of his outside enclosure, he will come out and sit right next to my foot....just sit with me, while I read. No, he is not looking for food. There is loads of food in his enclosure. When he was small I kept a boxie with him...(I know ..against everyone's advice) They grew up together. He followed that boxie all over the viv. Slept in the same hide even when he had his own. When I took the boxie out, Pio didn't eat for days, and kept searching all over for her. Now this doesn't seem like much, but after all he is a tortoise. He makes me laugh all the time, and I think he is full of personality. Some people have many tortoises, that they breed, raise etc. Others only have one or a two, that they keep as pets. Mine is a pet, who I interact with all the time.

 

[terryo]

Bad advice...I know, but such a cute picture...Pio waiting for Izzy to come out of the pond.

 

[-ryan-]

The most important thing to remember is that the tortoises should interact on their own terms. The more you pick them up, move them around, or otherwise enter into their space, the less 'personality' they will display and the less willing they will be to 'interact' with you. That said, red foots are very personable if you allow them to do their own thing. Mine loves to sit in the entrance of his rubbermaid tub hide box (full of moss) and look around, like a dog sitting in a dog house. When I open the enclosure he will usually come out and walk over to me to see whether or not I have brought him any food. If I open the enclosure when he is already out wandering around he becomes weary, because the contact is no longer on his terms.

They are very interesting animals.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Everyone's saying the same thing Andrew.. whether you have 1 or 41.. let them come to you.

When I'm outside in the outdoor enclosure standing still.. with the '05's to adults.. it doesn't take long til they're all around my feet!

NERD

 

[cdmay]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s311/terryo_album/022.jpg[/IMG]
[/quote]

Great photo Terry.
Keeping captive raised animals of differing species together isn't such a big deal to me as long as their requirements are the same. Box turtles and red foots have similar needs and the only real difference I can see between the two is the box turtle's ability to withstand cold winters.
The very act of maintaining an exotic animal in captivity is in itself artificial and so there are a certain amount of things they will be exposed to that are not exactly natural for them. The addition of a disease free turtle of another species (or genera) to a single red foot's environment shouldn't affect it in a negatively unless the other turtle is overly aggressive in some way.

 

[-ryan-]

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s311/terryo_album/022.jpg[/IMG]

Great photo Terry.
Keeping captive raised animals of differing species together isn't such a big deal to me as long as their requirements are the same. Box turtles and red foots have similar needs and the only real difference I can see between the two is the box turtle's ability to withstand cold winters.
The very act of maintaining an exotic animal in captivity is in itself artificial and so there are a certain amount of things they will be exposed to that are not exactly natural for them. The addition of a disease free turtle of another species (or genera) to a single red foot's environment shouldn't affect it in a negatively unless the other turtle is overly aggressive in some way.
[/quote]

There are other concerns besides just environment and aggression. Parasites and pathogens are a bigger concern. Since the animals are from different parts of the world they will harbor different parasites and pathogens in levels that may be acceptable for their species, but not the other (and they will get passed over).

I think that there is a level of risk that a keeper accepts when housing two different species together.

 

[cdmay]

.[/quote]
There are other concerns besides just environment and aggression. Parasites and pathogens are a bigger concern. Since the animals are from different parts of the world they will harbor different parasites and pathogens in levels that may be acceptable for their species, but not the other (and they will get passed over).
[/quote]

Ryan, um... that's why I said disease free. One can reasonably assume that a captive hatched and raised box turtle and a captive hatched and raised redfoot will not being carrying diseases or parasites from their respective points of origin. This is not absolute, of course but it is generally true.

 

[terryo]

OT...didn't mean to open a can of worms. I acquired my boxie from a breeder I knew when she was 4 weeks old. Pio came from someone who I corresponded with about Redfoots, and he was 1 month old. They were kept separate for a few weeks...or a month...I don't remember...until I put them together, where they lived for almost two years. I know many keepers who keep different species together, as long as they require the same environment.
Just wanted to point out that IMHO, my Cherry Head had a little personality all his own, and as he gets older he is showing it more, as he interacts with me.

 

[Neohippy]

I've noticed that between my two 6 year old torts, Penny is more goal orientated, eat first, ask questions later. Whereas Horace usually won't dive into the greens until she can't see me anymore. Always more curious about what's happening outside the terrarium. He will usually crank his head up as far as it will go and ignore everything in a mad tortoise dash to the side of the enclosure to get a better look at me.
When they are out and about, wandering the floor, the personalities swap. Penny seems more curious in general investigating everything (but probably just investigating for food) and moving things out of the way if it impedes her investigation, and Horace likes to find a nice cozy spot and observe.

As far as personality in the youngin's around 2 years or less, well they behave like they should... 2 out of 3 of them do. They hide, they eat, they burrow, they bask. Woodrow on the other hand, he's the smallest still, and he's got no fear. He likes to come investigate my daughter when she is smearing up the glass with sticky fingers. He'll wander back and forth with her. He's always first to eat, and usually the first to investigate new additions to the terrarium. I do believe he would have been bird food in the first week of his life in the wild.

 

[-ryan-]

.

There are other concerns besides just environment and aggression. Parasites and pathogens are a bigger concern. Since the animals are from different parts of the world they will harbor different parasites and pathogens in levels that may be acceptable for their species, but not the other (and they will get passed over).
[/quote]

Ryan, um... that's why I said disease free. One can reasonably assume that a captive hatched and raised box turtle and a captive hatched and raised redfoot will not being carrying diseases or parasites from their respective points of origin. This is not absolute, of course but it is generally true.
[/quote]

It's not a disease if it's something that is naturally occurring in that particular species. I am not speaking just of parasites, but also of certain bacteria involved in their digestive processes, etc. etc. The risks are reduced with CB animals, but not eliminated. Also, CB animals are most definitely not immune to parasitic infestation. 'Understanding Reptile Parasites' is a good read that discusses just how easily captive animals can get parasites.

 

[cdmay]

It's not a disease if it's something that is naturally occurring in that particular species. I am not speaking just of parasites, but also of certain bacteria involved in their digestive processes, etc. etc. The risks are reduced with CB animals, but not eliminated. Also, CB animals are most definitely not immune to parasitic infestation. 'Understanding Reptile Parasites' is a good read that discusses just how easily captive animals can get parasites.
[/quote]

Ryan,
Can you cite a case in which a captive hatched tortoise (or turtle) transfered a species specific bacteria to a turtle of a different species and then the recipient animal suffered from it? I've never heard of it. I'm not saying a wild caught animal cannot transfer pathogens to another, unrelated species. That of course can happen. But are you talking about captive hatched turtle then infecting another unrelated species with something it harbored from the egg? I have heard of verticle transfer of pathogens in live bearing boids before but not egg laying turtles.
Understanding Reptile Parasites is a good read but the fact the even captive hatched reptiles can get infected by parasites or diseases is not in question here. Nobody denies that.
My point is that generally speaking, captive hatched turtles and tortoises are free from harmful parasites and unless they themselves are infected with something after they hatch, they are not prone to infect animals of different species.
Again though, if you can cite a specific case, I'd sure like to see it.

 

[Yvonne G]

The OP wants insight on the personality of a redfoot tortoise, guys! If you'd like to debate whether or not to mix your species, please start a new thread.

 

[Candy]

Terryo I never get tired of hearing about Pio and Izzy. I absolutely love that picture of Pio waiting for Izzy to come out of the water. There's no doubt that there's love there.

 

[fhintz]

I definitely fall into the "not so experienced" category, but here are my experiences and impressions with my Redfoot, Themistocles, so far. I've had her about 7 months now. I love her personality and I think she's super intelligent. Her smarts are evident when I see her waiting in the morning right by where I put her food. And she seems to recognize when I change the water in her "pond", as she's so eager to get in there when there's fresh, warm water.

As far as her interaction with me, she tends to keep to herself for the most part, although she seems comfortable with me, as long as I keep physical interaction to a minimum. When I'm just around, and presumably she can see me, she doesn't seem to mind. I try to only pick her up when I need to bring her inside, or I'm taking her out, or on occassion just to inspect her. She's mostly comfortable with being picked up by me, except sometimes if she's dug in to a comfy spot, she's gotten agitated. I learned my lesson, and if I find her outside like that, she gets a sleep out night. Hopefully soon, I'll have my outside set for her to just stay out there.

She's pretty active in her enclosure and seems like a happy little tort. Not sure how much of that might be projecting my hopes into it.

Frank

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

I am enjoying taking this all in! A lot of tortoises build thier trust over time and display less shy and retreating personalities as the get older. I rememeber as kid, WC, adult, box turtles would stop gpoing into thier shell in a matter of mins to hours after capture, b/c they realized we weren't going to eat them. I think I have gotten all that I needed about all three species I inqured about and have made a tentative decision, patially based on the general personality accounts I got here, which species would do best in my climatic zone, and which species interested me the most. I also considered which species would benifit most from captive breeding efforts, would have easiest dieatry needs, which got larger, and so on. If all works out and my decision becomes final, I will post an update to my inttoduction post and everyone can get an update.

Thanks for all of the responses.