Redfoot Tortoise Diet

[mrscanavan]

Hi, all --

I'm very new at this. I just purchased a redfoot tortoise for my 6th grade science classroom. (His name is Harold ) I have had him about a week, and I'm still learning his eating habits. So far he seems to only eat the fruit I give him, not the greens. I purchased him from Petco. In his cage at the store he had some (basic looking) lettuce and some tortoise pellets. So far for me he he seems to LOVE soft/juicy fruits -- strawberries, kiwi, grapefruit, and some success with apples. As far as I can tell, he hasn't touched greens that have been offered at all (kale, though i've sinced learned he should only have this in small quantities, and collard greens). Should I quit offering the fruits until he eats his greens? Also, what is a reasonable expectation for how much he should eat in a day?

He is approximately 5-6 inches long on the bottom of his shell. (Not sure what his age is?) He is quite active and doesn't seem to mind being handled. The kids have not touched him yet, but when I chat with him he allows me to pick him up easily and scratch the top of his head as well as under his chin.

I am also having trouble getting the humidity in his cage to where it should be. I have a 75watt UV light suspended above his cage, as well as a small adhesive heat pad under 1/2 his tank. This keeps the temp just above 80, which is good, but the humidity doesn't seem to rise despite repeated sprays with a water bottle throughout the day.

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated It's difficult to sift through web content, and to judge its reliability.

Thanks so much!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi mrscanavan:

Welcome to the forum!

What kind of container is his habitat in? If it is a "cage" you probably won't be able to get it to stay humid inside. It will have to be a large plastic tub or a large glass aquarium. I prefer the plastic, myself.

 

[mrscanavan]

He is in a 20 gallon long aquarium. I have a 40 gallon breeder on order, since with his food dish, water tray/ramp, and hiding log all in a 20 gallon aquarium, there's not a whole lot of room for him to walk around -- so much stuff! So hopefully the 40g will help.

That being said -- any tips on humidity?

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[Yvonne G]

You can partially cover it. I go cheap and use aluminum foil, but it doesn't look very pretty. Plants, whether artificial or real also help to hold in the moisture.

 

[Madkins007]

Hi! There is a collection of articles in the Tortoise Library in my signature below, including basic Red-foot care, Red-foot diet, and others on humidity, etc. that may help.

They love fruit, and benefit from it, but do not need it as much. I generally only offer it about once a week or so. This also helps to get them to eat the greens. My guys favorites are Turnip greens, Dandelion greens, Hibiscus leaves, mulberry leaves, plantain leaves (the broad-leaf yard weed, not the banana relative), and most lettuces. "Spring Mix" with a variety of colors and textures is good. You can use pretty much any kind of lettuce you want, even the oft-insulted Iceberg, as long as you remember that it dies not have a lot of calcium and offer something with good calcium levels to counter it.

How much it will eat? He'll eat more than he needs. He probably only needs about 100 calories a day, but if conditions are right, he'll pig out whenever he can. While a healthy appetite is a good sign, he can also go without food for a while. A lot of us have our torts in that size range skip a couple days a week to help limit the caloric intake.

(6th grade science class? Here is the formula for daily caloric needs for reptiles: weight in kilograms, to the 0.75 power, x 32 = the basal metabolic rate. Double it for active and growing reptiles, as in this case. Or... WTkg^.75x32=BMR. The formula for mammals uses 72 instead of 32 for the multiplier.)

Humidity- cover and mist will help, the articles have other ideas as well. You may want to try to provide closer to 90 in a small part of the habitat.

Class pet- my wife was a teacher for a long time (now a college instructor going for her EDD) and I learned a lot about class pets. Some guidelines I would suggest...
- Make sure it has several hiding options, and at least one that completely hides it and protects it from most sounds, lights, vibrations, etc. One helpful element is to use some tinting agents on at least the bottom half of the habitat so it cannot see these giant creatures all the time.
- Have strict rules about handling it- how to, how long, how often (as little as possible), cleanliness, etc.
- Make sure it has several quite periods during the day with no handling, being stared at from overhead, etc.
- It will still be stressed, so help it by having solid heating, humidity, lighting, UVB, water, diet, etc. and offer it a bit of multi-vitamin powder (crushed human tablets are fine) every week or two.