Rosey the Red Foot Tortoise

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Rosey

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I recently acquired a red foot tortoise from Petsmart. I have only had her for a week but I love her to death and I want her to have everything she wants. Right now she 3-4 inches long and I have her in a 30 gallon glass terrarium. From my hours of research on the internet I have found out that this is not the best housing for her and am planning on building her a turtle box soon.

My question is this... Ive read probably a hundred different sites about her diet and supplements and they all say something different! please someone help me figure out a good diet for her.

The pet store told me to feed her 2x a day, pelleted food in the morning and a "salad" in the afternoon. Well I read that the pelletted food is not actually that good for them so I have fed it to her very sparingly. Ive been dusting every salad with a calcium supplement and I added a cuttlebone to her terrarium.

I read that protein is good so today I bought 3 cans of high quality dog food to feed her and also a pinkie mouse. I was going to give her this every 2 weeks. Is that a good interval? Are the mice and dog food really a good choice for her?

In addition I have been giving her small amounts of canned tortoise food. She really likes it and at first that and bananas were the only thing i could get her to eat. She wont eat her salads very much but she is still acclimating.

So I read today that bananas are maybe not good for her, but she loves them are they ok?

Also Ive been giving her spring mix with stuff on top, like radishes, butternut squash and red bell peppers. I tried tomatoes but she didnt eat them. She loved the spinich I gave her but I understand its also not that good for her.

Im sorry if I am rambling I just want Rosey to be the happiest and healthiest Red Foot Tortoise in the world.

Please someone help me with her diet. Some sites say to feed her every other day, some say 2x a day. She isnt eating everything I am putting in there but she does love bananas.
 

terryo

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Welcome to the forum. Go to this site, and on top go to the yealing section and see the care sheet for your Redfoot. I've used this for almost four years now and my Cherry Head is doing great. I have a new little one and am using the same care sheet. I keep mine in large planted vivariums, which I find hold the humidity much better for a RF than a table.
http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Rosey:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?
 

Madkins007

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Odd, I woulda sworn I had a nice reply to this and it is missing. Being old and decrepit, I don't remember it all, but I'll try.

It will drive you crazy when you see all the variation in advice, but it is the same thing when you look for baby or dog care. And the more you research, the more annoying it gets. In the end, it is probably safest to find someone you trust and follow their ideas.

You mentioned spinach, banana, tomato, mice, pet food, pellets, and calcium powder. Each of these has debates or things to know. Spinach has lots of great nutrients but also a moderate amount of oxalates. Oxalates bind with calcium, making it unavailable to the tortoise and they can build up in the bladder in dehydrated tortoises. On the good news side, the other nutrients are also important. An interesting point is that calcium in food blocks some of the iron absorption and iron is important as well. Small amounts of spinach are fine in a balanced, varied diet (I'll call it a BVD for short).

Banana (and grapes) are just full of sugar and act like tortoise ice cream. Fine in small amounts in a BVD, especially if you leave the skin on.

Tomatos bother some tortoises- diarrhea and tummy troubles, but does not seem to bother Red-foots in small amounts as part of the BVD.

Mice and pet foods are OK in small amounts in a BVD, but they are also kinda high in fats and calories. I use them, but only about monthly. If I want meat more often, I use live bugs or worms (but not too many hard-shelled things like mealworms that can clog the intestines if overdone), or things like chicken or other lower fat/calorie options.

Pellets are also debated. Many animal nutrition experts would tell you that for many species of pets, the best bet is a combination of real and pelleted food. It probably applies to tortoises as well, but there are few pellets that most of us would recommend.

Calcium dust can be overdone- they need calcium, but they also NEED it balanced with vitamin D3 and other nutrients, so BE SURE to offer vitamin D, etc. as well.

I've got more, but it is already written out at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/diet.html
 

Rosey

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THANK you so much for you advice Madkins. Also my name is Mariel and I live in Idaho so Rosey is an indoor tortoise. Rosey has been here a little over a week and is still being a very very picky eater. Although she devoured a mushroom today I still cant get her to eat her salads. Is this because she is still acclimating or could something be wrong? I have her temp at 80degrees with a basking spot about 85 and the cool end of her terrarium is as low as 72, but thats where she has been choosing to hang out.(Its where her hide is) So today I moved the heater a little so that it would warm the cooler end up a little because I felt like 72 is probably to cold? I also mist her terrarium constantly. I have a bedding of fir bark which says it boosts humidity but I am planning on adding some moss to her terrarium to help with the humidity as well. Her eyes were runny when I got her but I have been using eye drops and they are very clear and alert looking now... I think she was dry when I got her. Anyhow Im rambling again.. I really appreciate any other advice any of you have. I used to raise and breed tree frogs which is why I had all of the heaters, uvb lights and terrariums, but this venture to tortoises is new to me. She actually seems unusually friendly. She loves to have the back of her head and chin rubbed at the same time and if you rub her back foot she will put her chin out for you to rub it. Is it normal for them to be this friendly? She will climb into my sweatshirt and go to sleep on my chest all on her own. =) She is the coolest tortoise in the world to me. :)
 

Madkins007

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Rosey said:
THANK you so much for you advice Madkins. Also my name is Mariel and I live in Idaho so Rosey is an indoor tortoise. Rosey has been here a little over a week and is still being a very very picky eater. Although she devoured a mushroom today I still cant get her to eat her salads. Is this because she is still acclimating or could something be wrong? I have her temp at 80degrees with a basking spot about 85 and the cool end of her terrarium is as low as 72, but thats where she has been choosing to hang out.(Its where her hide is) So today I moved the heater a little so that it would warm the cooler end up a little because I felt like 72 is probably to cold? I also mist her terrarium constantly. I have a bedding of fir bark which says it boosts humidity but I am planning on adding some moss to her terrarium to help with the humidity as well. Her eyes were runny when I got her but I have been using eye drops and they are very clear and alert looking now... I think she was dry when I got her. Anyhow Im rambling again.. I really appreciate any other advice any of you have. I used to raise and breed tree frogs which is why I had all of the heaters, uvb lights and terrariums, but this venture to tortoises is new to me. She actually seems unusually friendly. She loves to have the back of her head and chin rubbed at the same time and if you rub her back foot she will put her chin out for you to rub it. Is it normal for them to be this friendly? She will climb into my sweatshirt and go to sleep on my chest all on her own. =) She is the coolest tortoise in the world to me. :)

Hi, Mariel! I sorta share your climate here in Omaha (more so, at least, than all the sun-belt folk here!) Some thoughts as I read your note were...

- The temps are a bit low. I like a range in the 80's, averaging about 85.
- I really like multiple hides so the tort can choose warm or cool, humid or dry.
- Pickiness can be coolness, nervousness, etc. It can also be that the tort is experiencing a seasonal 'slow down', which seems to happen to a lot of ours in the cooler climates.
- Misting is annoying, isn't it? There are other ways to raise humidity AND heat- covering the habitat, for example. The Library has more ideas.
- Friendliness- some of these guys are REALLY friendly! Good for you!
 

Jessicap

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Hi and Welcome... I live in Wisconsin and have a redfoot so deal with the dry cooled weather. Here is the caresheet I follow: http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm

I try to keep his enclosure around 80 with a hotspot of 95. They do not need much variation in temps like many other reptiles. I follow the feeding schedule listed in the caresheet. I mist 3 times a day and mist tortoise directly until dripping at least 1 time per day.

I feed the protien 1x per week - using the lowfat, weight management hard catfood soaked with calcium carbonate (no d3)

As for the greens, he will eventually eat them. Sid usually does not eat them after protien day but by the next all green day he gobbles them down - especially if I put in some mushrooms- He LOVES mushrooms.

Good luck and I know you will get lots of GREAT advise here.
 

Rosey

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Rosey is being a bad tortoise and litterally digging through her salads to get the butternut squash and the mushrooms out...and if I don't put them in she ignores the salad all together. Any ideas on how to get her to eat her greens?
 

pdrobber

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Welcome, glad to see you here doing the best you can for your tortoise. As for getting her to eat, just give it time, tough love, don't give her what she wants before she eats some greens. Maybe softening the squash and mushrooms so they're not in pieces and spreading the mush over the greens she'll be forced to eat some and realize they're not too bad.
 
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