The lure of a reptile expo...

[Neohippy]

So just got back from the TARAS reptile expo in Calgary, Alberta. Boy was that place packed. Wall to wall with snakes mostly, as well as other seemingly rare and exotic critters.

There was a breeding pair of pancake tortoises there. Man are they ever funky looking. I'd be afraid of them slipping under a door or fence and going on a freedom driven rampage of two dimensional proportions.

There were itty bitty little baby hermann's. Probably the cutest freakin' thing I've seen in my quarter century on this planet.

And then, there was the Red Foots! Had some 1-2 yearish old's about twice the size of my little Woodrow, and some awfully adorable babies. Presumably 3 months or less. I know the stigma and recommendations of vendors selling tortoises with the egg tooth still in tact... However, when eye to eye with a tiny trotting tortoise, common sense and reason go right out the window along with the budget and savings account.

I did aquire one of the baby tortoises. He/she is 35.3g and 55mm (2.17") across. The underbelly (plastron?) is all closed up, no yolk sack or nothin', just an egg tooth. Fresh off the 'ol line though, makes woodrow look pretty big now. At least now, Woodrow has a seeing eye friend of his very own.

I shall post pics when I am able to muster the ambition to battle my inherent laziness.

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Woodrow right, new guy left.

 

[Laura]

you really should quarantine the new one.. regardless of how cute or healthy it looks...
congrats on the new one!

 

[Candy]

After seeing your pictures I think I'm keeping the moss in Dales tank to dry. Is yours always that wet or did you just do that? The baby is adorable and fully understandable about the common sense thing and the budget now that I see him/her. Woodrow looks quite comfortable with him/her. Adorable is the word that comes to mind whenever I see a baby tortoise.

 

[Neohippy]

After seeing your pictures I think I'm keeping the moss in Dales tank to dry. Is yours always that wet or did you just do that? The baby is adorable and fully understandable about the common sense thing and the budget now that I see him/her. Woodrow looks quite comfortable with him/her. Adorable is the word that comes to mind whenever I see a baby tortoise.

The majority of their moss is "live" (unless I killed it like I do to every chlorophyll based life) so it get's a twice a day soaking just like the tort's do. I tend to saturate the heat side of the enclosure due to evap during the day, so typically, yes my moss always has around 80-90% saturation.
Woodrow has taken to literally burying himself under the slabs of moss in the bamboo steam tray I have it in. He likes to be right under the light, but under the moss. The hide side has a ceramic heater to keep it dark and warm, but he seems to prefer making his own darkness underneath the moist awesomness that is frog moss.

 

[Candy]

I've been hearing about shell rot sometimes in tortoises that have too much humidity. Do you know anything about this and does it happen to Redfoots very much? And one more question....Where do you get this moss from?

 

[Neohippy]

you really should quarantine the new one.. regardless of how cute or healthy it looks...
congrats on the new one!

Hmm... You make a very valid point. Excitement and logic seldom mix in my fast paced but strangely vacant mind.

What would you recommend for quarantine duration?

I always did quarantine with the random animals I'd find and rescue, but I never really did it with captive bred critters, but I would like the transition from solo tortoise to tortoise community to be as straight forward, stress/parasite free, and cost effective (lack of vet bills) as possible.

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I've been hearing about shell rot sometimes in tortoises that have too much humidity. Do you know anything about this and does it happen to Redfoots very much? And one more question....Where do you get this moss from?

Shell rot, being a fungus type ailment, makes me think back to the days when I grew mushrooms. Typically, nasty foreign contaminants like mold and fungus are anaerobic, thus meaning lack of oxygen is like smack to them. As long as live plants and fresh air (see: oxygen) are common place, the likelyhood of an outbreak is vastly reduced. (Bare in mind, alot of fungus can be beneficial and thrives in an oxygen rich environment, I'm only talking the nasties here.)

Tortoise sitting in stagnant moist conditions = possible rot.
Tortoise sitting in circulated, beneficial bacteria rich conditions = Happy tort.

Daily fanning to circulate air, alone, is powerful enough to destroy most molds and fungi without any crappy chems or post problem solutions. Think proactively and you'll never have to think reactively? At least the practicum seems to state this.

 

[tortoisenerd]

As long as you are simulating the natural environment, I'd think very humid for redfoot is preferable to any risk of shell rot. I also agree about the circulation.

In my opinion, if the two torts were already exposed to each other in close contact for a good part of a day, they would have already had the chance to contaminate each other, etc. I'd think the risk has already been taken so you might as well leave them together unless you have another set up ready to go. It's your judgment call though.

Do Woodrow and the new little guy seem to get along? Is the enclosure big enough for both? Any ideas for names?

Thanks everyone for sharing all the redfoot pictures! I used to not appreciate them, but now I think they are cute.

 

[Neohippy]

As long as you are simulating the natural environment, I'd think very humid for redfoot is preferable to any risk of shell rot. I also agree about the circulation.

In my opinion, if the two torts were already exposed to each other in close contact for a good part of a day, they would have already had the chance to contaminate each other, etc. I'd think the risk has already been taken so you might as well leave them together unless you have another set up ready to go. It's your judgment call though.

Do Woodrow and the new little guy seem to get along? Is the enclosure big enough for both? Any ideas for names?

Thanks everyone for sharing all the redfoot pictures! I used to not appreciate them, but now I think they are cute.

You make very valid points as well. I'm not overly concerned about the quarantine in this instance. I think I'd be more inclined to quarantine had the tort's been swapped. Example: Woodrow was a pet shop tort, New guy is a breeder direct tort. I think I'd be more weary of putting a pet store tort in with breeder direct torts before quarantine.

Speaking of which... Has anyone made correlation between pet shop torts and breeder torts as far as personality? Just curious.
I noticed that Woodrow (pet store tort for anywhere up to 5 months) from day one has been pretty well tamed up. Seems pretty indifferent to people unless he's hungry, then we're too damned slow for him. This new guy (fresh from the egg thug) though, he's a feisty little scamp. He hisses and pumps his neck whenever I'm near, quite the little badass.

They get along rather well as far as I can tell. Woodrow pretty well ignores the little guy and buries himself under the moss, whereas the little guy ignores Woodrow and wanders around until he finds a suitable spot to chill out and warm up... if that makes any sense.

No names yet. That's my task this mornin'. I'll get back to all 'yall with an update when I know.

 

[Laura]

Where did Pet shop torts come from.......... direct from breeders!
Just be careful..

 

[Neohippy]

Where did Pet shop torts come from.......... direct from breeders!
Just be careful..

Yeah, that's what I mean. I put more faith into a breeder to keep clean torts than a pet shop would. So after it leaves the breeder and enters their hands, all bets are off.
Comparing the looks of the two, seems Woodrow would infect him, not vice versa. Poor little Woodrow really looks beat up in comparison to the healthy start tort.

Either way, I will remain vigilant, watching for anything out of the ordinary. They don't get too much time to themselves unless I am at work.

Food for thought on any possible future acquisitions...

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As long as you are simulating the natural environment, I'd think very humid for redfoot is preferable to any risk of shell rot. I also agree about the circulation.

In my opinion, if the two torts were already exposed to each other in close contact for a good part of a day, they would have already had the chance to contaminate each other, etc. I'd think the risk has already been taken so you might as well leave them together unless you have another set up ready to go. It's your judgment call though.

Do Woodrow and the new little guy seem to get along? Is the enclosure big enough for both? Any ideas for names?

Thanks everyone for sharing all the redfoot pictures! I used to not appreciate them, but now I think they are cute.

You make very valid points as well. I'm not overly concerned about the quarantine in this instance. I think I'd be more inclined to quarantine had the tort's been swapped. Example: Woodrow was a pet shop tort, New guy is a breeder direct tort. I think I'd be more weary of putting a pet store tort in with breeder direct torts before quarantine.

Speaking of which... Has anyone made correlation between pet shop torts and breeder torts as far as personality? Just curious.
I noticed that Woodrow (pet store tort for anywhere up to 5 months) from day one has been pretty well tamed up. Seems pretty indifferent to people unless he's hungry, then we're too damned slow for him. This new guy (fresh from the egg thug) though, he's a feisty little scamp. He hisses and pumps his neck whenever I'm near, quite the little badass.

They get along rather well as far as I can tell. Woodrow pretty well ignores the little guy and buries himself under the moss, whereas the little guy ignores Woodrow and wanders around until he finds a suitable spot to chill out and warm up... if that makes any sense.

No names yet. That's my task this mornin'. I'll get back to all 'yall with an update when I know.

I'm thinking Cordelia for the new tort. I'll have to wait for the family to wake up to know for sure, but I like the ring of Woodrow and Cordelia.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Please remember for future reference you need to quarantine new torts for about 6 months.
I personally would still quarantine this one...I *think* the most chance of cross contamination would come from poop not just being together for a few hours...but there are those on this forum who get a kick out of saying how wrong I am...
Also for future reference remember you should never take anything out of an expo that needs to be fed...tee hee...

 

[blackcat38]

I'm thinking Cordelia for the new tort. I'll have to wait for the family to wake up to know for sure, but I like the ring of Woodrow and Cordelia.

I like the name Cordelia

 

[Neohippy]

Also for future reference remember you should never take anything out of an expo that needs to be fed...tee hee...

You... ask... the Impossible! Sage advice, but I don't honestly think I have it in me to follow it. Perhaps with having two I can curb my enthusiasm next time and be strong...

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I'm thinking Cordelia for the new tort. I'll have to wait for the family to wake up to know for sure, but I like the ring of Woodrow and Cordelia.

I like the name Cordelia

Thanks. It's official.

Woodrow "Brock" Sampson
&
Cordelia Sampson (No quotationed nick name yet.)

 

[Millerlite]

quarantine is a touchy subject, some do it some dont. I just know some stories of people losing multiple tortoises from a group because of one sick tort. Then others never do quarantine and never had problems. I guess its do it at your own risk, but if you have a separate enclosure and or can make one why take the chance. thats just me.