Torqux and the Chronic Tortuga! (So many Questions?!)

[Chronic Tortuga]

Hello! My name is Marie, also known as the Chronic Tortuga, and I recently aquired my forever friend, Torqux, an approximate 1 Year Old Captive-Bred Redfooted Tortoise from Repticon this year. (I got him May 19th). This is my first time owning a Tortoise, and like a parent with a Newborn child, I have all but pulled my hair out worrying about his care, condition, and comfort level. Hopefully some of you Tort-experts can help me understand my new friend! I have been Googling and getting answers from this Forum for 4 days now and thought it's about time I join! (Also sorry if this is a long read!)

Day one was pretty normal, I stopped by the fresh food market before I brought Torqux home. I got him a medley of Red/Green lettuce, Squash, Zucchini, and Baby Tomatoes. Before even reaching his new home, I washed off a piece of Lettuce and placed it in his transport container. Right away, he ate it immediately. Appetite has not been an issue at all with this Tort. After we got home, I fixed him some more lettuce and he ate it all as well. Finds it on his own no matter where it is. He's an eating machine! Also, I've seen this little guy push away Tomatoes and Lettuce if there is Zucchini involved. I'm pretty sure it's his favorite.

This is Torqux in his new Viv. It is a 40x16x16, Cypress Mulch bedding, he has a food dish, watering dish, and a big log hut for hiding. He has a Blue 150w Daylight Bulb for heating, basking end kept at 86-90* during the day. He also has a 15w Ultra Intense UVB bulb running as well. Other end of the tank is approximate around 70*. (I am working on getting new Thermometers, the ones I purchased are crap.) The Tort and the bedding are spritz 3 times a day to keep up humidity levels. He is currently being fed the medley listed above every other day, with a Cuttlebone to supplement Calcium, as well as the food is sprinkled with a tad of Calcium powder during each feeding. His tank is a little boring right now, so I am working on getting a few more garnishes to make sure he is comfortable.

The first day I brought him home and placed him in a bowl of water, I watched as he took these huge gulps from the dish. I have never seen a Tort drink water before, so that was cuteness overload. I prepared his new home, and he explored until I turned out his lights around 10PM and went to sleep. Monday after I got home, I saw the tank had gotten to around 96*, due to the placing of the heat lamp while I was gone. Too close to the tank I presume. I have it suspended about a foot from the tank now, and it maintains it's 86-90* quite well. I made sure he was well hydrated the rest of the night because of that (scared that I could have dehydrated him). This was the first night I also gave him his first soak. I was worried he hadn't passed a bowel movement since I got him, but my worries were calmed after he had two movements from soaking. (Yay!) The next day (yesterday) I turned on his lights in the morning and woke up the little guy, only to see there were mites crawling on him! (I literally panicked.) I soaked him in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes, and gave him a little cleaning with a toothbrush. My plan was to bake his mulch that night, and soak his habitat when I got home. I inspected him when I returned, no Mites to be found. (Huh?) I have continued to inspect him today as well, no Mites.

He does have a small bit of Pyramiding, due to whatever care was given before I received him. I'm taking all steps (UVB and plenty of Calcium) to make sure that is stopped. His eyes appear clear, and his shell nor skin is neither dry or flaky. When he had his first and second bowel, it was a light beige. I assume they fed him Processed Tortoise Chow (if you know what I mean). I soaked him again last night, and his bowel was a dark green (what it probably should look like if he's being fed REAL food!) He's yet to have a Bowel in his tank, but hopefully that will change.

My concerns:

Burrowing: Torqux has started to dig and burrow. It was my understanding that Redfoot's don't burrow? First it was under the basking area, now it's at the colder end of the tank. My first instinct is that the tank could be too hot, but it's at the right temp for a Red Tort, so? The other thing that ties in with that is that he is spending ALL of his time on the cooler end of the tank. He's made himself a little hole to rest in. But he's not sleeping. Just sitting, all the time! Is he bored? Lethargic? When I move him he will roam a little, and then back to the other end. He is holding himself up well, and when held, is very responsive with touch. Also, if I were to let him roam the apartment, he would travel all over, so I'm not sure. As I've been writing this, I took a break to continue to monitor for Mites (none!) and when I put him back, he went to the cool end of the tank and burrowed again. He is now completely burrowed as I write this.

Mites: Ugh? (Though none have been seen since yesterday morning.)

Viv: I was told it could be bad to keep a Tort in a glass Viv? I just spent $90 on this thing. I'm hoping that's not the case to have to relocate him, but all answers are welcomed.

Breathing: He tends to breathe heavily, or a lot all the time. (Constant head bobs, neck movement). No wheezing or anything, just deep breathing. Is this normal?

I'm sure I'm probably going to be on here every day with a new question, but alas, this is it for now. HELP?

-Marie, The Chronic

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[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[jaizei]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Marie, and welcome to the Forum!

There's nothing wrong with keeping a redfooted tortoise in a viv. Read about it here at the Tortoise Library

 

[shanu303]

Hello Marie and Welcome to TFO !! Torqux is adorable

 

[Tom]

You've got some major problems there that need to be addressed right away.

1. That water bowl is a death trap. Replace it with a $2 terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate.
2. That coil type UV bulb can damage his eyes and is probably much too intense for a redfoot. This may be why he's burrowing down into the substrate like that. His eyes are burning and he's trying to get away from it.
3. 150 watts is a huge bulb for a small tank like that. Most redfoot keepers prefer a different strategy. They often use a long tube type florescent bulb that spans most of the enclosure and then use a ceramic heating element on a thermostat to maintain the desired ambient temps. Some use basking lamps, others don't. A 65 watt flood will get the job done if you decide to go that route.
4. He needs a humid hide in addition to the hiding log.
5. he needs a much bigger enclosure.
6. Keeping a redfoot on damp substrate and spraying him all the time is a recipe for shell rot. They are prone to it. The trick is to keep it humid, but not wet. This is very difficult to achieve in and open topped enclosure. This is very easy to achieve in a closed chamber.
7. His diet need more fiber. Try some weeds and leaves of the correct type. If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole.
8. He needs some protein in the diet too. Many ways to too this. Adding some Mazuri is one good way.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

 

[abclements]

Tom hit the nail on the head. My advice for lighting/heating/humidity is to cover the top of the viv (tin foil works, or plexi-glass... something that traps both heat and humidity), get a tube light (either a 2.0 or 5.0 uvb that spans at least half of the length of the viv), a 100 watt max che and a thermostat.

Run the light on a timer so it's not dependant on you, and run the cheapest on the thermostat. Mine is set at a constant 85 degrees and turns on for maybe a total of 1 hour every day.

Redfoots thrive in humid environments and it has been found that low humidity increases pyramiding, so you wan to keep the humidity at 75% or greater. But don't let the temp drop below 80 during the day and no lower than 75 at night. Otherwise the high humidity can cause respiratory problems...

These are just ideas from how I have mine set up. But it seems to be working nicely.

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One the second paragraph that's supposed to say che not cheapest lol my bad

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