Yellow Footed Tortoise Q's

Status
Not open for further replies.

gyang333

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
53
Hi there all, I'm sorry if my posting a new thread with what are probably common questions don't sit well with everyone here, for that I apologize in advance. So I will be getting my very first tortoise on Tuesday night! I am super excited, as it was fairly hard to make an arrangement that I thought was fair. By gawd tortoises are priced outrageously in Canada! And I even came to this forum and those posters posting how happy they were with getting a new tortoise and that they were in Canada actually made me feel very envious, but now it has happened for me too! I found a seller on kijiji that was willing to drive it to my place from around Toronto which I found t be very reasonably priced.

I had noticed in his ad that he said the Yellow Footed tortoise was approx. 7 months old and was around 4 inches, does that sound right? I have a Mississippi False Map turtle at home and he's a bit over 2 years old and his shell is only around 4.5 inches long, granted I know tortoises will get bigger than turtles, but does 4 inches sound correct?

Also, could anyone recommend a suitable temperature setting for the enclosure, I have read around 85F in the basking area and mid 70s on the other side, and during the night, if say my room temperature is around 20C ~ 68 F would that be alright, or would I need a space heater?

And, as for substrate, how often should I change it? And for feeding, I guess I can ask his current owner, but would there be any problems with feeding it every other day? The False Map turtle gets fed everyday, but do tortoises require the same thing?

Thanks for all the help! I have kept many turtles before, but a tortoise is a totally new thing for me and I am super excited!
 

gyang333

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
53
terryo said:
http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm Go to this site and learn all you can about your tortoise. It is a great site and a very easy care sheet to follow.That is way too big for a seven month old Yellow Foot.

Thank you, i noticed that it links to redfootcare, I understand that they are related, but would that caresheet still apply for a yellow footed tortoise to a t? And I figured he was probably measuring it wrong because in a comparison shot, the yellow foot and the red foots all looked to be about the same size.
 

llamas55

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2009
Messages
186
Location (City and/or State)
Northfield, MN
yellowfoots nearly identical...just go to that site. He was probably measuring overall top length to make it sound more saleable. younger torts are different in what they need, just read everything you can find on this site. Substrate here changes when Bob says "achoo" and I realize it has a lot of pee in it. depends on your size.....for a 40+" enclosure here that is just under annually. Mississippi Maps, which I've had, in no way compare to anything for your yellowfoot, so happy reading and welcome!
 

egyptiandan

New Member
10 Year Member!
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2007
Messages
5,788
Location (City and/or State)
USA
The care is almost identical to Redfoots. If anything though they like it more humid and low light conditions. They really don't bask as such when young, so if you could get almost the whole enclosure up to 80 to 86F during the day (that would be perfect). 68 to 70F at night is fine, just make sure he's as high (off the floor) in the room as possible. This will keep him warmer during the day and at night.

Danny
 

gyang333

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
53
Thank you guys for all your help! I hope I do this tortoise justice once it's in my care.
 

DoctorCosmonaut

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
1,351
Location (City and/or State)
Oregon
Only big difference is that yellowfoots get bigger, are generally shyer, and live deeper in the forest (so they like it a little darker).
 

gyang333

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
53
DoctorCosmonaut said:
Only big difference is that yellowfoots get bigger, are generally shyer, and live deeper in the forest (so they like it a little darker).

lol that's bad news, i just installed a brighter bulb in my room where the enclosure , but it's got a hide and i have a cover over the portion of the enclosure where the hide is
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top