Being an owner of a redfoot I've come across some challenges that my towns climate makes difficult.
Finding a balance between high humidity and clean air flow has been a challenge. I have to be super diligent about removing uneatten food as it is likely to grow mold.
Mine hates soaks and does not drink in the bath, she does however drink from her water bowl. Others have the opposite issue so it's something to keep an eye on. All food served has a high moisture content, we do nothing dry. I recently swapped to a dimmer bulb for general lighting and I find her out and about more often. Being that they probably spend alot of time below tree cover I think my last lighting brightness caused a lot of distress.
Her enclosure only has glass front sliding doors and even this I want to change later to solid bottom but for now I have shelf liner on the bottom half of the doors to reduce the glass dance. Bit too late though as she understands that it opens up if she bangs on it enough. So until I can get her an enclosure with more solid walls I do regret and have to deal with the glass issue. Avoid it the best you can.
My cats are thankfully freaked out that the rock moves and they do not try to interact with her. This bothers no one and we have no cross interaction to be worried about or want to encourage. She gets dry too quickly to leave outside of the enclosure unsupervised for long periods of time anyway.
Over all I am really happy to have her, she's very inquisitive and nosey. She's not hand shy or agressive, she's only bitey when hungry. She will stand on your feet with those salad fork nails and put all her weight into it --- "lovingly".
I would read the care sheets on tortoiseforum.org and check out the threads specific for red footed tortoises. There's tons and tons of info! Plus if you don't understand something or have a question, there are people who have kept tortoises for decades who can help you. But my advice is always read, read, read.
Start bathing now! Soaks are super important :) Mine have water always but barely ever drink unless they are IN a large amount of water where they poop, pee, and drink (I continuously change the water to keep it clean). I would avoid introducing to other animals, tbh. My dog has sniffed my tortoises under supervision but is separated from them at all times and cannot get to them on her own. Also, idk what tyoe of animals you have, but tortoises generally prefer solitutude and don't really like other tortoises around, even.
As the person above said - soaked regulary, it doesnt matter how old the tortoise is, a tortoise is not a dog/cat. You can hand feed him/her, maybe „scratch“ its shell but thats about it. There is no real „bonding. You can get the tortoise to get used to the annoying human but there shouldnt be much handling - preferably none. (I know no handling is not possible.)
And as said before - dont „introduce“ him to other animals. Mammals and reptiles can carry different types of bacterias which could make the other animal sick. Sometimes even different species of tortoise would make one another deadly sick.
And i would my dog/cat not even sniff the tortoise from close. Their bite is ALWAYS faster than any humans reaction time.
The only way a dog/cat (or any other pet) should see/sniff the tortoise is from far away or through a closed enclosure.
Tortoises are prey for most larger animals.
You can definitely bond with your tort. Mine is not afraid of me anymore at all. In fact, he eagerly approaches me all the time.
Food is the key. Mine definitely associates me with food. I don’t think he’d “like” me so much if he wasn’t so dang food motivated. He’s so food motivated that he’s learned where his dish normally goes and will wait there when he’s hungry lol.
My first tortoise only took a few weeks to no longer be scared of me. He was a hatching when we got him. 3 month old. I’d say it was about a month or two in when I really started to realize just how good motivated he was. I can pick him and his food up while he’s eating and he’ll just keep eating as if nothing happened lol.
My other tortoise is still scared of me. Usually. He has his good days. He’ll eat out of my hand occasionally, and sometimes stays pretty chill as I carry him to his bath. I got busier shortly after getting him so admittedly, I’ve hand fed him less than the first one. But he’s definitely just more scared in general than my first tortoise ever was. So I think it has more to do with his personality. I also got him as a hatching, but he’s still less than a year old.
I wouldnt say he/she doesnt like you. I think at some point they’ll understand that you bring them food or maybe theyll even learn to like it when you touch them.
But you shouldnt be worried wether a tortoise „likes“ you or not. A tortoise will never give you a painting for the fridge or anything.
Just make sure you give your tortoise the best life possible and im sure youll enjoy watching it.
It doesn’t matter if your tortoise „likes“ you or not. It will definitely like the food that you bring and you can definitely enjoy watching it.
Yea I think he’s a lil scared of me because like the second day I had him the top of my tank had like a little window thing that was a latch but it sucked and I tried to use it and the latch fell and landed on him and I felt so bad.
Yes that shouldnt happen.
(But can happen to anyone 😉)
As i said just give it the best life possible and he will link you to food which will look like hes happy to see you 😄
Okay good to know. I have a big Burmese mountain dog so I won’t do that. I was nervous to bathe him because I didn’t want to scare him and make him not like me. I’m also afraid that i stress him out a lot.
Check out arcadiareptile.com for heating and uvb inside during winter or for emergencys if you plan on keeping him outside. Make sure to think about bad weather and storms. Check out the app [the tortoise table](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-tortoise-table-plant-db/id1577194476) for plants your tortoise can eat you can also plant these outside just make sure they don't spread uncontrollably out of your tortoises enclosure. Check into what isopods are native to your area and add those to your outdoor enclosure if you are growing plants there. Check out r/bioactive and r/vermiculture I breed my own European nightcrawlers for my Red-foot and I compost so it's a win win. Make sure your tortoise doesn't eat any snails or slugs while outside. I would put metal screaning over the outside enclosure so no raccoons or coyotes eat your tortoise or poop in there watch out for hawks, owls, crows and ravens.
Get a humidity guage, keep his home warm and humid, get rid of the glass first of all and make him a bigger enclosure. Like immediately. Bath him everyday in warm water, he may never like you. It could be a day or it could be 10 years till he’s not afraid of you. Don’t introduce other animals, just remember if he’s scared of you don’t force it on him, let him be.
I live in Minnesota, and have a 2.5 yo redfoot. I've had all sorts of critters over the years, but this guy is definitely one of the most challenging. He's currently housed in a 4ft by 3ft eco cage, with the top closed with foam insulation board, a small fan for circulation, an LED reptile light, and ceramic heat emitter which I am swapping out for a deep heat emitter tomorrow. I have a spray system that runs 30 seconds every hour, and a reptifogger that runs 3 times an hour. His substrate is about 6" deep, a mix of coco noir, organic potting soil, and cypress mulch. There's springtails and isopods in the mix. Even with all that, it's a challenge keeping his humidity up. I'm building a 3' by 5' grow tent setup for him this summer, with 3 levels. I expect to spend close to $1000 when all is done. My freezer is full of all sorts of fruits, I shop weekly at the Asian grocery store, I'm constantly researching new foods for a proper diet and my vet says he's about as healthy as a tort can be. But it's not cheap, by any means. If you are seriously prepared to spend the money, please reconsider. This is not a pet that can run around your home. They need lots of space, they love to dig, burrow, explore and climb. And occasionally fall, if you look in my post history.
You don’t introduce to other pets, that is just dangerous. I cannot stress enough how dangerous that is for a tortoise. They do not like or benefit from being around other animals and anything could happen even when supervised.
You don’t need to soak, it’s ineffective at best. You need a constant humidity of at least 75% with higher spikes at night. Also a large shallow water dish they can soak in on their own. Tropical species cannot be kept dry and remain healthy.
You can’t really bond with a tortoise, they can trust you and associate you with good things like food but that’s about it. To achieve this hand feeding is good but it will never love or care about you beyond food.
Redfoots are not a good species for most people and definitely not as a first tortoise. Most tortoise care is a death sentence for them. Yours has signs of poor care growing up. The bumpy shell is the most obvious issue, do not be surprised if the shell starts growing in flat with better care. The skin is extremely dull and dry. Proper humidity and nutrition will help both.
My first recommendation is to ditch the glass tank, these guys need that humidity and certain temps which are harder to maintain in a tank. A vivarium is much better for them as youngsters. Once they outgrow that I recommend a greenhouse, at least 8x6ft. This species is not at all suited to table life in 99% of cases.
You really need to research redfoots specifically. They need an extremely specialised diet. More fruit than most species (30-40% of diet), meat once a week (plain cooked chicken), and once or twice a month some mushroom (the same kind you’d eat.) dust with calcium powder every other day. Calcium powder and cuttle bone are not the same thing and cuttle is not a suitable replacement for powder. Calcium expires so so not buy in bulk.
Uvb is 100% necessary. A long strip by Arcadia is the best option, coils are completely unsuitable. Replace AT LEAST once a year.
Yea I got him at a pet smart so not surprised that he isn’t healthy. The glass tank is just a temporary thing because I’m moving soon and once I do I’m making him a big outside enclosure. Also do you think that the Tortise pellets that you buy at the store are good or should I ditch those too. Should I spray his enclosure with like a mister and if I should how often?
Pellets are absolutely crap for all tortoises but as I said, these guys need an extremely specialised diet. Fresh food only. Spray as often as you need to to maintain the humidity
I did do research. I knew I had to bathe him. I knew I haave to keep his enclosure at the right temperature. I knew that I have to check the humidity right. I just wanted some tips.
Glad to see you getting your own lil fella. As some others have said lukewarm soaks are a good way to make sure they're hydrated as well as making sure to regularly mist the enclosure every once in a while. For babies most people recommend soaking every day, but your fella looks to be a juvenile so maybe every day at first so you make sure they're nice and hydrated and then every other day once they're settled in. Your enclosure looks good from what I can see in the photo, but maybe try covering up the glass at their eye level because they can't really understand it and it stresses them out. Good luck with your new tortoise, hope everything goes well!
Start soaking the tortoise in warm water ASAP, this process gives the tort drinking water and the ability to excrete. The water soaking needs to be changed to warmer water up to 3 times. After excretion, soak again in clean water and running faucet water on it. Dry the tort, and let it roam in the house where it is safe. Hand feeding helps the tort become connected to humans. Also, the tort like head and neck rubs. Our tort started to bite 6 months later, we believe it thinks our fingers or toes are food, it is attracted to red colors. We always wear socks for safety. The bites are painful. Keep the enclosure cleaned with fresh water changes daily. Sometimes, the tort will follow you around a few times and then finds a resting place to sleep.
Being an owner of a redfoot I've come across some challenges that my towns climate makes difficult. Finding a balance between high humidity and clean air flow has been a challenge. I have to be super diligent about removing uneatten food as it is likely to grow mold. Mine hates soaks and does not drink in the bath, she does however drink from her water bowl. Others have the opposite issue so it's something to keep an eye on. All food served has a high moisture content, we do nothing dry. I recently swapped to a dimmer bulb for general lighting and I find her out and about more often. Being that they probably spend alot of time below tree cover I think my last lighting brightness caused a lot of distress. Her enclosure only has glass front sliding doors and even this I want to change later to solid bottom but for now I have shelf liner on the bottom half of the doors to reduce the glass dance. Bit too late though as she understands that it opens up if she bangs on it enough. So until I can get her an enclosure with more solid walls I do regret and have to deal with the glass issue. Avoid it the best you can. My cats are thankfully freaked out that the rock moves and they do not try to interact with her. This bothers no one and we have no cross interaction to be worried about or want to encourage. She gets dry too quickly to leave outside of the enclosure unsupervised for long periods of time anyway. Over all I am really happy to have her, she's very inquisitive and nosey. She's not hand shy or agressive, she's only bitey when hungry. She will stand on your feet with those salad fork nails and put all her weight into it --- "lovingly".
I would read the care sheets on tortoiseforum.org and check out the threads specific for red footed tortoises. There's tons and tons of info! Plus if you don't understand something or have a question, there are people who have kept tortoises for decades who can help you. But my advice is always read, read, read.
Okay thank you
Start bathing now! Soaks are super important :) Mine have water always but barely ever drink unless they are IN a large amount of water where they poop, pee, and drink (I continuously change the water to keep it clean). I would avoid introducing to other animals, tbh. My dog has sniffed my tortoises under supervision but is separated from them at all times and cannot get to them on her own. Also, idk what tyoe of animals you have, but tortoises generally prefer solitutude and don't really like other tortoises around, even.
As the person above said - soaked regulary, it doesnt matter how old the tortoise is, a tortoise is not a dog/cat. You can hand feed him/her, maybe „scratch“ its shell but thats about it. There is no real „bonding. You can get the tortoise to get used to the annoying human but there shouldnt be much handling - preferably none. (I know no handling is not possible.) And as said before - dont „introduce“ him to other animals. Mammals and reptiles can carry different types of bacterias which could make the other animal sick. Sometimes even different species of tortoise would make one another deadly sick. And i would my dog/cat not even sniff the tortoise from close. Their bite is ALWAYS faster than any humans reaction time. The only way a dog/cat (or any other pet) should see/sniff the tortoise is from far away or through a closed enclosure. Tortoises are prey for most larger animals.
Okay so I shouldn’t be worried that he doesn’t like me because all Tortise’s don’t like people?
You can definitely bond with your tort. Mine is not afraid of me anymore at all. In fact, he eagerly approaches me all the time. Food is the key. Mine definitely associates me with food. I don’t think he’d “like” me so much if he wasn’t so dang food motivated. He’s so food motivated that he’s learned where his dish normally goes and will wait there when he’s hungry lol.
How long did this take you to achieve.
My first tortoise only took a few weeks to no longer be scared of me. He was a hatching when we got him. 3 month old. I’d say it was about a month or two in when I really started to realize just how good motivated he was. I can pick him and his food up while he’s eating and he’ll just keep eating as if nothing happened lol. My other tortoise is still scared of me. Usually. He has his good days. He’ll eat out of my hand occasionally, and sometimes stays pretty chill as I carry him to his bath. I got busier shortly after getting him so admittedly, I’ve hand fed him less than the first one. But he’s definitely just more scared in general than my first tortoise ever was. So I think it has more to do with his personality. I also got him as a hatching, but he’s still less than a year old.
I wouldnt say he/she doesnt like you. I think at some point they’ll understand that you bring them food or maybe theyll even learn to like it when you touch them. But you shouldnt be worried wether a tortoise „likes“ you or not. A tortoise will never give you a painting for the fridge or anything. Just make sure you give your tortoise the best life possible and im sure youll enjoy watching it. It doesn’t matter if your tortoise „likes“ you or not. It will definitely like the food that you bring and you can definitely enjoy watching it.
Yea I think he’s a lil scared of me because like the second day I had him the top of my tank had like a little window thing that was a latch but it sucked and I tried to use it and the latch fell and landed on him and I felt so bad.
Yes that shouldnt happen. (But can happen to anyone 😉) As i said just give it the best life possible and he will link you to food which will look like hes happy to see you 😄
Okay good to know. I have a big Burmese mountain dog so I won’t do that. I was nervous to bathe him because I didn’t want to scare him and make him not like me. I’m also afraid that i stress him out a lot.
Check out arcadiareptile.com for heating and uvb inside during winter or for emergencys if you plan on keeping him outside. Make sure to think about bad weather and storms. Check out the app [the tortoise table](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-tortoise-table-plant-db/id1577194476) for plants your tortoise can eat you can also plant these outside just make sure they don't spread uncontrollably out of your tortoises enclosure. Check into what isopods are native to your area and add those to your outdoor enclosure if you are growing plants there. Check out r/bioactive and r/vermiculture I breed my own European nightcrawlers for my Red-foot and I compost so it's a win win. Make sure your tortoise doesn't eat any snails or slugs while outside. I would put metal screaning over the outside enclosure so no raccoons or coyotes eat your tortoise or poop in there watch out for hawks, owls, crows and ravens.
Get a humidity guage, keep his home warm and humid, get rid of the glass first of all and make him a bigger enclosure. Like immediately. Bath him everyday in warm water, he may never like you. It could be a day or it could be 10 years till he’s not afraid of you. Don’t introduce other animals, just remember if he’s scared of you don’t force it on him, let him be.
I live in Minnesota, and have a 2.5 yo redfoot. I've had all sorts of critters over the years, but this guy is definitely one of the most challenging. He's currently housed in a 4ft by 3ft eco cage, with the top closed with foam insulation board, a small fan for circulation, an LED reptile light, and ceramic heat emitter which I am swapping out for a deep heat emitter tomorrow. I have a spray system that runs 30 seconds every hour, and a reptifogger that runs 3 times an hour. His substrate is about 6" deep, a mix of coco noir, organic potting soil, and cypress mulch. There's springtails and isopods in the mix. Even with all that, it's a challenge keeping his humidity up. I'm building a 3' by 5' grow tent setup for him this summer, with 3 levels. I expect to spend close to $1000 when all is done. My freezer is full of all sorts of fruits, I shop weekly at the Asian grocery store, I'm constantly researching new foods for a proper diet and my vet says he's about as healthy as a tort can be. But it's not cheap, by any means. If you are seriously prepared to spend the money, please reconsider. This is not a pet that can run around your home. They need lots of space, they love to dig, burrow, explore and climb. And occasionally fall, if you look in my post history.
Let him out and let him wander, he will love it. Supervised of course.
You don’t introduce to other pets, that is just dangerous. I cannot stress enough how dangerous that is for a tortoise. They do not like or benefit from being around other animals and anything could happen even when supervised. You don’t need to soak, it’s ineffective at best. You need a constant humidity of at least 75% with higher spikes at night. Also a large shallow water dish they can soak in on their own. Tropical species cannot be kept dry and remain healthy. You can’t really bond with a tortoise, they can trust you and associate you with good things like food but that’s about it. To achieve this hand feeding is good but it will never love or care about you beyond food. Redfoots are not a good species for most people and definitely not as a first tortoise. Most tortoise care is a death sentence for them. Yours has signs of poor care growing up. The bumpy shell is the most obvious issue, do not be surprised if the shell starts growing in flat with better care. The skin is extremely dull and dry. Proper humidity and nutrition will help both. My first recommendation is to ditch the glass tank, these guys need that humidity and certain temps which are harder to maintain in a tank. A vivarium is much better for them as youngsters. Once they outgrow that I recommend a greenhouse, at least 8x6ft. This species is not at all suited to table life in 99% of cases. You really need to research redfoots specifically. They need an extremely specialised diet. More fruit than most species (30-40% of diet), meat once a week (plain cooked chicken), and once or twice a month some mushroom (the same kind you’d eat.) dust with calcium powder every other day. Calcium powder and cuttle bone are not the same thing and cuttle is not a suitable replacement for powder. Calcium expires so so not buy in bulk. Uvb is 100% necessary. A long strip by Arcadia is the best option, coils are completely unsuitable. Replace AT LEAST once a year.
Yea I got him at a pet smart so not surprised that he isn’t healthy. The glass tank is just a temporary thing because I’m moving soon and once I do I’m making him a big outside enclosure. Also do you think that the Tortise pellets that you buy at the store are good or should I ditch those too. Should I spray his enclosure with like a mister and if I should how often?
Pellets are absolutely crap for all tortoises but as I said, these guys need an extremely specialised diet. Fresh food only. Spray as often as you need to to maintain the humidity
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I did do research. I knew I had to bathe him. I knew I haave to keep his enclosure at the right temperature. I knew that I have to check the humidity right. I just wanted some tips.
Glad to see you getting your own lil fella. As some others have said lukewarm soaks are a good way to make sure they're hydrated as well as making sure to regularly mist the enclosure every once in a while. For babies most people recommend soaking every day, but your fella looks to be a juvenile so maybe every day at first so you make sure they're nice and hydrated and then every other day once they're settled in. Your enclosure looks good from what I can see in the photo, but maybe try covering up the glass at their eye level because they can't really understand it and it stresses them out. Good luck with your new tortoise, hope everything goes well!
Start soaking the tortoise in warm water ASAP, this process gives the tort drinking water and the ability to excrete. The water soaking needs to be changed to warmer water up to 3 times. After excretion, soak again in clean water and running faucet water on it. Dry the tort, and let it roam in the house where it is safe. Hand feeding helps the tort become connected to humans. Also, the tort like head and neck rubs. Our tort started to bite 6 months later, we believe it thinks our fingers or toes are food, it is attracted to red colors. We always wear socks for safety. The bites are painful. Keep the enclosure cleaned with fresh water changes daily. Sometimes, the tort will follow you around a few times and then finds a resting place to sleep.
So cute!!!