Redfoot Tortoise pictures

[Anyfoot]

Originally Posted by Robbiec

Stunning enclosure also - may I ask - when you refer to pinkies do you mean tiny mice? Also, how do you keep the humidity at 90%? When I raised the humidity to that level we got some small patches of mold in the viv so lowered to 80% and eradicated the problem.

Yes pinkies are baby mice, used to feed snakes, you buy them frozen. Defrost in boiling water then feed, it's an easy way to measure how much protein to feed to in my opinion. When my torts got to about 5" mark 1 wasn't enough, so I gave them a couple each.
This viv only lasted 2 yrs, it rotted away due to the high humidity. The correct way is to seal all the viv in corners then paint the entire inside with paint, something like yacht or chlorinated rubber paint. Once the paint has set and aired through the toxins in the paint will have gone.
I was looking into making a viv out of acrylic sheets.
My hatchlings viv has a plastic sheet in the bottom that comes up the sides about 3" to protect the bottom.

[Anyfoot]

Originally Posted by Robbiec

Hi Craig,

Your enclosure (indoor and outdoor) is nothing short of extraordinary. I'm so happy you have so many Reds in such a good environment. They're clearly all thriving

I would massively appreciate your advice/thread about building an outdoor enclosure. I don't have the finances to go as far out as your outbuilding since I just bought my first home - but certainly upvc shed seems viable and an affordable option.

As for your potential hatchlings - I could certainly be interested - but it might be troublesome before I can sex my own. But definitely keep me informed of developments please!

For protein I feed the torts Calci worms and boiled eggs mainly. Sometimes mealworms though my partner hates these as they crawl out of the bowl and sometimes turn into beatles! I'm sure they find the occasional garden grub as well since I found my tort with half of a worm or something hanging out of his mouth from the garden today. Hope this is OK?

Instead of boiling your eggs, scramble them, I beat the egg add the shell in all crushed up fine and nuke in microwave for 1min. This ensures they get the yolk and she'll too. The yolk has vitamin D in it and she'll is calcium. I used to boil them, but sometimes they left the yolk part.
I'll start a thread on new enclosure design so we can all discuss the finer points and come up with something we can all use in our climate. I let my adults out when temps are as low as 10°c. As long as they can retreat to warmth they are fine for a while. Not the juveniles though. Body mass plays a part, a large tort will take longer to cool than a small tort.

[Blueginger1984]

Your torts are beauties, I'd love a red foot But then again I'd have a tort of every species if I could!

And your enclosure, Wow! They've got their own pool with a water feature, I've got serious enclosure envy going on.

[Anyfoot]

Thank you.

[Robbiec]

Originally Posted by Anyfoot

Instead of boiling your eggs, scramble them, I beat the egg add the shell in all crushed up fine and nuke in microwave for 1min. This ensures they get the yolk and she'll too. The yolk has vitamin D in it and she'll is calcium. I used to boil them, but sometimes they left the yolk part.
I'll start a thread on new enclosure design so we can all discuss the finer points and come up with something we can all use in our climate. I let my adults out when temps are as low as 10°c. As long as they can retreat to warmth they are fine for a while. Not the juveniles though. Body mass plays a part, a large tort will take longer to cool than a small tort.

Hi Craig,

Thanks for this - really useful information and advice. They seem to eat all of the eggs boiled also (yoke included) so they get that but I'll try the scrambled with the shell too.

As for the mice, can I ask A) where you get them? B) Do you boil them in a pan? (would need a special pan as don't think the other half would approve lol and C) Do they have fur on them still or are they just skin? Sorry for all the questions but this is such useful stuff!

[Anyfoot]

Originally Posted by Robbiec

Hi Craig,

Thanks for this - really useful information and advice. They seem to eat all of the eggs boiled also (yoke included) so they get that but I'll try the scrambled with the shell too.

As for the mice, can I ask A) where you get them? B) Do you boil them in a pan? (would need a special pan as don't think the other half would approve lol and C) Do they have fur on them still or are they just skin? Sorry for all the questions but this is such useful stuff!

Ask as many questions as you like. I've still got much to learn too, the only way to learn is ask.
Pinkies are bold and you buy them frozen from pet shops. No need to cook them, they just need defrosting, quickest way is to drop them in boiling water for a couple of minutes.
My weekly diet is weeds/greens every day, with that, 3 times a week fruit, 3 times a week with mushrooms and once with pinkies. If they ever only eat the fruit or mushrooms and leave the weeds/greens the following day or 2 they only get weeds/greens, this ensures they don't get addicted to fruit and mushrooms. To be honest mine never do. As long as you don't give them too much fruit they have to turn to the weeds/greens to fill up.
Do you understand the relation between oxalates,calcium and vitamin D3.

[Anyfoot]

Forgot to add, next size up from pinkies are fuzzies, these have fur. I used to feed them to my adults but it got expensive, now I feed 5 chicks to 10 adults once a week. Chicks are only 25p.

[Robbiec]

Originally Posted by Anyfoot

Ask as many questions as you like. I've still got much to learn too, the only way to learn is ask.
Pinkies are bold and you buy them frozen from pet shops. No need to cook them, they just need defrosting, quickest way is to drop them in boiling water for a couple of minutes.
My weekly diet is weeds/greens every day, with that, 3 times a week fruit, 3 times a week with mushrooms and once with pinkies. If they ever only eat the fruit or mushrooms and leave the weeds/greens the following day or 2 they only get weeds/greens, this ensures they don't get addicted to fruit and mushrooms. To be honest mine never do. As long as you don't give them too much fruit they have to turn to the weeds/greens to fill up.
Do you understand the relation between oxalates,calcium and vitamin D3.

Hi Craig,

Thanks for all of this information. I've read up on the risk of becoming addicted to fruits and I must be doing well here because they almost always prefer to eat their greens when they get fruit with the greens, which like you, I give them everyday.

RE the relationship between calcium and vit3 - I believe I have some idea of what the Torts need these for. Calcium is required for their immune system and ensure strong growth and Vit D3 allows them to digest/absorb the calcium effeciently? Although I have no idea how to directly supplement the D3 other than sunlight and the UVB? I believe that's correct? Not sure about oxalates though?

I will certainly get some pinkies and try that method out though as well as scrambling the eggs. Are Reds alright to eat tomatoes?

[Anyfoot]

I feed tomatoes very rarely, the key is a varied diet, to much of any one thing is bad, if its varied, your good.

Calcium is required for good bone growth(amongst other things). If your tort does not get the correct amount of calcium it will end up with MBD(metabolic bone disease). Your tort can not overdose on calcium, what is not absorbed will just pass through the tort. In order for your tort to absorb calcium it requires Vitamin D(D2 or D3). Without Vit D the calcium will pass though and your tort will get MBD. Plenty of foods have calcium in them, dandelions have calcium in them for example.
Vit D comes from UVB rays(sun or a UVB bulb) and some foods like oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks and mushrooms. You can not beat the natural sunlight for Vit D. This is why I feed pinkies,chicks,worms, slugs,snails,mushrooms and egg at some time or another. Here in the UK our tropical redfoots can't be outside all year round, so they rely on a UVB bulb and diet for Vit D. I always have cuttlebone on offer too for calcium.
Oxalates are in food to, The body needs a certain amount, however if it receives to much oxalates it binds the calcium and forms kidney stones that pass through your tort. So if you feed high oxalate foods often, your tort can not absorb the calcium(back to MBD). Spinach is one of the highest foods that contain oxalates. This does not mean you cant feed spinach, but must be part of a varied diet. TBH I very rarely feed spinach.
If you see a tort with kidney stone in the poop, chances are its either dehydrated or the diet is rich in oxalate foods.
There is also phosphorous, the body needs phosphorous, but this will beat calcium in a race to be absorbed, so to much stops calcium, Meat is high in phosphorous. So if you fed your tort pinkies all day every day the calcium would not be absorbed due to the high levels of phosphorous.

So too much phosphorous(animal meat), too much oxalates(spinach) or no
Vit D will all fight against your tort being able to absorb calcium.

As long as you feed a varied diet and UVB rays are available you won't have to worry about any of this, but its good to know.

Don't confuse MBD with pyramiding. Pyramiding is caused by growth whilst too dry. I bathe my hatchlings every day for 15mins, they are at 90% humidity and I spray there carapace once or twice a day. The soaks will fade away as they get bigger and bone structure has set hard.

BTW, if you put mushrooms in direct sunlight for 30mins it increases the level of Vit D, the skin of mushrooms absorbs Vit D just like human skin, not very often I do it but again its all knowledge that is good to know.

What are you using for your indoor UVB?

[Anyfoot]

This is princess, she was severely under weight when I got her,a very good weight now, and is the mother to the hatchling I posted earlier in the thread.
You can see how pyramided this tort is due to being kept to dry, she very strong and shows no signs of MBD. She's top dog in my adult group.