Redfoot Colouring

[collett18]

Hi, I just wondered if the colouring of a redfoot is affected at all by the food that they eat. I know flamingos do and wondered if it was the same for tortoises and I have two and the colouring seems to have faded slightly since having them. they are perfectly healthy and inquisitive as ever so I am just interested to know. Thanks

[egyptiandan64]

Yes it is possible for a redfoot to lose some color. Almost always on the head. The legs almost always stay the same color. If you feed more berries the color should come back.

Dan

Hi collete

you have asked some great questions

i will ask our man darren for the answers


darren / piglet come on please give some advise here

i genuinley thought reds shells may become less red after several years of wear & tare

but i never thought my babies legs might change colour ?


and i never thought reds colour could be influenced by what they ate?


looking forwards to your answewrs

[piglet]

Not sure on this question
But what i will say is my redfoots never loose colour and stay red ,there are several sub varieties of redfoot from different localities throughout South America some of which aren't red at all but orange or even yellow the red colour varies greatly but as said mine are red on legs and head juvenile to adult .

Darren

[imported_Lowe]

I can't say I've noticed a any of our Reds lose their colour, apart from when they're filthy!

[collett18]

Thanks for the responses. One of mine has quite a prominent red colouring whilst the other is less so and the seem to change slightly from time to time. I may try an experiment using berries and more exotic fruit to see if that makes a difference

[piglet]

Don't go overboard with the fruits even though redfoots can tolerate sugar in there diet too much will be harmful and can cause parasite explosions .

I have kept redfoots for 10 yrs now and haven't noticed any change in growing animals red colouring fading which i would expect to happen if it were to occur over a slow period of several years rather than straight away but this isn't to say that the colour doesn't fade or become prominent with age or growth,
Diet might help enhance the red colour but the foods fed would have to be carotene high, carotene is a natural colourant found in foods and plant material that helps enhance the red colour in animals ,flamingos being one you all might know of.

Darren