I have a captive-bred three-inch(ish) young Redfoot with a 2x3 aquarium, a 100-watt spotlight, a full spectrum fluorescent light, cypress mulch, a shallow water dish, and a hut for hiding. I have been doing a lot of research and still have some questions. I say "he" here as a generalization because I believe it's difficult to sex them until they are 6 inches long or so, correct?

1. The tortoise is obviously very young, but I wasn't able to get information on how old it was. Is it possible to estimate by carapace length? The reason I ask is because many care sheets differentiate between doing A for hatchlings and B for adult tortoises, but I'm not sure at what age that cutoff occurs.

2. What do you do at night? Is it okay for the tortoise to be in light 24 hours a day or is it important for him to have darkness? I am concerned about the temp as it would probably fall to about 60 degrees at night if I turned both lights off. If I leave one one, which one should it be?

3. How often should he be soaked? This is one place where there were distinctions for hatchlings vs. adults - daily for hatchlings and I've read anywhere from every other day to twice a week for adults. Also, how long should I soak him for and should the water be warm to the touch? Room temp? Other?

4. How often should I feed him? This is the other place with different info for hatchlings vs. adults. Daily with a pinch of calcium/D3 suppliment for hatchlings, every other day with the suppliment 2x a week up to a year, and twice a week with suppliment for adults. Which plan should I follow for him at this time?

Anything else you can think of is also appreciated!

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