Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my wife likes tortoises and all of a sudden the pet stores around us just started getting in these babie Red Footed Tortoises. My wife and I looked at them are considering getting on but I was wondering what are things to look for health wise with them. Signs that would point to illness and what not. Also how do you sex a tortoise?

Matt

I'm sure just searching the net on this topic will help you alot. I would look for a tortoise that is not light but has good weight. I like to pick alert tortoises who are eatting and moving around. Of course look for obvious signs of problems, such as; noisy breathing,watery wheeping eyes, bubbling runny nose including, eyes that are sunk back and closed due to dehydration, shell rot on the carapace and or plastron, runny stool. Pay special attention to how firm the plastron is. I have seen baby redfoots get infected with fruit fly larvae while absorbing their yolk and they are tough to recover. The good news is captive born redfoot tortoises remain very healthy if you provide for their housing and nutritional needs.

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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

Matt, I forgot to address your question on sexing the redfoot baby. It is impossible to sex the redfoot baby unless you know exactly what temperature the egg was incubated at. Folks that incubate their eggs in the low 80's have a better chance of males,upper 80's better chance of females and I incubate mine at 84 degrees and get a 50/50 mix.

Once the refoot gets to be 5-6 years old you can judge by tail length (males having long tails females short) Also plastron concavity in males. My Redfoots are northern so the males have a peanut look when observing them from above (Pinching in the middle of the shell on either side) Look up sexing redfoots on the net and observe some pics of the characteristics I mentioned----good luck Rick

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Richard -amazoa-

"Changes in behavior occur when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change."

The best description on what a tort should weigh is that when you pick it up it is heavier than it looks. Like Richard said, make sure the eyes are clear, no bubbles coming out of its nose. One thing is that if it is from a pet store, they may not be keeping the babies humid enough so they may not be as healthy as they should be since they are not kept within healthy parameters. Hope that helps.

Allegra