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Hi people i have a quick question on yellow foot tortois it is 5 inches fresh import that was wormed allready i just got it yesterday when it came in it was warm and it looked good it still looks good my question is it dois a lot of head bobbing like up and down motion it dois it just sitting there as well as when its moving is this normal for a small tort? or could it be just stress from being shipped? It tryed eating a piece of the small ficus tree thats in its incloser wich to me is a good signe that it wants to eat i will be trying it on fruits and greens in the am but other than doing the head bobbing thing its perfect thanks in advance for any help you give.
Clay

carbonaria.
It would be a good idea to reworm and treat with panacur under a vet's supervision. It is very important on new imports.

A couple of thoughts.

1) Get it to a knowledgable herp vet ASAP. Fresh imports come loaded with bugs.

2) Make sure you have a set-up that mimics a Yellowfoot's natural environment. That means, daytime temps from 82-88, humidity from 70-90% on the warm side of the enclosure, 75 or so on the cool side, nightime temps no lower than 70 with the same humidity as during the day. Lots of plants and a big water bowl to soak in, and limit direct sunlight or bulb light to one side of the enclosure. Ceramic heat bulbs work very well for generating heat without light and they were made for high humidity species.

3) For food, 75% dark greens and a few vegetables (Turnip, Collard, and Mustard greens, Dandelions, and Endive for the greens. Opuntia cactus pads, Butternut squash, okra, celery, and Green bean pods for the vegetables) 20% fruit (Cactus fruit, Papaya, Figs, Raspberries, Blackberries, Grapes, Pears) and 5% protein (I use Mazuri Tort diet). Also, the Forest Tortoise mix from Herpnutrition.com is excellent for mixing with the above items at feeding time.

Follow all three above and your Yellowfoot should live a long, high quality life.

Good luck

Thanks for the advice to both who responded Here is how i set it up first thing thow is its a five inch red foot it has been wormmed but i will do it again in a week. here is how its set up
75 gal fish tank with screen lid 100 watt zoo med bulb at on end i have atleat a 5 inch layer of cypres mulch in the tank one end there is a big flower pot burried in the mulch with small ficus plants around the entrance to the flower pot and then i have a few ponthos "vine plants" all around the flower pot and going down to the other end of the cage it looks like a jungle in there and the other end almost under the heat lamp i have a cat pan cut hole in the side so she can soke it reache a good 98 under the heat lamp and the cool end is 81-82 with 88% humidity at all times i mist it heavy in the am then befor its lights go out i do it again it loves its greens and bannanas and strawberries let me know what you think or if i should change any thing like lowering the hot spot thanks again and any help is great.......

o

Everthing you're doing sounds good, just two things I'd suggest you change, one right away, the other when you can afford it.

1) Stop feeding banana except on very rare occasions, like when giving medicine or extra calcium. Redfoot's and Yellowfoot's can get hooked on it and it has a bad Calcium to Phosphorus ratio. Switch to Papaya, fresh figs, or Raspberry/Blackberries. I know they are all more expense, but they have excellent CA/PH ratios (5:1 for Papaya, 3:1 for figs, and 2:1 for the berries) and your tort will be much better off on those fruits as a replacement for bananas. Also, don't forget to feed it chopped opuntia cactus pads on a regular basis. They love it, it's great for them, and it has the best ca/ph ratio of all tort foods.

2) Move your tort to non-glass enclosure. For now put something over the glass on the outside 4-5 inches up the sides. Tortoises go where they can see and they will try very hard to go through glass which stresses them greatly. This is particularly true with Mediterranean species and is a factor with tropicals as well. You will end up moving your Yellowfoot in the future anyway into at least a 4' x 6' enclosure if not bigger once it reaches 5-6" in length.

Good luck.

Well I took her to the vet she has namonia from shipping she sayed she should be fin i have her on shots every three days for five shots total well six includding the shot she got yesterday she sayed that she has some small stones in her small intestin wich is working its way out fine she sayed the best thing about this hole thing is she still eats we will find out in the AM when i feed her and she also wormmed her for me my vet sayed its one of the best looking yellow foots she seen in a while I hope she pulls threw this fine and aclimates fine and i will be keeping intouch on the forume to let every one know how she is doing.

Here's hoping your YT comes through this ordeal.

Good luck