Hello my beautiful baby redfoot arrived this morning. I've decided to refer to it as "she" for the time being. She was soaked outside and then given some chopped squash and mixed greens. She is eating like a pig. The problem is when I put her in the new tortoise home she started trying to munch on everything. She has food available but is trying to eat the moist moss in her hide and she even has crawled on top of her log to get to the plastic plants hanging in the back for decoration! I removed the plastic plants but what about the moss? Her substrate is a sand type substance that is made of ground walnuts and her hide spot is very moist Fluker's" natural moss. Should I be worried or change the substrate to something different? Please help....My baby is literally trying to eat everything!!!!
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Baby Redfoot eating everything!!!! HELP
Replies (4)
Get that walnut stuff out ASAP. Not recommended for any reptiles; it can cause impaction and gets moldy easily. Don't ask me why they sell it! I don't keep redfoots, but I believe cypress mulch is often used.
HTH,
Sohni
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Sohni
2.2.2 Testudo horsfieldii
0.0.2 Testudo hermannii hoetgeri
0.0.2 Testudo hermannii hermannii
1.0.0 Testudo marginata
Ditch the walnut. Put your redfoots on a 50-50 mix of cyp[ress and organic topsoil (no pearlite or vermiculite)...
-Ian
I keep hatchlings on paper until they are about 3 inches, then I use cypress mulch. I wouldn't use the walnut shell stuff.
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Tim Madsen
Nobody cares how much you know,
Until they know how much you care.
Okay MY REDFOOT IS AMAZING! I absoloutely adore my new baby! I ditched the walnut sand and replaced it with organic topsoil and a bit of cypress mulch. How much food is to much because she REALLY likes to eat. How do I know when she's full?
This little guy (or gal) who I've fondly been calling Alice, is absoloutely hilarious. She came straight out of her packaging and just started prancing around a very large tupperware soaking dish. I was worried she wouldn't be doing so well because of her trip and age. As soon as she had a little water she was raring to rock and roll. I never expected her to be so friendly and personable. I'd heard redfoots were full of personality but I had no idea they were so attentive and hyper!
I offered her a little romaine just to see if she would eat after her hard trip and she quickly wobbled over and chowed down out of my hand. I took her to her new garden where she chomped on clover and explored her new yard.
When I put her in her new indoor home she went straight to her food dish and chowed down on some Mazuri, squash and tomatoes! She has crawled around eating anything and everything! This afternoon I put a little fruit in her dish for her to snack on later. Alice coldn't wait for later, she came wobbling from the other end of her enclosure and scarfed down her fruit and had another soak.
I removed her tortoise pellets because I was worried she'd eat herself sick. She has now buried herself in moist earth and fallen asleep in her hide.
I've read tortoises are addictive and if things keep going this way I'm going to have a yard dedicated to them! Thank you so much for all of your feedback and help. I thought I'd studied everything possible about my redfoot but when you actually have that little baby in your hands it's easy to feel dumb and ill prepared! Thanks again for humoring a newbie!
