Red foot tortoise Care Sheet

Scientific Name

Geochelone carbonaria

Size

20 - 24 inches

Lifespan

50+ years

Natural Distribution

South America

Ensure your Red Foot Tortoises home reaches the right temperatures with a Wooden Vivarium.

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We suggest feeding fresh veg but you can also offer them a nutritionally balanced dry food.

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Your tortiose needs good quality UVB lighting as it is essential for them to grow with stong bones and a healthy shell.

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Sprinkle Nutrobal on your tortoise's food to ensure they're getting the right balance of vitamins and minerals.

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We advise using wooden vivariums rather than glass as they retain heat more efficiently keeping your red foot nice and warm. We would recommend a vivarium of 120 x 60 x 60cm (48"x24"x24"). This will ensure your red foot has enough room to explore and move around.

As red foot tortoises originate from the edge of the rainforest they require a semi arid land set up. We would recommend orchid bark orchid bark substrate rather than beech wood chips as this helps maintain some humidity and doesn't go mouldy. Wood, rock and artificial plants should be used to create a basking area as well as areas to climb around on.

Night time heating is provided by a ceramic bulb one end of the vivarium controlled by a thermostat, about 27 C (80oF) is fine. The ceramic bulb should be installed using a ceramic bulb holder and covered with a ceramic heater guard. During the day a spot bulbs are used to raise the temperature to about 29 - 32 C (85 - 90oF). These should be at the same end of the vivarium as the ceramic heater to create a hot end and a cooler end. The spot bulbs will also provide a day and night cycle. Temperatures should always be checked by a reliable thermometer.

Day light is provided by the spot bulbs used to raise the day temperate. All tortoises require additional UVB lighting. Red foots require UVB light in order to synthesise vitamin D. Without vitamin D (in particular D3) Red foot tortoises are not able to metabolise calcium properly causing problems with bone growth. This can lead to serious disease problems such as metabolic bone disease, which kills many red foots. The UVB light should be turned on and off with the spot bulbs and placed no further than 30cm (12 inches) from the animals. The UVB tube should be replaced every 6-9 months, as the UVB output is not effective after that time. Ensure you get the right size starter unit for your UV.

Red foot tortoises are omnivorous. These tortoises will occasionally feed on animal protein such as mice,rats and chicks. Good vegetables include dandelion, clover, honeysuckle, leafy salads, watercress, curly kale, brussel tops, spring greens, coriander, parsley, rocket, carrot, parsnip, courgette, peppers and small amounts of non citric fruit. Ones to avoid include cabbage, spinach, onion, tomato, buttercup, citric fruits and iceberg lettuce. Also dust the vegetables with Nutrobal before putting them in a food dish.

Tortoises do not make a good 'hands on pet' as they are very delicate animals. However they do liked to be stroked but you must do it with care.

These tortoises are ok together as long as they are similar in size and you can only have one male per enclosure. Make sure if you do have a pair that you have a big enough area to house them in.

These tortoises make fantastic pets. They can make a lot of mess dependant on the size of the animal so make sure you spot clean the vivarium daily.

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