Getting a baby YF, need advise

[FLkustom]

Hello,


I am a recently new owner of a 5-6 inch female yellow foot tortoise named Taylor (my dad calls her murtle the turtle lol) and I have decided that I don't want her to be alone for the rest of her life. She is extremely socialable with animals but unfortunately the dogs are scared to death of her so she doesn't have any friends lol.


I want to purchase a baby because  1. I want to raise it myself and  2. she is still settling into her big new home and I don't want to throw too much on her at once. I have another small tank and will get all the things needed for the baby but my question is,


The baby is supposed to be 2-3 inches (Purchasing from tortoisesupply.com)

how long does it generally take them to get to a size that allows them to be "Safe" to be around other tortoises? (given that they are both okay with each other personality wise of course) I realize there is no real specific guess that can be made on that and a lot of factors come into play but I am not educated on age - size ratio of typical yellow foot tortoises and I don't know the age of mine



can males and females get along together? I eventually only want to have one indoor tank and two outdoor homes


thanks guys

[Didi]

I've been told that you should have torts about the same size together.  I'm not familiar with YF growth patterns.  Russians take about 3+ years to reach sexual maturity.  Also, it's been said that it's best to have at least two females for every male so the males don't harass one too much.

[Lunartwist]

Hello!

If you house two tortoises together, just make sure they are roughly the same size, or the bigger one might get pushy and hog most of the resources, like food and hideys.

Yellowfoots take a considerably long time to get to be full grown. It takes them around 6-8 years to reach sexual maturity, but even then they aren't full grown, only roughly around 7-8 inches, and they can get between 10-26 inches full grown depending on your subspecies!

Also make sure once you get your new baby tortoise, you'll want to house them separately for a month or so for a quarantine. Sicknesses can take a long time to show up in tortoises, and so this makes sure one isn't hiding an illness and then passes it on to your other tortoise.

[FLkustom]

thanks for the replies!

I don't plan to put them together until they are much closer in size (in a year or so) my yellow foot is still getting use to her new home and I wouldn't want to throw so much at her at once anyways and maybe they won't ever be together if personalities crash. (plus she is pretty clumsy and walks over everything)




After talking with a reputable breeder I decided to get a red foot baby instead of a yellow,





Tuesday this little bundle of joy will be arriving!

[welovevader]

Oh, yay! I'm so happy you went with one of Vicki's! "R10R" is quite the cutie! I've been poring over all of her's and I'd recognize that pose anywhere (the fingers helped, too ).

[Irwin4530]

I have 3 of her red foot babies.   They are beautiful!
Be aware that that hatchling will take years to be anywhere
need the size of your yf. ....and all the while your yf will be getting bigger too.

[FLkustom]

Oh, yay! I'm so happy you went with one of Vicki's! "R10R" is quite the cutie! I've been poring over all of her's and I'd recognize that pose anywhere (the fingers helped, too ).

haha I wondered if someone would recognize! I went back and forth with a few different places and I was just so pleased with the communication and helpful emails that Vicki took the time to write. Plus the fact that I was able to Pick the exact one I wanted, I went back and forth over a couple but this one just had my eye the whole time.

I have 3 of her red foot babies.   They are beautiful!
Be aware that that hatchling will take years to be anywhere
need the size of your yf. ....and all the while your yf will be getting bigger too.

that makes me more excited to meet the new one tomorrow! yeah I don't know if they will ever really "live" together, maybe just be daytime friends when I can keep an eye on them. I plan to get another redfoot in the future, after I have a table built




Today I got all the stuff for my babies home, only problem was they didn't have sphagnum moss in stock so I guess I will be picking that up tomorrow at a different store. For right now it's just a coco coir & play sand (60/40) but I am not sure if that is okay for a baby so I will be getting the moss or if someone else knows a different type I should get? The hideaway house was too big that I got it so I had to improvise with a plastic coffee can lol I got a UVB, low watt basking light, and a ceramic heat lamp









tell me what you think







This is my yellowfoot Taylor I got a week or so ago,


Even though she has a much larger pool she is convinced she is small enough for her water dish!

[welovevader]

Joe sells Sphagnum Moss. 150g for $4.95, 500g for $14.95, and 5 kilos for $109.95. The coir/playsand is more for when they get older (about 1+ year), but won't hurt for the moment.

My only concern about your setup is the light. If that's a an MVB (mercury vapor bulb) such as the Zoo Med Powersun 100w, then you should not clamp it to the side. It will significantly shorten the bulb's lifespan and it poses a fire hazard if/when the clamp fails (and they do fail). What type of bulb is that?

Other than that, everything looks great. Nice recycling.

[FLkustom]

the light you see in the picture is just a basic uv basking light, it will not be clamped onto the container but to a secure siding as the container walls are not quite sturdy enough for that one, the ceramic and the uvb all clamped onto it. I will be obtaining the powersun light in a few months when it gets a bit cooler, but for now I will be using a low watt basking light that I can dim to lower the temperature a bit

[welovevader]

Is is it a CFL style (the "curly" bulbs)? If so, I would strongly recommend not waiting (if possible) on the Powersun 100w. The CFL style bulbs have been known to cause eye problems. What I meant about the clamping issues with the MVBs, was that they shouldn't be positioned at an angle. They need to be pointed straight down. You'll also need a larger fixture than the one in the pic. The Fluker's Sun Dome works well. To suspend it, I highly recommend the Repti-Lamp Stand from Zoo Med (I have two). You can adjust the lamp's position both vertically (to adjust the temperature) and laterally (to get it just where you want over your setup).

[Irwin4530]

Have to agree with Robbie about the light AND the moss.
Go back to Vicki's site and read about hatchling care.  I keep mine on
moss which they love and keeps them more humid....important for them.
Otherwise the set-up looks good.

Your YF is beautiful!!

[FLkustom]

Is is it a CFL style (the "curly" bulbs)? If so, I would strongly recommend not waiting (if possible) on the Powersun 100w. The CFL style bulbs have been known to cause eye problems. What I meant about the clamping issues with the MVBs, was that they shouldn't be positioned at an angle. They need to be pointed straight down. You'll also need a larger fixture than the one in the pic. The Fluker's Sun Dome works well. To suspend it, I highly recommend the Repti-Lamp Stand from Zoo Med (I have two). You can adjust the lamp's position both vertically (to adjust the temperature) and laterally (to get it just where you want over your setup).

no not a CFL its a long tube fixture, are they bad as well?  can you only use the lamp stand with zoo med fixtures?

Have to agree with Robbie about the light AND the moss.
Go back to Vicki's site and read about hatchling care.  I keep mine on
moss which they love and keeps them more humid....important for them.
Otherwise the set-up looks good.

Your YF is beautiful!!

I'll be picking up some moss tomorrow, would of had it today but our petstore was out of stock.


Thank you for the kind words, She came from a pretty bad environment. I acquired her a little over a week ago, she is my very first tortoise. My father visited someone that had her in an aquarium with damp sand (that had ants in it) a bottle cap filled with water, and pellet food (nothing more, nothing less) and in a side bedroom with no sun light and no heat light or any kind of tank light, just the ceiling fan light that was turned on a few times a day. She had an eye problem (wasn't opening one of her eyes) and looked very washed out, this person didn't want it anymore and my dad wanted to get it out of it's current situation so he brought her home and I fell in love with her lol now she is in a 55 gallon home with fresh greens, a bathing dish and thanks to lots of research her eye problem is cleared up nicely


she absolutely loves being outside and shes settling in quite nicely, only problem is I think she has created in me an obsession! I get my first tortoise and a week later I ordered another!

[welovevader]

no not a CFL its a long tube fixture, are they bad as well?

 
They're not particularly good as they don't put out very much UVB.

can you only use the lamp stand with zoo med fixtures?

You can use any dome on the Repti-Lamp Stand, not just the Zoo Med ones. I have a Fluker's on one (Penny's quarantine container) and the Zoo Med Deep Dome on the other (main table). If you get one, just make sure you don't over-tighten the nobs; the inner metal nob strip the plastic of the cover nob. Should that happen, you'll still be able to adjust them with an Allen wrench (a.k.a hex key).

[FLkustom]

no not a CFL its a long tube fixture, are they bad as well?

 
They're not particularly good as they don't put out very much UVB.

can you only use the lamp stand with zoo med fixtures?

You can use any dome on the Repti-Lamp Stand, not just the Zoo Med ones. I have a Fluker's on one (Penny's quarantine container) and the Zoo Med Deep Dome on the other (main table). If you get one, just make sure you don't over-tighten the nobs; the inner metal nob strip the plastic of the cover nob. Should that happen, you'll still be able to adjust them with an Allen wrench (a.k.a hex key).

okay thank you, I think I will order one after I get paid this week. I've dished out quite a bit in the past day and a half for the tortoise lol


I saw online that I can get sphagnum moss at my local lowes, is it the same stuff as what the reptile stores sell?


here is the link http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202745057/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053


also I wish I would of read around before going to target today! cement mixing tubs are much cheaper!

[welovevader]

I hear ya on the money. I'm dreading the new outdoor enclosure I'm planning to build.

As for the sphagnum moss: Yes, I believe that's pretty much the same stuff.

Good luck! Want pics as soon as possible!