The Captive Care of the Cherryhead Redfoot Tortoise

By Spencer Burge

This article will be dedicated to the captive care of the Cherryhead Redfoot tortoise. The 'Cherryhead' Redfoot tortoise comes from South America, they are a subspecies of the Redfoot tortoise. The Cherryhead Redfoot is a smaller and hardier subspecies of the Redfoot and in the wild occupy a wider niche than their larger cousins.

Like most tortoises they are a long lived, with many captive individuals reaching over 70 years of age. They are slow growing and therefore slow to mature sexually. It can be a few years before they are able to reproduce, due to deforestation and habitat loss this has led to a decline their numbers in recent decades.

They are one of the less common species kept in the U.K and for a long time have been subjected to substandard living conditions due to the misconceptions and general ignorance about their care. Often they are kept outdoors all year and many day, they do not hibernate in the wild as they are from a climate which is temperate in the winter and very hot and humid in the summer.

This brings us onto the next major factor to be considered other than temperature... humidity. Humidity is vital to the health of the Redfoot tortoise, they like it humid (around 80%) and putting your hand into a Redfoot enclosure is like walking into a sauna. They do not suffer the respiratory infections common in many of the Mediterranean species like the Hermann's tortoise, in fact they often get eye problems from it being too dry!

Temperature

Being a tropical species they need a temperature of the around low 90's, at night this can drop to the low 70's. Correct temperature can be achieved using a spot bulb or, more efficiently, a ceramic heat lamp. A tortoise table with good ventilation in a cool room would require a 100W ceramic bulb to properly heat the enclosure. I cannot Stress enough the importance of a Thermostat, they are often not included with starter kits often sold as "complete setups" and, though costly, save a huge amount on electricity and also reduce the risk of fatal burns to your animals by controlling the temperature of the enclosure.

Lighting

There is a lot of debate for Redfoot tortoises, I'd put in a 2% UVB strip light or bulb and have that cover the entire enclosure. Strip lights are often better for this as they cover a more of the average enclosure, but they do require a ballast unit to work properly, these are often expensive.

Feeding

People often make the mistake of feeding Redfoot tortoises the same as any other vegetable eating reptile, that often consists of a pelleted diet with a few fresh greens and maybe some grated carrot chucked in. In the wild the diet of the Redfoot tortoise is far different from this, the majority of the food they is in the process of rotting after falling from a tree or bush. And what falls from trees and bushes? Fruit and berries. They love them, a large part of the natural diet is based upon fruit and berries. Though in the wild they would be lucky to come across a berry or piece of half rotted fruit you have to consider that it's not all they get. They also eat shoots and other young plants and so do have a good deal of veg in their diet.

So, what foods to feed them? I'll do a list...

Kale
Collard Greens
Spring Greens
Romaine lettuce
Red leaf lettuce
Grated Parsnip
Grated Carrot
Grated or Finely chopped Butternut Squash
Salad Cress
Strawberrys
Blueberries
Blackberries
Cherry Tomatoes
Dandelions

I'd like to point out that everything should be given in moderation and in a good variety with other things! I'd also suggest investing in a food processor of some variety, its so much easier for them to eat when they are young and means you don't have to wait for the fruit to go 'naturally' soft through rotting :)

Make sure all food is regularly dusted with calcium powder and occasionally with a D3 supplement, these can be purchased from Amazon at good prices and really help with the correct growth of your animals and will definitely cost less than your average vet trip!

They are also unusual for being meat eaters! They tend to eat anything that they can get their mouths around and often have a good go at anything else! They will take mealworms, crickets and pinkie mice when old enough. It is a good source of protein for them, studies have shown that redfoots raised on purely vegetable diets are worse off for it, I myself keep earthworms in the soil with the tortoises, they often eat any they come across as the worms have the dual purpose of keeping the soil clean!

Housing

I'd also say this is very important, they are a tropical species and require relatively high temperatures and certainly high humidity to whats normally found in the U.S and Europe (apart from the warmer bits!). But for everyone else a vivarium or tortoise table is suitable, tortoise tables are often cheaper and offer more space for your money whereas vivariums are very secure and can often good stable environments.

During the summer months they can be kept outdoors aslong as the temperature is high enough, anything under 70 at night is abit low really. Provide a cover for them as birds and cats can be an awful pain, a good rabbit run is sufficient for smaller tortoises, for larger ones i'd recommend building your own to get it perfect for your garden!

If you can provide appropriate outdoor heating they can be kept outdoors almost all year, they do not do well with frost though, and at the first signs you should bring them indoors as it is something they just do NOT encounter in their natural habitat.