New Red Foot owner

[Plato_The_Tortoise]

Hey guys! I am a first time tortoise owner and am wondering if anyone has any tips for me? I am actually having a bit of a problem as well if anyone could help me with it. My tortoise table has had very low humidity (A problem which I am fixing tommorow), and he has had a diet that has not varied at all, he basically lives off strawberries and maybe a bite of cucumber, ( Another problem in fixing tommorow). And my tortoise has not been moving really at all since I got him a few days ago. Today he didn't move from the same spot until very late that night. He seems much better when I take him outside though. Which leads me to two questions, 1: Is my tortoise not moving and sleeping all day a result of the diet and humidity? I know that when they are getting used to new environments they are less active but I think this may be something else. And 2: Since he loves being outside so much, should he live outside permanently? I live in southwest Connecticut, where the summers are hot and the winters are COLD. So maybe he could live inside for half to three quarters of the year and indoors for the winter? Or maybe he could have a heated space outdoors for the winter? I would love any input on these questions. Thanks for any input I know I'm making many mistakes but I know it's all part of the learning process. I would really love some help because I just want this little guy to be happy! I feel bad for him he looks miserable. He doesn't know that I only want the best for him thanks for any help

 

[Reptilian Feline]

I don't know enough about red foots, but most people seem to recoomend that any tort be kept outside when possible. You don't say how large (or old) the tort is, maybe a bit more info about how the tort was raised and so on could be helpful?

 

[Anyfoot]

Hey guys! I am a first time tortoise owner and am wondering if anyone has any tips for me? I am actually having a bit of a problem as well if anyone could help me with it. My tortoise table has had very low humidity (A problem which I am fixing tommorow), and he has had a diet that has not varied at all, he basically lives off strawberries and maybe a bite of cucumber, ( Another problem in fixing tommorow). And my tortoise has not been moving really at all since I got him a few days ago. Today he didn't move from the same spot until very late that night. He seems much better when I take him outside though. Which leads me to two questions, 1: Is my tortoise not moving and sleeping all day a result of the diet and humidity? I know that when they are getting used to new environments they are less active but I think this may be something else. And 2: Since he loves being outside so much, should he live outside permanently? I live in southwest Connecticut, where the summers are hot and the winters are COLD. So maybe he could live inside for half to three quarters of the year and indoors for the winter? Or maybe he could have a heated space outdoors for the winter? I would love any input on these questions. Thanks for any input I know I'm making many mistakes but I know it's all part of the learning process. I would really love some help because I just want this little guy to be happy! I feel bad for him he looks miserable. He doesn't know that I only want the best for him thanks for any help

Regardless of where you live we all need to balance some important perameters.
1. Mixed balanced diet, the bigger the variation in diet the more chance you have of meeting all the requirements to grow a healthy tort, I offer cuttlebone 24/7 in the enclosure and also throw in any eggshells we have.

2. Ambient temp between 78 & 88f. I aim for 80 to 86f throughout the enclosure.

3. Hydration. Humidity at 70%+. I aim for 80/90%. Offer watering baths for self soaking 24/7 and bathe babies daily for 15mins.

4. Lighting. Redfoots aren't keen on bright lights so offer a lit side as well as a dark side to your enclosure, outside shaded areas like under bushes/trees offer dark areas so they can go and hide whilst feeling safe at their choice.
I don't offer a basking light because I feel it promotes pyramiding, a uvb strip light over the feeding area offers the D3 needed for healthy bone growth without the intense heat that dries out your tort.

If you get all these things in balance then offer better foods he will eat. If the only area that's warm enough is under a heat lamp he will just hide away in a colder part of your enclosure. You can offer the best diet in the word, if your tort is cold it won't eat. Ambient temp throughout the enclosure is needed. You are going to need to make your tort table into a closed system to maintain ambient temp and high humidity levels. You just can't achieve this in an open table.
If your climate is hot enough to allow you to have your tort outside for long periods then good, offer plenty of shade and make sure humidity is up, I believe some that live in hot dry climates use sprinklers on timers to overcome the problem of being dry.