Redfoot hibernate?

[NoNo]

Hello all,

First sorry for my english.

I'll try to expose Dino's problem in the best way.

Dino is 5 years old https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-footed_tortoise .

He arrived some months ago.His owner told us that he was not able to look properly at him so Dino went home.
With the owner infos Dino is suppose to be a male.

During summer Dino was alert in his inside and outside home.
And when winter start to arrive in Québec Dino seems to live slowly.
I think he can feel that there is less daylight & temperature are colder

Now there is 3 week he is sleeping in his den (an old tree root).
He's moving his leggs so I know he is alive.
There is heating and UV lamp (+ 1 pad heater).all this set is on opposite place where he's sleeping.
His den his dry and colder.
I'm just a little bit stress because redfoot are suppose to not hibernate?
And in case he is doing this what are the good rule if he wake up (food? drink? etc...)

thank a lot and I wish all of you an 2017 happy new year

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome.

I speak French, having worked in France, but my written French isn't good enough to answer questions. I recommend Google translate
https://translate.google.com/

Is Dino living indoors? A photograph of his enclosure and lighting will help us.

Redfoot tortoises cannot hibernate. I think Dino is too cold to be active and this will make him sick. Dino needs temperatures to be steady around 80F/27C.

What temperature is it in his enclosure?

 

[NoNo]

thanks a lot
temperature inside enclosure is 22 c and moisture 45%.
Do I need to put another lamp?
He has a 150 W lamp (you can buy for reptile and UV lamp the same)
He is living inside home in a terrarium

 

[JoesMum]

A photograph of the enclosure would really help. Does it have a lid or solid cover? Your enclosure is far too cold and the humidity too low. You will not get things right until you cover the enclosure over.

I'm not an expert on Redfoots, but I do know that they don't really bask. They are a forest species that need warmth and humidity of around 80%.

You should have a Ceramic Heat Emitter used with a thermostat. It only gives out heat (no light) and looks like this


For UVB light use a tube bulb like this


You don't need a basking bulb.

 

[JoesMum]

This is a really good guide to caring for Redfoots. If you use the Chrome browser on your computer, it should offer to translate it into French for you
http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

 

[Yvonne G]

I agree with Joesmum that your tortoise is too cold. RF tortoises should have enclosures that are at least 80F degrees all over the whole enclosure.

 

[NoNo]

The terrarium has two parts.One with lamps (150 heating lamps + UV 100W + 1 pad heater).
Half of the terrarium is cover (not where the lamps are).
The opposite part of the terrarium there is a root tree with no heating lamps, no pad and dry area. (temperature in this part is 22C and moisture 45%.
I'm pretty sure that temp in hot area is 28C .I can move the thermometer to see if I'm right.

If Dino need heat he can move where the heat is, the fact is he is sleeping under his root tree and there is no heat here.I got help from store selling stuff for reptile and they told me that it was the right way for him.I wanted to buy an heating pad to put under the root tree and they say
No!... Keep a hot and moisture area and a dry and cold area.

 

[JoesMum]

The grassland tortoises (Sulcatas, Testudo, etc) need the temperature range that you describe.

Your redfoot needs a steady 80F/27C with no hotspot. You are trying to replicate a warm, humid forest floor - the direct sunlight is broken up by the trees and the temperature doesn't drop at night.

Your UVB is the compact CFL type which can harm tortoise eyes. A tube bulb like I showed is better.

Replace the basking bulb with a CHE like I showed before and use it with a thermostat to ensure that the temperature stays constant.

The substrate needs to be damp, but not wet. RFs are prone to shel rot so tipping water in the corners will help to raise the humidity.

You should try to cover as much of the enclosure as possible.

It's past midnight here so Happy New Year and I'll be back in my morning

 

[NoNo]

thanks a lot happy new year and all the best for the world for 2017

 

[MPRC]

I got help from store selling stuff for reptile and they told me that it was the right way for him.

Unfortunately pet stores don't always specialize in all of the animals that they sell. I have 6 redfoots and they are staying active despite the winter weather. I keep them at about 83 with 80% humidity. Think of the rain forest, hot and humid. Dino doesn't 'know' to go to the warm side because he comes from a place where he is always surrounded by warmth.

He may also be spending time in the root because he feels secure there. Your enclosure is a bit small, but if you provide something larger you can offer multiple safe hiding places. My tortoises enjoy having moss to hide in, long hides, plants, etc.

Good luck, hopefully we can get him back on track.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

He may be trying to avoid the CFL bulb by staying away from the area.
You want overall heat between 80 and 88 and overall humidity of over 75%.
It would be better to temporarily have a smaller enclosure with the correct temperatures and humidity than a larger one that can not be regulated yet.
Most of us use something absorbent like bark with a layer of plain soil on top of it.
Water poured in the corners will let the bark absorb the liquid and give off humidity and leave the top layer mostly dry.
Your tortoise will quickly get ill if you simply bump up the humidity and leave it cold.
Also, forget everything that the pet store told you....

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Temperatures are your big problem here. Get things up to at least 26-27C. This isn't a hibernating species, so you need to maintain warmth all year long. It's hard in our winters, but you can do it with additional heaters.

 

[Big Ol Tortoise]

http://turtletary.com/northern.html lll leave this here

 

[NoNo]

Thank You All.

See U in 1 year

 

[NoNo]

Good morning All,

So I followed your advice.
Temp now in Dino enclosure is 26C but moisture just went up to 55%.I know it is not what you all wrote but I don' arrive for now to have the 80%.
Dino's soil is a mix we did with his first owner ( kind of coco bark + sand+ I mix some garden dirt with it+ some grass on top .
Dino is out now seems to be in a good shape. I'm so happy.
Do I need to feed him or just let him drinking water? He was sleeping close to 3 weeks before going out.
This afternoon I'll look on internet for buying the stuff JoesMum told me to change.

 

[JoesMum]

Good morning All,

So I followed your advice.
Temp now in Dino enclosure is 26C but moisture just went up to 55%.I know it is not what you all wrote but I don' arrive for now to have the 80%.
Dino's soil is a mix we did with his first owner ( kind of coco bark + sand+ I mix some garden dirt with it+ some grass on top .
Dino is out now seems to be in a good shape. I'm so happy.
Do I need to feed him or just let him drinking water? He was sleeping close to 3 weeks before going out.
This afternoon I'll look on internet for buying the stuff JoesMum told me to change.

I'm glad temperatures are improving. Offer food. Your tortoise should be eating year round

 

[MPRC]

It's okay to feed him, just make sure he stays nice and warm. You should also give him a warm bath a couple of times a week to help with his hydration. You can put him in a tub and fill it to just above where the top and bottom shell meet with warm water. Since he hasn't been eating it might be a good idea to mix some carrot baby food into the water so that if he drinks it he gets some extra nutrients.

Now that he's up and moving around we'd love to see photos of him!

 

[NoNo]

Again thanks a lot,

So I close the top of the enclosure, put below the table, where the terrarium is, a little heater and add another heating lamp.Temperature now is 29C.
The problem is (cf pics) that Dino since this morning want to go outside.He bumps on the glass, he's doing this when he wants to go outside.

So we took him outside in the house.
After we will give him a bath, we are doing this 2/7 day.

I will have to visit the forum because I think that about tortoise the forum is a true mine of informations.I'm so happy to have find this forum and met people like you.My help will be of little use but if I can... I'll help.
First I think I need to learn.

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[NoNo]

hello All,
Dino's enclosure life has been greatly improved.
Thanks to you all!
I will post pics and details soon

Edit : he tort seems to be in a good shape (ouf!!)

 

[MPRC]

I'm glad he is feeling better!