Why is my baby Red Foot Tortoise sleeping all day and not eating?

Jake R

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Nov 13, 2016
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Hello. I just got a baby red foot tortoise and I am very worried about him. He sleeps ALL day and doesn't eat unless I put the food in front of him. He also berries himself. He won't drink either!! Please help. What should I be feeding him? I have mainly been giving him chard that grows in my garden, small worms, and pellets I got for him at petco. His tank is always at 80 degrees and humid. Is wheat bad for them? It says it's in the pellets. What should I feed him and why is he sleeping all the time. Thanks!
 

sibi

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Hi Jake! Is this a rescue? If not, hoe old is your baby? Have you given him warm soaks? All baby torts benefit from warm soaks. It's how they absorb water and release waste. Babies need daily soaks. So, try doing that and let us know if he's improving. Have you read any care sheets here for RF's?
 

Jake R

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Hi Jake! Is this a rescue? If not, hoe old is your baby? Have you given him warm soaks? All baby torts benefit from warm soaks. It's how they absorb water and release waste. Babies need daily soaks. So, try doing that and let us know if he's improving. Have you read any care sheets here for RF's?
Hello and thanks for responding!!! He is a rescue and I have had him for about a week now. I have not soaked him. How war should the water be, how deep, how long? I have read sheets but they all tell me different things. What do you recommend for e weekly diet? Also is wheat ok for them? Thanks!!
 

sibi

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The water should be around 90-95 degrees and should cover the bottom half of his shell. Your baby could be dehydrated! Give soaks 2-3 times daily for a couple of weeks u til he starts to become more active. Then thereafter, one daily soak may be sufficient. As far as food is concerned, I don't own a red foot, but I would search the introduction page of this forum and look for your species. There you'll find threads on the proper foods for these guys. If he's sleeping a lot, that could be because he's either too cold or too hot, sleeping with a light on all night, or dehydrated. Give warm soaks twice daily for 30 minutes. Try offering some blueberries, greens, mazuri, alfalfa sprouts, or other foods suggested for RF torts. Buy some powder calcium and sprinkle a little bit on his food twice weekly. Keep us posted.
 

KevinGG

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Hello and thanks for responding!!! He is a rescue and I have had him for about a week now. I have not soaked him. How war should the water be, how deep, how long? I have read sheets but they all tell me different things. What do you recommend for e weekly diet? Also is wheat ok for them? Thanks!!

Here is a link to great redfoot care: http://turtletary.com/northern.html He is a member here and has raised many redfoots. Please read the entire article.

And a link to a great enclosure:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-redfoot-family.88562/
 

ZEROPILOT

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As for the sleeping. It is 100% common for a baby Redfoot (And quite possibly others) to sleep all day and even remain in hiding when it's not sleeping.
Redfoot can eat a very wide variety of foods. Greens, protein, fruits, flowers.....It's one of the things I find so great about keeping them.
I agree about the warm water soaking. You'll find that Redfoot that live outdoors look for standing water and mud puddles to climb into.
Make sure of two things; 1) your lighting isn't too bright. Redfoot shy away from bright lights.
2) the temps aren't too hot or too cold. Redfoot retreat for the shade when it get much hotter than say 88 degrees and although they can tolerate an overnight temp of 70, they require 80 to digest their food. Much more than 88 and it's been my observation that they will hide away and wait for the temperatures to drop again before becoming active. Under 80 for long periods and they will stop eating because they can not digest.
This is assuming that your humidity is also correct and above 75%.
If any of these parameters are off, your little guy could be stressed over them.
 
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Jake R

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Nov 13, 2016
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As for the sleeping. It is 100% common for a baby Redfoot (And quite possibly others) to sleep all day and even remain in hiding when it's not sleeping.
Redfoot can eat a very wide variety of foods. Greens, protein, fruits, flowers.....It's one of the things I find so great about keeping them.
I agree about the warm water soaking. You'll find that Redfoot that live outdoors look for standing water and mud puddles to climb into.
Make sure of two things; 1) your lighting isn't too bright. Redfoot shy away from bright lights.
2) the temps aren't too hot or too cold. Redfoot retreat for the shade when it get much hotter than say 88 degrees and although they can tolerate an overnight temp of 70, they require 80 to digest their food. Much more than 88 and it's been my observation that they will hide away and wait for the temperatures to drop again before becoming active. Under 80 for long periods and they will stop eating because they can not digest.
This is assuming that your humidity is also correct and above 75%.
If any of these parameters are off, your little guy could be stressed over them.
Thanks!! Also, how can I get the humidity up and how I'm important is it? Also, the meelworms I'm feeding my ban red foot are starting to turn in to Beatles!! Is this bad for my baby red foot?? Thanks!!
 

KevinGG

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Thanks!! Also, how can I get the humidity up and how I'm important is it? Also, the meelworms I'm feeding my ban red foot are starting to turn in to Beatles!! Is this bad for my baby red foot?? Thanks!!

You can cover the top of your enclosure with plastic to keep in humidity. Or you can build a closed chamber. You'll find some cool ideas if you search "closed chamber" in the enclosure section. Humidity is very important for young tortoises. Especially redfoots. I'd also spray the top of his shell (carapace) daily. Mealworms should only be fed rarely as snacks in my opinion. Use the links I provided above to see the ideal diet. You can put earthworms in the enclosure for the babies to dig up.
 

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