Why Won't Skurt Eat?

[daniellenc]

I know he's only been here three days but he's literally taken 10 bites of food. He doesn't poop except his first day here, and chills in his hide all the time. Our routine is every morning at 6 I mist his cage, wake him up, and put him in front of his food bowl which I change out twice a day. I check his temps which are always in the low eighties on one side and mid eighties on the other. I go to work and he's in a quiet place all day alone. I come home and all the food is there, he's back in his hide, I soak him for 30-45 minutes in his tank in a plastic bin, water is 80-90 degrees, mist his hides, him, the sides of the cage, and refeed. Dude turns around and marches to his hide.

I feed him a wide variety of food, have even tried fruit, only handle him to soak him, and keep it quiet. Humidity is always 85 and above, substrate is cypress mulch and spahgnum and I'm posting his enclosure below. So what am I doing wrong here??

 

[Kasia]

What tortoise species exactly do you have?

 

[daniellenc]

@Kasia it's a 2-3 month red foot.

 

[teresaf]

Temp for bath should be 95-100. I suspect you'll need a larger container because I'm going to suggest a hotter bulb to get basking area up to 95. In current contact the cool end will increase also but it should be 80-85. Temperature is usually the culprit when babies act sick. The other thing is it's a new enclosure and will take some getting used to. Make sure you keep temps up above 80 in EVERY SINGLE CORNER AT ALL TIMES. It looks like I'm yelling but in all seriousness if temps go low with humidity high he'll get a respiratory infection. Watch under shell for shell rot. Redfoots are susseptible. I'll attach a picture of what I use for temp/humidity. They are accurate and you don't need to open container(thus changing the temp) to check readings because probes are in Container but mechanism with readings are on outside. I used two of them. One on each end.

 

[daniellenc]

@teresaf is it the first two you use? Just because I freaked out I tried not dicing his food finely and he ate an entire piece of red leaf lettuce from his spring mix about 2 inches long and an inch wide. I tried the zoo med grassland tortoise stuff soaked in water but he was like nope I'll pass. I have 100watt MVB but you can't hook those to a thermostat and it was too hot. Don't tell him though I replaced it before he came so he has no clue I made that mistake.

His enclosure is almost 4ft long and 2ft wide. He'll be getting an 8x3 foot enclosure once he's a bit bigger and a large outdoor enclosure this spring. Temps are always in the low to mid eighties which is recommended here I thought? I'm going to order some Mazuri and see if he likes that better but I tried wild weeds, flowers, cactus, mushroom, zucchini, yellow squash, strawberry, collards, shard, and always mixed with spring mix. Even hosta flowers were a nope. I also need to find a slate square to feed off of any suggestions on who sells those? Also, I've seen him nibble his moss and I'm worried about impaction. Does it pass freely or is it an issue?

 

[daniellenc]

@teresaf do you have a picture of where and how your probes are placed?

 

[teresaf]

I like your enclosure. I didn't realize it's size. Picture was deceiving. If you put the lamp at one end you can keep that end higher temperature and the other end will be at 80 degrees. I think red foots are the same as most other tortoises in the fact that they need a basking spot of 95. Not positive now though. My set up was a bit different because mine are a variety that DON'T need a basking spot. I have forest tortoises(Burmese black mountain tortoises). And the pictures you can see the probe wires hanging down in the back corners... I just needed to keep humidity real high and temp between 75-85...I put a CHE in middle of 7 foot tank and thermometers at ench end to keep track of the lowest temperature spots...You may want to change substrate to coco choir and use moss in hides...I don't know if it can cause impaction. The temperature/hygrometer in middle of pic is what I use. Mazuri original not LS. I'll put pic here also. 90% of torts LOVE it. Yours will only need one nugget with his food. Soften in warm water for about 1 minute. Try for softened not mushy. Both still edible but mushy gets all over their face and dries hard. Daily bath washes it off but.... I've heard of a lot of tortoises not like in the Zoo Med grassland stuff. But you can wean them onto it or mix it with the food. I always fine chopped my food for the babies because they would eat one leaf of one item and then they would be full and I didn't think that was good for them. That would be like us eating corn for dinner or bread... Even though steak and salad was available...don't forget your calcium supplements. You can sprinkle the powder on the food twice a week. You can offer a cuttlebone to but if they don't eat it then they're not getting calcium so... Cactus pads have calcium...

 

[daniellenc]

He has cuttlebone but I don't think he's touched it yet. May move moss to hides only to prevent eating it. I ordered original mazuri and organic soil but will add that middle therm/hydrometer. I plan to soil the bottom and keep the mulch on top. I was using a fingernails worth of calcium mixed into finely chopped greens once this week but he won't eat it that fine. Ignored cactus, mushrooms, and fruit so far both chopped fine and whole. I have 2lbs of prickly pear I may try to dry super low in the oven so it doesn't spoil and I don't kill the nutrients. Thinking about trying some protein once a week hoping the smell of say cooked shrimp will be enticing??

Everyone here says red foots hate temps above 88 and don't bask. Under the CHE it's always at 86 and on a Ranco thermostat with the probe on the top of the soil. Middle is mid eighties and cool end between 80.5-81.5 every time I check twice a day which is morning and night. Guess I will be patient and try different sizes of food, keep soaking daily, and hope he settles in. He acts like a madman while being soaked trying to get out and does roam his cage right after. Since I'm gone all day I have no clue what he does but definitely not much has been eaten yet.

 

[teresaf]

You can try to plant the cactus pads. They grow very easily. Just stick the pad 1/3 into pot dirt. It'll start growing little sprouts(baby pads) on it. Try feeding him those. They are softer...

I would still up the bath water temp some. That water would feel cold... They may not like baths but it's for their own good. Moving around a bunch is good for his digestion....

 

[daniellenc]

Well I woke him up, he munched on the other tiny piece of red leaf lettuce ignoring all the healthy stuff, took a few sips out of his water bowl, marched around, and went back to bed lol. I am going to try to medium chop his dinner and see if he eats more. Coincidentally while pulling a piece of moss off of his head I think he still has his egg tooth. We haven't handled him except for soaks once a day, and being brought to his food bowl twice a day but on close inspection I am almost positive that's what it is.

 

[Kasia]

That's super news, give him time with the right care he will blossom!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Do not attempt to get your enclosure up to 95 or even 90.
Heat this high can be very stressful for a Redfoot.
Redfoot do not need a basking area. Just overall warmth no cooler than 80 and no hotter than 87-88.
High humidity and no very bright lights.
If it is too hot, too cold or too bright, it will be stressed and hide all day long.
This species overheats easily and will get ill if it's needs are not met.
Redfoot need very special care.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Mine live outdoors and are able to self regulate a little bit. They are out at the crack of dawn looking for food. A little later, in full sun they are lurking under the plants or in the water pools and when it heats up, they go into their houses. No one comes out untill early evening...Unless it rains and cools off.
IMO all of the other info you've gotten is sound.
There are other longterm Redfoot keepers that can share their findings.
@Anyfoot
@allegraf
@Pearly

 

[teresaf]

Do not attempt to get your enclosure up to 95 or even 90.
Heat this high can be very stressful for a Redfoot.
Redfoot do not need a basking area. Just overall warmth no cooler than 80 and no hotter than 87-88.
High humidity and no very bright lights.
If it is too hot, too cold or too bright, it will be stressed and hide all day long.
This species overheats easily and will get ill if it's needs are not met.
Redfoot need very special care.

Ahhh, thanks. I KNEW their were a few exceptions to the high heat rule but couldn't remember if redfoots were one of them. Very helpful, thanks...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Redfoot are "special".

 

[teresaf]

Mine live outdoors and are able to self regulate a little bit. They are out at the crack of dawn looking for food. A little later, in full sun they are lurking under the plants or in the water pools and when it heats up, they go into their houses. No one comes out untill early evening...Unless it rains and cools off.
IMO all of the other info you've gotten is sound.
There are other longterm Redfoot keepers that can share their findings.
@Anyfoot
@allegraf
@Pearly

I still think we need a list of names and who owns what so that we know who to refer people to. This poor person's not had anybody but me to help her out but I've been doing my best...

 

[Anyfoot]

I know he's only been here three days but he's literally taken 10 bites of food. He doesn't poop except his first day here, and chills in his hide all the time. Our routine is every morning at 6 I mist his cage, wake him up, and put him in front of his food bowl which I change out twice a day. I check his temps which are always in the low eighties on one side and mid eighties on the other. I go to work and he's in a quiet place all day alone. I come home and all the food is there, he's back in his hide, I soak him for 30-45 minutes in his tank in a plastic bin, water is 80-90 degrees, mist his hides, him, the sides of the cage, and refeed. Dude turns around and marches to his hide.

I feed him a wide variety of food, have even tried fruit, only handle him to soak him, and keep it quiet. Humidity is always 85 and above, substrate is cypress mulch and spahgnum and I'm posting his enclosure below. So what am I doing wrong here??View attachment 211488

It's too bright, change the MVB for a CHE on a thermostat for your heat. Get a small UVB tube(like the width of your enclosure) and put that to one end over the food. Also I would black out the back,sides of the enclosure, if it's too bright your baby will hide.

 

[allegraf]

I know nothing about indoor set ups and if anything needs to be adjusted. But a 2-3 month old baby needs to be left alone. It can take up to two weeks for them to get settled. Also, reds do fine as solo acts, but babies tend to do best with at least 2 if possible. Something about the competition or comfort of watching another eat seems to bring the babies out of their shells. I tried sphagnum moss when I first started attempting to keep hatchlings inside, it killed quite a few. In my experience, the moss did not retain heat, rather it retained too much moisture. It was all my fault but a hard learning lesson. I know sphagnum works for many many people but personally I would only use cypress mulch.

 

[daniellenc]

It's too bright, change the MVB for a CHE on a thermostat for your heat. Get a small UVB tube(like the width of your enclosure) and put that to one end over the food. Also I would black out the back,sides of the enclosure, if it's too bright your baby will hide.

He has never been under the MVB I ditched that before he came for a CHE and 10.0 UVB bulb cause you said so hehe

 

[daniellenc]

Small update @ZEROPILOT @Anyfoot @teresaf @allegraf yesterday he ate more red leaf lettuce in his spring mix mash up. He's ignored collards, mushroom, cactus, anything else in the spring mix, chard, strawberries, rose of sharon, broad leaf plantain, dandelion greens, but decimated a hosta flower. This morning I tore his food into 1/4 inch pieces and intentionally put the red lettuce under everything else.......guess what he did? Yep bull dozed everything but his red lettuce out of the bowl and ate the two pieces I put in there.

His temps on the end with the CHE are almost always 86-87 and on the other end 80-82. He's soaked daily, left alone, offered a variety of foods twice a day, humidity is always over 80% usually closer to 90%, he's adorable, but not eating well despite all this.