abigailfitz

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it’s been three weeks now and my juvenile redfoot will not come out of hiding. She will only eat when i set her in front of her food and she will only soak when i put her in the water.

if you refer to my last post, i am certain and have done extensive research to ensure i’m doing everything right.
Please help!!
 

Tom

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I don't know the history. What type of lighting are you using? UV? What type of bulb? What is the enclosure temperature? Closed enclosure or open top?

A picture of the enclosure might help a lot too. Sometimes we see things in a pic that don't come across with typed words.
 

abigailfitz

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I don't know the history. What type of lighting are you using? UV? What type of bulb? What is the enclosure temperature? Closed enclosure or open top?

A picture of the enclosure might help a lot too. Sometimes we see things in a pic that don't come across with typed words.

Humidity is 70% temp is steady 80-85 degrees basking is 90 degrees
 

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Toddrickfl1

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They definitely don't like it very bright. That could possibly be your issue but I think your tort is still sulking. They really don't like change. When I first brought my juvenile tort home he stayed in his hide for over a month before he started developing a routine and coming out and eating on his own. It's a great sign that your tort is eating though.
 

Toddrickfl1

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@Toddrickfl1 @Tom what would y’all suggest for making the uv bulb less harshly bright?? And thank you for your input
You could try putting a taller plant right underneath it to block some of the light and add a little more shade. Redfoots don't really need super intense uvb.
 

Tom

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@Toddrickfl1 @Tom what would y’all suggest for making the uv bulb less harshly bright?? And thank you for your input
Try turning it off for a few days and see what happens. Tortoises can go weeks with no UV at all, so a few days won't hurt anything. Plus RFs commonly get D3 from their diets too.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I'm unable to view your photos at the moment. But I like the lights too bright theory.
Hiding isn't unusual. But Redfoot are voracious eaters and drinkers.
As long as she/he does eat, maybe patience is the best thing right now.
I would also just turn off the bright light as Tom mentioned and see what changes in the behavior in 48 hours.
 

MichaelL

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I'm not really as experienced with babies but don't baby tortoises naturally hide a ton? In the wild, wouldn't they be seen very rarely? Or are baby redfoots supposed to be way more active.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I'm not really as experienced with babies but don't baby tortoises naturally hide a ton? In the wild, wouldn't they be seen very rarely? Or are baby redfoots supposed to be way more active.
Babies yes.
My adults also hide for hours...Even days when it's too hot or too sunny.
While I will agree that I have a bit of Redfoot knowledge and a lot of experience with them, I have very little experience with housing them inside.
In fact, if I didn't have my outdoors enclosures, I'd get out of the hobby altogether.
I take my hat off to anyone attempting to keep a tortoise indoors
 

Tom

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Babies yes.
My adults also hide for hours...Even days when it's too hot or too sunny.
While I will agree that I have a bit of Redfoot knowledge and a lot of experience with them, I have very little experience with housing them inside.
In fact, if I didn't have my outdoors enclosures, I'd get out of the hobby altogether.
I take my hat off to anyone attempting to keep a tortoise indoors
If you are hanging out outside with your tortoises, I think you better put your hat back on.

I'm just sayin'. Don't want to get a sunburn or anything...
 

Yvonne G

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it’s been three weeks now and my juvenile redfoot will not come out of hiding. She will only eat when i set her in front of her food and she will only soak when i put her in the water.

if you refer to my last post, i am certain and have done extensive research to ensure i’m doing everything right.
Please help!!
We read so many posts day to day that it's very hard to remember one person's posts. It helps us to know what you're talking about if you either add on to your original thread, or give us a link to that thread so we don't have to go searching for "your last post." Like this: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/need-advice-reassurance-redfoot-help.181912/
 

Yvonne G

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What foods are you offering? Try putting something smelly on the food dish to see if a strong smell brings the tortoise out.

To me it looks like your enclosure isn't big enough for that big of a tortoise.

I would get the tortoise out every morning and place it in a bowl of water while you prepare the day's food offering. Then put the food in the enclosure and put the tortoise in front of the food, stepping quickly out of its sight.

Then every time you think about it throughout the day get the tortoise out and put it in front of the food, quickly stepping out of sight. This should help the tortoise start to realize there's nothing in this new place that's going to hurt it.
 

abigailfitz

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What foods are you offering? Try putting something smelly on the food dish to see if a strong smell brings the tortoise out.

To me it looks like your enclosure isn't big enough for that big of a tortoise.

I would get the tortoise out every morning and place it in a bowl of water while you prepare the day's food offering. Then put the food in the enclosure and put the tortoise in front of the food, stepping quickly out of its sight.

Then every time you think about it throughout the day get the tortoise out and put it in front of the food, quickly stepping out of sight. This should help the tortoise start to realize there's nothing in this new place that's going to hurt it.

Ive done all of this already. But thank you
 
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