Creatures of habit

[rz1891]

I have heard that tortoises are creatures of habit, so I have been keeping an eye on Odd since i got him so I could work out his routine and be aware of any changes.

Today he has been a bit odd (no pun intended!). The last few days he has only eaten a little of the food I put out and then gone to eat the spider plant in the enclosure and not eaten any more of what I put out. Today when I got home from work he was not in his hide as usual but was tucked into his shell under the spider plant. He hadn't even burrowed (he would sometimes burrow and hide under his food bowl when he lived in the smaller box). Do you think I should be concerned in this change in behaviour? Maybe I should take the plant away if he is not going to eat anything but that...

 

[kathyth]

I wonder if Odd is too cool and laying low.
Please remind us what type of tortoise Odd is and the temps of his enclosure.

 

[rz1891]

I wonder if Odd is too cool and laying low.
Please remind us what type of tortoise Odd is and the temps of his enclosure.

Sorry, yes he is a young Redfoot. I live in the British Virgin Islands and he lives outside, so it is whatever temperature it is on the day. It was a bit rainy today, but he is sheltered. The air temp was about 28c/82f. If he was too cool, wouldn't he have been more likely to go into his hide once the sun went down?

 

[rz1891]

I came home to find him out in the open under the plant again. This time I haven't put him into his hide. The area he is hiding is the area that gets the most sun so maybe it is the warmest spot. It was rainy again this evening so maybe he is too cool. I'll move a rock over there to retain some heat and see if he lays on it to warm himself. Nearly the weekend so I can do some intense tortoise watching then and see what he's up to.

 

[kathyth]

I keep the ambient temp at 80 for my redfoots.
They have a basking area that is 95 and the cooler side is about 78.
They like it warm and humid.

 

[rz1891]

They do, but they live wild here so I figured he should be ok without too much assistance. Usually it is about 82-90f and the humidity today was 79% just seems strange that he is sleeping outside when he has always slept in a hide or burrowed under something.