Got my first red footed tortoise

Cthulhu1377

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Joined
May 2, 2020
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1
Location (City and/or State)
Kansas City
hello everyone. I got my first red footed tortoise April 30th and he will drink water but he won't eat food. I've been offering him collard greens and mustard greens,I haven't tried fruit yet. He will move around occasionally but he mostly just burrows in the corner of his habitat and hides under some leaves in the corner. In his basking area it is close to 90 and in the area he burrows at it is about 80 or less sometimes. I spray multiple times of the day to keep the humidity up. His bedding is i don't know the official name but it looks like pellets of actual food. I put him in his water dish every morning I turn his light on so he can drink water which he will very happily he just won't eat food
 

Butterfly

Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2019
Messages
33
Location (City and/or State)
NC
Hi and welcome to the forum! First things first, pellets are a bad bedding choice for any tortoise species. I suggest replacing it with coco coir or cypress mulch which should only run you a few dollars. Next, because your baby is new, sometimes they wont eat for a day or two because they are in a totally different environment than what they are used to. Just make sure you keep your temps 80 or above to promote eating and the like. Aside from the standard tortoise stuff, I dont know much about redfoots specifically except for the fact that they need high humidity, which I believe you've got taken care of. So aside from that I'm sure there will be more people on the forum that will come and give you a little more insight. I'm sure your hatchling will be fine!
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
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South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
That "rabbit pellet" bedding needs to go.
It can't hold moisture....and if you try, itll grow mold.
Get CoCo Coir or Orchid bark and moisten it.
Your temperatures seem good.
But you need a "closed chamber" set up.
Redfoot can and do eat a lot of fruit.
Offer some and it will likely start him eating.
If you post some photos of the enclosure, lighting, etc. It would GREATLY help us get some theories of what other issues you may have.
 

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