HELP my baby redfoot is not eating

[lambylemons]

Hi I live in Florida and my baby redfooted tortoise Mary Shelly has not been eating we've tried making her warmer she's been drinking and peeing every day and she is very active she usually eats a lot but lately she hasn't been interested we put food on her tray and she doesn't eat it we put food in front of her and she just walks past it we've even tried hand feeding her and she still doesn't eat. We've been trying a wide variety of food and she's not interested in any of it anymore she hasn't even been eating clover apple or hibiscus which are usually her favorite foods she's still very active and explorative but it's now been five days since she's eaten anything and we don't know what to do

 

[SuzanneZ]

Hi I live in Florida and my baby redfooted tortoise Mary Shelly has not been eating we've tried making her warmer she's been drinking and peeing every day and she is very active she usually eats a lot but lately she hasn't been interested we put food on her tray and she doesn't eat it we put food in front of her and she just walks past it we've even tried hand feeding her and she still doesn't eat. We've been trying a wide variety of food and she's not interested in any of it anymore she hasn't even been eating clover apple or hibiscus which are usually her favorite foods she's still very active and explorative but it's now been five days since she's eaten anything and we don't know what to do

They'll get with you shortly I'm sure. I'm too new to help.

 

[wellington]

What exactly are your.
Temps?
Humidity?
Type on enclosure?
Type of lighting exactly?
Type of heat exactly?
Substrate?

 

[TammyJ]

Hi. The main reason for a tortoise that is not sick to stop eating is wrong temperatures, especially too cold. They would be unable to digest the food. Please respond to Wellington and let us have the specific information, then we can help you. @ZEROPILOT .

 

[TammyJ]

They'll get with you shortly I'm sure. I'm too new to help.

Even the best experts won't be able to help with no details or pictures. Information is needed, then any of us might be able to help with some ideas and suggestions.

 

[lambylemons]

What exactly are your.
Temps?
Humidity?
Type on enclosure?
Type of lighting exactly?
Type of heat exactly?
Substrate?

 

[lambylemons]

She has an outdoor enclosure The air humidity here is around 60% When it gets colder then 60°. We take her inside. Also, she does have a food dish but she doesn't use it most of the time. She mostly eats the food that we hide around her enclosure and around the the house and yard when we let her explore. (Pictures below) she's also in the process of losing her egg tooth. I don't know if that's important but I thought I should mention it.

 

[wellington]

She needs to be in a closed chamber with 80% humidity. She should go outside for only short visits while small, like 30 minutes. The lighting needs to be a tube florescent uvb unless you take her out every day.
A incandescent flood bulb for day heat and light and ceramic heat emitter for night heat. 60 I believe is too cold for a hatchling.
Also do not let her roam your floors. Too cold and too dangerous no matter how much you think it's not
I think the bulb you are using is likely wrong. Don't know for sure because you didn't answer that question. All answered needed to correctly help you
I think you have some work to do on getting the enclosure properly heated and the correct humidity and you likely will see a good change in her eating.
Also soak her for 30 minutes daily in warm water
Please read our care sheet.

 

[lambylemons]

She needs to be in a closed chamber with 80% humidity. She should go outside for only short visits while small, like 30 minutes. The lighting needs to be a tube florescent uvb unless you take her out every day.
A incandescent flood bulb for day heat and light and ceramic heat emitter for night heat. 60 I believe is too cold for a hatchling.
Also do not let her roam your floors. Too cold and too dangerous no matter how much you think it's not
I think the bulb you are using is likely wrong. Don't know for sure because you didn't answer that question. All answered needed to correctly help you
I think you have some work to do on getting the enclosure properly heated and the correct humidity and you likely will see a good change in her eating.
Also soak her for 30 minutes daily in warm water
Please read our care sheet.

Oh I forgot to say yes I do soak her for 30 minutes every day and I make sure to dry her legs afterwards

 

[zolasmum]

Oh I forgot to say yes I do soak her for 30 minutes every day and I make sure to dry her legs afterwards

If you are using moss in any way, it is possible that she is eating it - on purpose or by mistake - and she will not be able to digest it - it can cause impaction in her gut, and make her unable to eat her proper food.
p.s. I love her name !
Angie

 

[wellington]

Oh I forgot to say yes I do soak her for 30 minutes every day and I make sure to dry her legs afterwards

No need to dry her legs.
What about the light? Because of the fixture, it looks like it's likely a bad kind that shouldn't be used. But we need to know what it is.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ok
I see a lot of RED flags. I'm not sure where to start. So I'll try in the order of most dangerous:
1) The temperature needs to be at least 80 for digestion to occur. But no warmer than 90. Aim for 82-84
2) No moss. Get rid of it. It gets eaten and can't be digested
3) That light is dangerous. It's a clamp light. The type that ALWAYS falls down. And it's neither a CHE for heat. Nor a correct type of uvb tube. Which is a T5 HO linear strip UVB
The entire enclosure is wrong. It needs to be a closed chamber type.
You'll never get the humidity to hold with an open topped system.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

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[ZEROPILOT]

Until we get more information from you, stop spending money at the pet store. Return everything that you can and don't get any advice from them

 

[TammyJ]

You have got great advice from people who are very experienced and really, really know what they are talking about! Thanks for the pictures and information sent. Stick with us and your tortoise will benefit!

 

[lambylemons]

No need to dry her legs.
What about the light? Because of the fixture, it looks like it's likely a bad kind that shouldn't be used. But we need to know what it is.

It's an old one that belong to our other reptiles before her

 

[lambylemons]

We do take her outside to walk around for 30 minutes every day That's usually when we hide food for her to find She finds it but she's not eating it lately also, she did eat before

 

[lambylemons]

If you are using moss in any way, it is possible that she is eating it - on purpose or by mistake - and she will not be able to digest it - it can cause impaction in her gut, and make her unable to eat her proper food.
p.s. I love her name !
Angie

Okay we took the moss out. Thank you

 

[lambylemons]

Okay we took the moss out. Thank you

 

[lambylemons]

Thank you so much for your help! Some of you seem concerned so I just felt the need to clarify we did not buy her on a whim we did months of research before deciding to get a tortoise but a lot of the information is very conflicting so we don't really know who to listen to, we don't trust pet stores advice either so you don't have to worry about that. We just want our baby to be healthy so your advice is appreciated