New red foot tortoise

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Creature

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hello all!

well i have been doing tons of research about red foots, lurking on this forum and just reading every caresheet i can about them. iv been slowly buying everything to get a tortoise. bedding, cuttle bone, plants, i even bought some seeds from carolinas pet supply and have been growning for about a week now.

so on saturday i went to a local reptile show and found a red foot! its a male and a bit older fella. he looked rather alert, clear eyes and no pyramiding nice smooth shell..hes perfect! he is about 9-10''.

being a new excited mommy i have some concerns about him. i know i just brought him home and he is going to be rather shy but when will be start to come out and roam around? hes been all curled up and hiding in his log and hasnt come out since saturday.

hes on bed a beast mixed with sand. his hide is a hallow log cut in half then propped up with brinks ( he is bigger then what i thought i was bringing home) i have some silk plants. 2 bowls, one with cuttle bone and one with water. he has 3 lights to keep him warm. the room he is in tends to get colder then the rest of the house. so he has a ceramic bulb on 24hrs, a 90w regular bulb and he does have a UVB 10.0 repti-sun. its currently to cold to keep him outside but in the summer i will bring him out.

the humidity is 77% and temp is around 84F.

he hasnt eatten since i have brought him home and all he does is hide. i have misted him in the morning but he hasnt budged. i am assuming he just needs to get used to his new home but how long does it usually take before he should come out? or more important when do i start to worry?

id like to bring him to the vet soon to get him checked out but i dont want him stressed out even more. plus he hasnt pooped for me since hes been home.

anything else i should do to make him more comfy? i currently only have one silk plant in there but i guess i should get some more. i am also worried hes not getting warm enough staying in his hide all the time. i currently have the ceramic heater over his hide but inside its not cold cold but its not exactly warm..should i get a under tank heater? or no?

thank you everyone!
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Creature:


Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like for us to call you?

Also, when we know approximately where you are, it helps us design our answers to better fit your questions.


Glad to see that you've done your homework before buying the tortoise. Just give him some time to get used to his new surroundings. He'll come around soon.
 

Creature

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aww lots of warm welcomes! thank you :)

my real name is Erin if you wanna call me that thats fine. i am from Maryland, so its pretty humid here most of the time. its just winter so to cold to bring him outside just yet.
 

DixieParadise

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Hmmm, I always soak my new tortoises and get them an appt. with the vet. He is going to be shy until he feels secure and figures out his surrounding. Just give him a few days. You might want to show him his water and his food bowl. (This way you can be sure he is eating and drinking.) He will figure it out on his own, but at least you might rest a bit easier. Temps and humidity seem ok...just make sure he has a cool side to wonder too, if he gets too hot. They are a better judge of this than we are.

I am sure some more experience RF owners will be on-line soon to answer more of your concerns. But anyhow, Welcome and enjoy the forum. You have come to the right place for answers to your questions.
 

Mgridgaway

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Congrats on the new redfoot! I live in maryland as well... What reptile show did you go to?
 

Creature

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when i brought him home i gave him a soak. i wanted him to get used to his new place before stressing him out to go to a vet. plus he hasnt pooped yet so i couldnt do a fecal anyway. today while i was out buying more plants for him i did notice he did indeed eat! i made him a salad of collards and green beans. i also added a raspberry to coax him out to eat. i left two and noticed he ate one! so happy hes at least eatting :)!

oh cool another marylander! i got him at the havre de grace reptile show. i tend to go there every month to get food. i also go to the hamburg show up in PA a few times a year.
 

bigred

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It does take time for a tort to get use to his new home. He will warm up eventually Im sure. They like Mazurri tortoise food for sure but I dont feed mine that to much. You Never know How the tort was KEPT or TREATED before you got it. If it is super smooth it could be a wild caught animal and not use to people yet. Mine love fruit and different kinds of berries, Hibiscus leaves and flowers let us know how things turn out
 

Creature

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bigred said:
It does take time for a tort to get use to his new home. He will warm up eventually Im sure. They like Mazurri tortoise food for sure but I dont feed mine that to much. You Never know How the tort was KEPT or TREATED before you got it. If it is super smooth it could be a wild caught animal and not use to people yet. Mine love fruit and different kinds of berries, Hibiscus leaves and flowers let us know how things turn out

yea i have been noticing everyday he *has* been coming out but he comes out when i am not around! lol ill see little clues in his cage, like little foot prints and the cuttle bone has been moved.

hes kept in another room with the door closed so he cant get used to his new home with out me bugging him or my cat.

i have a huge bag of mazuri already! its tortoise food but my iguanas love it. havent tried giving it to my tort just yet.

he has have a pretty smooth shell little bumps but overall smooth. not sure if he is wild caught. i hope not, he cost me 150 dollars if that helps. he comes out of his shell when i pick him up but any sudden movement and he dives back in his shell. hopefully hes just shy and will come around :) ill keep working with him!
 

Creature

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well made Tetris ( torts name!) a nice salad today. collards and bell peppers. was hoping he'd come out after i put some food in there but he hasnt budged. so leaving him alone to see if he will come out on his own time.

i did try to take a picture! was really tough lol i used my iphone to try and take a pic of him. this is the best i could do! but least you can see little Tetris' face!
 

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Creature

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i havent soaked tetris since saturday, should i soak him? he only goes far enough out of his hide to eat then goes back in. i wanna be sure hes hydrated. ive been misting him in the morning and early afternoon.
 

Momof4

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I would soak him in some nice warm water every other day or so and then just leave him be for a while. Trust me he will come around. Just leave his food like you have and he will come and go as he pleases. It could be a month or so until he comes around. I know how hard it is to leave him be but the more you do the quicker he will trust his surroundings.
 

Yvonne G

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Move the food further away. They need the exercise.
 

bigred

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Creature said:
bigred said:
It does take time for a tort to get use to his new home. He will warm up eventually Im sure. They like Mazurri tortoise food for sure but I dont feed mine that to much. You Never know How the tort was KEPT or TREATED before you got it. If it is super smooth it could be a wild caught animal and not use to people yet. Mine love fruit and different kinds of berries, Hibiscus leaves and flowers let us know how things turn out

yea i have been noticing everyday he *has* been coming out but he comes out when i am not around! lol ill see little clues in his cage, like little foot prints and the cuttle bone has been moved.

hes kept in another room with the door closed so he cant get used to his new home with out me bugging him or my cat.

i have a huge bag of mazuri already! its tortoise food but my iguanas love it. havent tried giving it to my tort just yet.

he has have a pretty smooth shell little bumps but overall smooth. not sure if he is wild caught. i hope not, he cost me 150 dollars if that helps. he comes out of his shell when i pick him up but any sudden movement and he dives back in his shell. hopefully hes just shy and will come around :) ill keep working with him!

I saw the Pic --- Good looking tortoise, Im sure he will come around. When I open my torts door they come running to me. What state are you located in.
 
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