Redfoot hides all day

Parais11

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070BF61F-47CD-4792-828B-2DE33632389C.jpeg 1F59F3D7-2A72-444D-A876-DD53145EBDB4.jpeg 05F37438-9F1C-4C9C-BF34-F3730BD3ACC3.jpeg I have a 3.5 year old redfoot about 6 inches. Looks and feels completely healthy with zero pyramiding. The only problem I am having is he is hiding all day. If I don’t phyically move him, he will stay in the same spot day in and day out. I have to put him near the food, and he will only eat the Mazuri pellets. He will literally pick through the greens and just eat Mazuri. Temps are in the 80’s with a high spot of 95. 80’s day and night. Humidity fluctuates but averages 75% and I also try to sock every other day. Any advice would be appreciated. Why does he always hide. Shouldn’t they be more active? Also, anyone can tell if this is male or female?
 
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rmn813

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Looks like a female. This also appears to be a wild-caught RF. How long has she been in your care? Imported RF's can take a while to acclimate. It can take the better part of a year. It will take lots of patience. As long as she's eating something, she should be ok. Try Mango and Papaya. If she's favoring Mazuri, mix a little mazuri up with mango or papaya into a tortoise smoothie. When she starts getting used to that, you can start adding greens to the smoothie. Keep up the soaking and be patient.
 

Parais11

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I have had her for almost 2 years. This behavior started when I put her in a new enclosure about 3 months ago. Why do you say she is wild caught. She was tiny when I got her (I guess it is a possibility). Thanks for the suggestions. I will try the fruit.
 

ascott

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I have had her for almost 2 years. This behavior started when I put her in a new enclosure about 3 months ago. Why do you say she is wild caught. She was tiny when I got her (I guess it is a possibility). Thanks for the suggestions. I will try the fruit.

So if the tort began this behavior after moving to a new space....I would evaluate the new space.....Perhaps the heat source is too constant and hot? Perhaps the soil is different? Perhaps the hide spots are different? Seriously sit and evaluate what you have done that may be different....did you transfer some of the old soil and items into the new space or did you spring all new world on the tort?
 

Parais11

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Everything is the same, just bigger. I used the same substrate, set it up the same exact way, same hides, same temperatures.
Question- should I be letting the temps go down at night? I have it set to stay at around the same temps day and night....
 

Parais11

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Also, curious to know why it is wild caught. Is it something you see from the pictures?

Thanks again for all the help!!!
 

Parais11

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I am extremely curious as to why it looks wild caught. Are there signs you look for. I’m a little confused as to how you can tell. Just curious but I’d appreciate some information. And thank you again for all the help!
 

Toddrickfl1

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I am extremely curious as to why it looks wild caught. Are there signs you look for. I’m a little confused as to how you can tell. Just curious but I’d appreciate some information. And thank you again for all the help!
I don't think there's any more wild caught Redfoots in the pet trade these days. Russians but not Redfoots.
 

rmn813

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I am extremely curious as to why it looks wild caught. Are there signs you look for. I’m a little confused as to how you can tell. Just curious but I’d appreciate some information. And thank you again for all the help!

There are a few signs that strongly suggest that she's WC. It's not meant to be a criticism, but it should be taken into consideration as a factor in order to get her back on a normal tract. This is quite a nice looking RF as most imports are. First, is the incredible smoothness of her shell. Very few captive born RF's achieve that even shell growth. Second, the head and leg patterns indicate that this is a Guyana locale. Most of the WCs that come into the U.S. (these days) are from Guyana. Third is the unpredictable behavior. There's a night and day difference in the behavior of a captive born RF and a WC one. WCs need far more monitoring and overall babying in order to get them to a real solid acclimation point.
 

Parais11

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There are a few signs that strongly suggest that she's WC. It's not meant to be a criticism, but it should be taken into consideration as a factor in order to get her back on a normal tract. This is quite a nice looking RF as most imports are. First, is the incredible smoothness of her shell. Very few captive born RF's achieve that even shell growth. Second, the head and leg patterns indicate that this is a Guyana locale. Most of the WCs that come into the U.S. (these days) are from Guyana. Third is the unpredictable behavior. There's a night and day difference in the behavior of a captive born RF and a WC one. WCs need far more monitoring and overall babying in order to get them to a real solid acclimation point.
No worries. I didn’t take it as a criticism, I was just curious as to how you could tell. I am still pretty new to this. The only thing that might play a difference is the fact that I have had him since he was less than half the size he is now. But I did get him off of someone who wasn’t exactly taking care of it correctly so I guess anything is possible. I really appreciate your response and information.
 

willee638

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View attachment 265010 View attachment 265011 View attachment 265012 I have a 3.5 year old redfoot about 6 inches. Looks and feels completely healthy with zero pyramiding. The only problem I am having is he is hiding all day. If I don’t phyically move him, he will stay in the same spot day in and day out. I have to put him near the food, and he will only eat the Mazuri pellets. He will literally pick through the greens and just eat Mazuri. Temps are in the 80’s with a high spot of 95. 80’s day and night. Humidity fluctuates but averages 75% and I also try to sock every other day. Any advice would be appreciated. Why does he always hide. Shouldn’t they be more active? Also, anyone can tell if this is male or female?
My 6-7 month old "estimated age" red foot also hides all day long & never seems to voluntarily seek food on it's own, she tries to hide behind or underneath almost anything that's away from light. I first thought it might be the UV bulbs are too bright but now I believe it's a characteristic of the red foot tortoises, in the wild nobody puts food in front of them so they had to move. I guess tortoises knows they're always in the same environment of the enclosure & can't roam too far away to end up in a strange unfamiliar place so they just got lazy, tortoises are very slow animals so they're probably trying to save energy.
 

TammyJ

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Well. That is one amazing looking redfoot tortoise! Congrats. Can we see her enclosure/how you keep her?
 

ZEROPILOT

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There are a few signs that strongly suggest that she's WC. It's not meant to be a criticism, but it should be taken into consideration as a factor in order to get her back on a normal tract. This is quite a nice looking RF as most imports are. First, is the incredible smoothness of her shell. Very few captive born RF's achieve that even shell growth. Second, the head and leg patterns indicate that this is a Guyana locale. Most of the WCs that come into the U.S. (these days) are from Guyana. Third is the unpredictable behavior. There's a night and day difference in the behavior of a captive born RF and a WC one. WCs need far more monitoring and overall babying in order to get them to a real solid acclimation point.
It is a beautiful animal.
And I agree that it's almost suspiciously smooth.
Great job at Redfoot keeping, @Parais11
 

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I also know a few things about Redfoot. I know a few things that make them hide all day long, too.
1) They dislike lighting that is too bright. Is there a change in lighting?
2) They dislike temperatures much over 92ish. Is it cooler where he is hiding?
3) They dislike the cold. Especially with wind. Is there a cold draft?
4) They dislike other tortoises. Especially a new arrival. Does he have a roommate?
5) They dislike change. Change of surroundings and change of what they consider to be their territory.
For any of these reasons, I do see members of my group staying hidden for extended periods of time.
There are other reasons. Like illness. But these would be my best guesses for an otherwise healthy tortoise. And that one looks very healthy!
If any of these might be the case, that's probably what it is.
My first guess it that he is probably just not yet used to his new home.
 
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TammyJ

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I also know a few things about Redfoot. I know a few things that make them hide all day long, too.
1) They dislike lighting that is too bright. Is there a change in lighting?
2) They dislike temperatures much over 92ish. Is it cooler where he is hiding?
3) They dislike the cold. Especially with wind. Is there a cold draft?
4) They dislike other tortoises. Especially a new arrival. Does he have a roommate?
5) They dislike change. Change of surroundings and change of what they consider to be their territory.
For any of these reasons, I do see members of my group staying hidden for extended periods of time.
There are other reasons. Like illness. But these would be my best guesses for an otherwise healthy tortoise. And that one looks very healthy!
If any of these might be the case, that's probably what it is.
My first guess it that he is probably just not yet used to his new home.
Well, that's a lot of "dislikes"! Very useful information. I guess it's a good thing that redfoots are just about the easiest tortoises to please when it comes to food! They eat such a variety.
 

TammyJ

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Well. That is one amazing looking redfoot tortoise! Congrats. Can we see her enclosure/how you keep her?
Tammy, are you going to ask once more to see the enclosure and setup for this wonderful looking Redfoot?
 

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Well, that's a lot of "dislikes"! Very useful information. I guess it's a good thing that redfoots are just about the easiest tortoises to please when it comes to food! They eat such a variety.
Just trying to eliminate the easy stuff....
 

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