RF Lack Of Activity

[kit-e-kat]

Hello All,
My 4 y.o. (?) RF, Shelly has a very low activity level. She is very shy and moves very slowly. My Greeks just cruises along in their pen. The weather in So. Cal has been cold, and I keep a heat lamp on her in the garage. Weather permitting, I'll have her roam the back yard. I'm hoping with better weather coming, she'll perk up. I'm a bit concerned, could this just be her personality? Is this activity level common with RF's? She seems to be in good health otherwise. I've read that RF's are "docile" torts. Any thoughts will be of great help.
John and Joanie

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi John:

I would worry that the tortoise isn't warm enough. Redfoot tortoises should be kept at an over-all temperature of around 80 degrees. The Mediterranean tortoises are quite a bit more cold hardy than the South American tortoises. Maybe its too cold in the garage for your redfoot. Can you cover the redfoot's habitat to keep the heat inside the pen?

 

[Scirish]

Hey! I am fairly new to torts but I would have to agree with Yvonne my Redfoot was quite inactive for a long time. But I have recently got the temperatures up just a few degree and it has made a huge difference in his activity level. He used to stay in his hide all day but now he roams around most of the day and the only thing I changed was a slight increase in the temperature. So like Yvonne said try and cover the habitat. I am just using some tin foil over top for now while I build a new cover and it is working just fine.

 

[Madkins007]

OK, so with the heat lamp, what is the real temp right at the tortoise level, and is the floor cold? I agree with the above- cold sucks for Red-foots.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

IF...you have the habitat on the cold cement the bottom of it could be too cold for the tortoise. Cold travels along cement so if it's on the floor get it up and put it on something...

 

[kit-e-kat]

I soaked her this afternoon in tepid water. What a difference! She woke up, and was cruising around her pen. Thanks to all of your great suggestions, I'll try to heat up her area. As suggested, I'm going to: get a higher wattage infared heat lamp, the current one is 100 W; Her pen is on a piece of carpet on a cement floor, I'll elevate it; and I'll engineer some type of top to retain heat. I guess with this unusually cold weather we're having in So. Cal., she must feel crummy. She stayed in her house, low activity, and hasn't eaten very much. Let's hope that after I implement all of your great suggestions, she will be on the road to being happy. Before this cold spell, I put her outside and she ate and pooped pretty good.
Thanks for all your support and knowledge
John and Joanie

 

[kit-e-kat]

Hey! I am fairly new to torts but I would have to agree with Yvonne my Redfoot was quite inactive for a long time. But I have recently got the temperatures up just a few degree and it has made a huge difference in his activity level. He used to stay in his hide all day but now he roams around most of the day and the only thing I changed was a slight increase in the temperature. So like Yvonne said try and cover the habitat. I am just using some tin foil over top for now while I build a new cover and it is working just fine.

Thanks for the tip. I got a larger wattage infared heat lamp, and I did your cover method, I made a tent out of a tarp. There was a noticable improvement in her activity. Also the very cold weather is easing up, after all I am in Southern California!
John and Joanie