Tortoise not wanting to bask

[turtlehurdle123]

Hi guys, as some of you may already know, I recently got a red footed tortoise... like yesterday. Anyways, she doesn't seem to want to eat out of her bowl and only when I hand feed her. I only hand fed her two leaves since I got her, yesterday and today. This morning I tried putting a full meal with a variety of leaves (romanian, cabbage, and choy sum, 1 leaf of each so 3 leaves in total) and a blueberry and a tiny piece of banana and hasn't touched it.

In addition, she always hides in her little hiding spot (for almost 23 hours and only came out when I hand fed her), dug deep under, and doens't seem to want to bask. I have the basking spot at 85 degrees farenheit and her hiding spot at 75 degrees farenheit. Should I just give her more time to explore or bring her to a vet?

Also, she doesn't seem to want to go inside the water dish. I'm very concerned as I'm new to tortoises and have only owned aquatic turtles beforehand. Should I just leave her alone and let her do her thing for a while before I start to feed her?

Thanks.

 

[turtlehurdle123]

also, she just pokes her head out of her shell and watches outside from her hideout for the whole day

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Might be better to have her eat off a little piece of slate or rough tile.
This helps keep the beak trimmed too.
Didn't you get her on Tuesday or Wednesday?
If so her behaviour is perfectly normal.
She'll need time to realize this is her new home/territory and she's not intruding in another's place and that there are no predators here and she's safe, hence the peeking out from her safe hide.
Leave some food and let her be alone, make sure you give her soaks if she won't do it herself, put her in water in a container she can't get out of, or see out of, with water to a level just above where the plastron meets the carapace.
if she continues to not eat for a while it's usually because your temps are too low, so check you readings and ensure they're right for this species.

 

[turtlehurdle123]

Might be better to have her eat off a little piece of slate or rough tile.
This helps keep the beak trimmed too.
Didn't you get her on Tuesday or Wednesday?
If so her behaviour is perfectly normal.
She'll need time to realize this is her new home/territory and she's not intruding in another's place and that there are no predators here and she's safe, hence the peeking out from her safe hide.
Leave some food and let her be alone, make sure you give her soaks if she won't do it herself, put her in water in a container she can't get out of, or see out of, with water to a level just above where the plastron meets the carapace.
if she continues to not eat for a while it's usually because your temps are too low, so check you readings and ensure they're right for this species.

She likes to hide in the colder side of the tank for most of the day, would that be the cause? The thermometers says 23 degrees celcius or 73 degrees farenheit. I also have a hide near the basking place but she hasn't touched it yet. She's burrowed deep under so I'm assuming she's trying to find some water to absorb (as I have dry cypress mulch on the top and have wet at the bottom)? Thanks so much! Sorry for seeming overly concerned.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hopefullly, a redfoot specialist will be along soon, but I think the temps should be a bit higher.
Don't worry about being concerned.
i'm always overly concerned.
It's in our job description as tortoise owners.
@tortdad may help if he's on tonight.
@ZEROPILOT tomorrow, I expect.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

What kind of bulb are you using? Show us a picture of your set up.

 

[tortdad]

First off tell me the age of your tort.

Then tell me what you are using for heat and if it's on a thermostat.
What kind of basking light?

What kind of UVB light.

Redfoot don't need basking lights but it's good to offer one. Some bask and others don't. I have one who loves to do it and two who won't touch it.

Like said above. You need to soak your tort. Also have a water dish where it can self sail when it wants

Don't get in the habit of hand feeding. It takes about 2 weeks for a tort to settle in so don't panic when it's not eating and hides a lot.

Show us lots of pics

 

[turtlehurdle123]

She's about 1 year old from my own observations, I'm not exactly sure myself, i'll have to check. The light used is attached, along with a separate 60 watt ceramic heat emitter by exotera for the cold nights in Canada. I'll soak her asap in the morning as she's sleeping atm. I'll wait till she wakes up before picking her up. Images attached might give you guys a better idea. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[turtlehurdle123]

She was super lively when I put her in and just walked around the tank and even let me hand feed her a leaf since I saw her trying to bite the dish. Then afterwards, she started digging a hole in the corner of the tank and I think it's just for the water at the bottom of the mulch as she was biting the corner, but it could have also been her reflection. Then she retreated to her new hideout and since then never came out unless I dangle a leaf for her the next day (hence the 2 leaves fed).

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

This is an odd phenomenon that no one had been able to explain, but seems to happen a lot.
Very lively and eats on day 1 and then nothing. It's normal.
A flat slate or ceramic tile is good for feeding on and helps keep the beak trimmed.
Your water dish looks dodgy too. It's a flip hazard and the tortoise will have difficulty getting in and out of it.
A shallow ceramic saucer big enough for the tort to soak in and sunk into the substrate is a better idea and very cheap.
As long as you keep your temps up, the little one should get braver in a few days.

 

[turtlehurdle123]

This is an odd phenomenon that no one had been able to explain, but seems to happen a lot.
Very lively and eats on day 1 and then nothing. It's normal.
A flat slate or ceramic tile is good for feeding on and helps keep the beak trimmed.
Your water dish looks dodgy too. It's a flip hazard and the tortoise will have difficulty getting in and out of it.
A shallow ceramic saucer big enough for the tort to soak in and sunk into the substrate is a better idea and very cheap.
As long as you keep your temps up, the little one should get braver in a few days.

Thanks! I made sure the water is shallow in case she actually flips, however I don't think i'll be changing the dish because I've seen her climb the green hideout and then jump down from it for whatever reason (she dangled her leg and then kept going, maybe it's a tortoise thing?) and I think maybe she won't mind a bit of a climb. I'll keep watch on it for her first time using it to make sure she can actually climb in and out herself. If she can't, then I'll make sure to change it.

 

[turtlehurdle123]

Thanks! I made sure the water is shallow in case she actually flips, however I don't think i'll be changing the dish because I've seen her climb the green hideout and then jump down from it for whatever reason (she dangled her leg and then kept going, maybe it's a tortoise thing?) and I think maybe she won't mind a bit of a climb. I'll keep watch on it for her first time using it to make sure she can actually climb in and out herself. If she can't, then I'll make sure to change it.

BTW, for the soak, should I take her out of the enclosure and into a separate bowl with warm water?

 

[leigti]

Yes, I would.