Tortoises rarely leave hides

[RioMarziliano]

@Yvonne G My two red foots Wallace and shelly rarely leave their hides. today I placed food as usual and Wallace popped out of the hide to check it out but decided to go back to sleep. sheely doesn't leave her hid much but is very active post soaking.
Is it normal for red foots to like to be in their hide most of the day? I wonder if they leave the hides once I'm back in the house. I try to soak them every other day. this is my 2nd week having these guys. Just trying to understand their behavior.

 

[Yvonne G]

It might be a bit too cold for them. How big are they? For young ones I like to keep the whole enclosure 80F day and night. Once they've put on some size I'll go with a slight cool down at night, but still 80-85F overall during the day.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

If you've only had them two weeks it's going to be a little while before they're settled in. They don't like change and it's takes them awhile to get used to new surroundings. If they're babies then that's normal too. Babies spend almost all their time hiding. You can try taking them out of the hide and placing them at the food dish when you feed them. Feed them at the same time every day and eventually you won't have to take them out, they'll already be waiting.

 

[RioMarziliano]

They are 5-6 inches. I have 2 radiant heat panels and 2 CHE's they have a 6-7 inch deep substrate so it stays fairly consistently warm. I keep it moderately humid for them since they are Redfoots. Mabey they are still just settling in. I'll have to take some pictures of their enclosure and post it here so I can get some critics if there are any improvements needed.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

There are a few things that will do that:
Too hot. No warmer than 86. 82 is perfect.
Too cold. Colder than about 72 for an extended period.
Lights that are too bright. They dislike harsh lighting.
If any of these sound possible, fix them.
Otherwise, Redfoot do hide a lot But they should be voracious eaters.
Also, at that size, it is about time to separate them.

 

[RioMarziliano]

I am under the impression that redfoots are group friendly from multiple sources. What would be your reasoning for separating them

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I am under the impression that redfoots are group friendly from multiple sources. What would be your reasoning for separating them

While it's TRUE that they can often be group friendly with many females per Male. Or many females alone in a giant enclosure (like my group)
Pairs do not work. Pairs should never be kept no matter the sex. And groups are also not always guaranteed. I've had to rehome several unwilling animals to arrive at my harmonious group. And by harmonious, I mean relatively peaceful.
To be truly at ease...Truly "happy", they need to be kept solitary.

 

[RioMarziliano]

While it's TRUE that they can often be group friendly with many females per Male. Or many females alone in a giant enclosure (like my group)
Pairs do not work. Pairs should never be kept no matter the sex.

What's the reasoning behind not keeping pairs but groups are okay. Seems like they have been fine so far. With no signs of any issues

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What's the reasoning behind not keeping pairs but groups are okay. Seems like they have been fine so far. With no signs of any issues

That may or may not change as they mature. It's also likely that if you see bullying or aggression that you might not recognize it. Redfoot are calmer than some species. Aggression would start as one following the other around. Sitting on the food and sleeping together. They're not doing these things because they are friends.
Almost always one will grow large and strong. The other will be small and light. Solely because of stress.
Tortoises don't have friends. Just competition that they want out of their territory. Having a lot of room and multiple tortoises can make sure that this aggression gets spread out and not concentrated on any one animal.
My tortoises mostly just ignore each other.
Luckily you keep Redfoot.
If you had a scrappy species like a Russian, the first sign that you notice might be that one of them has a leg bitten off!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Best case scenario is that they are both female and that your enclosure has spots for both of them to have their own sleep quarters.
I just wanted you to have this information.
I wish I had when I started keeping Redfoot a million years ago.
If you get a moment, do a search on keeping pairs on this forum.

 

[Gijoux]

@Yvonne G My two red foots Wallace and shelly rarely leave their hides. today I placed food as usual and Wallace popped out of the hide to check it out but decided to go back to sleep. sheely doesn't leave her hid much but is very active post soaking.
Is it normal for red foots to like to be in their hide most of the day? I wonder if they leave the hides once I'm back in the house. I try to soak them every other day. this is my 2nd week having these guys. Just trying to understand their behavior.

It sounds like your Torts are outside. Are they babies? Are they in a heated enclosure?

 

[Yvonne G]

What's the reasoning behind not keeping pairs but groups are okay. Seems like they have been fine so far. With no signs of any issues

The 'issue' is that you say they hardly leave their hide.
Groups work rather than pairs because then the bully has more objects to try to chase away. When it's pairs there's only one other tortoise that gets the brunt of his aggression.

 

[RioMarziliano]

I think they were just needing to acclimate to their new environment. If I put food out they come out of their hides, eat, run around, get water, run around, and then go back to their hide. One goes to a hide on the left of the enclosure and one goes to a hide on the right. Havent witnessed any bullying but I will keep my eyes open

 

[RioMarziliano]

Soaking time. They are getting much friendlier.

 

[RioMarziliano]

First time feeding them any fruit. Shelly ran right too it