will not eat

[wildponey21]

I moved my two red foots into a 7 foot by 6 foot tortoise table. They have been in it for about 1 week. I have two heat lamps and a uvb light. I have another uvb light on the way and a ceramic heater to. They should be here by next week I only order them two weeks ago. Well anyway my torts will not eat, they are eat a little but not al like they were. I have tried fruit and new veggies but they don’t eat like they did in the 20 gallon tank. They would eat so fast and every thing. Now I’m lucky if they at all. If any one has ideas let me know. I spray with water and I have a humidifier on 24/7.

 

[LindaF]

It might just take them time to get used to the new enclosure. Are their lights brighter? Are they getting more light then they had previously? My little guy doesn't like bright lights. They may be afraid that things are too open now and too much light and their natural instinct is not to be in the open where predators might be.

 

[Madkins007]

In an open table, humidifiers and misting are usually not enough. What are the real temps and humidity where the torts actually are? If it is dry and cool, they will not eat. Many of us find we need to enclose a Red-foot habitat to make it work.

Too bright? As long as they have access to shade and hides, they should be OK- although 2 heat lamps can produce an awful lot of unneeded light. CHES are more effective in that sense.

It is a good idea to make sure babies feel safe and sheltered when they eat, though.

Can you post photos of the set-up?

 

[wildponey21]

The temps are 80 to 100 and i don't about humide levels it says on all the time. The lights are the same they have dark spots to hide in. I can't post photos i never got into all that. I don't even do anything online this a big for me.

 

[Madkins007]

It is tough to estimate humidity without a gauge of some sort. In my Tortarium, I go by how much condensation there is on the plastic, and how dry the substrate looks under the food dish.

I'm in Omaha. I had an open-topped indoor winter pen for my 4-10" Red-foots, and my plan was to heat and humidity most of the room, then do supplemental humidity and heat where needed. It did not work well. By the time I got the room warm and humid enough, the windows were dripping and some of the room trim was mildewing. AND since all that hot, moist air tended to rise and got sucked out everytime anyone opened the door, the actual temps and humidity where the tortoises were was too low.

If you are getting it up over 90f, then you are also forcing the relative humidity in that area to go down- it is a nasty cycle. Misting almost makes things worse- as the mists convert to humidity, they can both cool things off and suck moisture out of the substrate, etc.- kind of like how licking your lips can make them drier sometimes.

One option for an open table is to make up a tent out of sheet plastic and some cheap wood or PVC tubing framework. Build a loose 'box' above the table big enough to have your lights and such inside it, then drape it with plastic. Taping some of the plastic to the actual table helps seal it, but leaving untaped gaps also allow air exchange. Position your humidifier to blow right into the habitat, either through a hole in the wall, or use some cheap ducting to direct the spray into the habitat.

Heating and humidifying a small space is a thousand times easier than a larger one, and those pretty open-topped tables you see in so many articles don't work for all species in all parts of the US.


There is also another possibility to consider. My 4 Cherry-heads, and those of many other people I have been in contact with, are in a sort of seasonal slow-down right now. The temps and humidity are still good, but the torts themselves are less active and eating less. I have been taking mine out and soaking them every so often to help prevent dehydration since they are also not at the water dish as often either.

If the temps, humidity, lighting, UVB or vitamin D, key nutritional elements (calcium, fiber, etc.), and so on are all solid, this may be a reason for the behavior also.

The Tortoise Library talks about all of this and some other things that may be of interest.

 

[Tracy Gould]

My daughters little RF was not eating till she moved the food to a area at the back of the viv were there are plants to hide in.

 

[wildponey21]

well my trots don'y have plants in there table. I think i might need to get a bigger humidifier. the reason i say that is because the one i have runs for 36 hours and would give a small bed room a green house feel. I used it in my geen house and i used it in a bed room that was alot smaller then the one i have now. I sart to soak them more. If they still won't eat i might just have to put them back in there tank for the reast of winter. I have a plan to move them outside when winter is over. I just wanted them to have more room.

 

[Madkins007]

Plenty of room is important to proper development, I'd rather see you make the table work. Like I said, a simple covering is all you would need- you could probably make a 'tent' over the table and lighting for less than $15, and you should see a huge improvement. That way, your existing humidifier would probably work fine, as would most of your heating, etc.