Basking Behavior

[TommyZ]

I think something is off with the basking behavior of my baby cherry head. She seems to spend all her time in the hide, and i have never seen her bask yet under her lamp unless i put her there. She does her "business" every day when i soak her, and she eats quite well every day. Although all that only happens when i take her out from her hide, she never seems to come out looking for water or food or basking on her own. Could it be because i have her hide placed right above the heating mat, and its nice and warm in there and she likes that warmth more then the lamp? Perhaps i should move the hide opposite the area that the heat mat is affixed? Im worried if she hides too much she wont get enough of the UV that she needs from the lamp. Whats best? Thanks as always.

Tom

 

[wellington]

What are your temps. Basking, ambient, night and what is the temp inside the hide. Also, what is the humidity?

 

[TommyZ]

What are your temps. Basking, ambient, night and what is the temp inside the hide. Also, what is the humidity?

directly below the light it is usually 87-88, if I lower the light an inch it goes up to 90. the half of the tank below the light is low to mid 80's, and the far side of the tank away from the light hovers around 80. night time temps go into the mid 70's. humidity is always at 70-80%. I use the 100w powersun for day and a 75w infrared light for night time hours.

---

My setup

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Haven't i seen debates on RFs and basking?

Some believe they don't bask while others say they do?

 

[Mgridgaway]

Babies spend a lot of time hiding. Maybe for days at a time. My 5" is only just starting to spend more time in places other than the corner of its table.

Team Gomberg: yes, this has been discussed before. Some redfoots bask, some don't. It's a personality thing.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I brought that up to suggest that maybe the op could have a "non- basker" ??

 

[jhongsen]

that actually the same as meter (indian star) , I never see him go to the basking spot and go for drink. I could only see him outside his hiding cave when he's searching for food

 

[TommyZ]

Do you guys think i should move her hide out from being directly above the heating mat? also, if she never basks, is she getting enough UV rays from the lamp to be healthy?

 

[Mgridgaway]

I'm of the general opinion that most tortoises don't need nearly as much UVB as other reptiles. Most baby tortoises spend a vast majority of their time hiding in the shade or darkness because of predators.

As for the heating mat, you may want to check the surface temp with an infrared thermometer. Though, with that much substrate, I can't imagine it's too hot in there.

 

[immayo]

Your baby is still small! This sounds like natural behavior to me. If your heat/ humidity is where it needs to be for a redfoot (sounds like it is) then I wouldn't worry about it. As your baby grows it will start to come out more and more. But, it is a BABY and most babies just eat, sleep, and poop.

 

[Madkins007]

Tortoises are by nature hiders, and babies even more so. Few tortoises bask in the traditional way a snake or lizard does, but they all will bask when they feel they need to- usually after a cool period or the like.

Otherwise. they get their UVB the same way lots of humans do- short exposures lots of times over a week or so.

 

[abclements]

I agree with everybody. My 10 month old hids all the time too... if youre worried about the hide getting too hot, maybe put in another hide thats off of the heat mat and let your little guy choose where he wants to be...

 

[evlinLoutries]

Most of rf or even ch don't like bask to much..
They loved to hide in a plantation


I was a Tortoise before!

 

[theelectraco]

I have only had my tortoise for about 6 months, but when I first got it, during the winter, it basked frequently....now with warmer temps, I RARELY see my tortoise bask.

 

[TommyZ]

My little guy never basks, i think hes shy, lol

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

Be careful. Of using the term bask on here... I was nearly ran off the forum for even suggesting my Redfoot does that. I would check the temps in the hide. It sounds like typical baby behavior. But to be sure check temps.

 

[TommyZ]

Dont think anyone would run me off, (least i hope not) everyone here has been quite helpful in all regards, and ive had ALOT of dumb ?'s, lol...knowing now that they are a jungle species it makes sense that their sunlight would be had indirectly. Being the newbie i am, i was just worried the baby wasnt getting its uv "vitamins" that it needs.

 

[Madkins007]

3 things.

1. Red-footed tortoises are not a jungle or forest species. There are not even any rainforests or such in most of their range. Yes, SOME are found in rainforest locations, but MOST red-footeds come from grassy savannah and open areas in or around forests. They are a tropical grassland species. Yellow-footed tortoises are true forest tortoises.

2. Basking, as used here most of the time, just means the animal is cold in most cases. A captive tortoise basks to warm up (and most hobbyist lighting, including CHES and MVBs really do a very poor job of warming the animal- they get the back really hot and leave the belly cold. ANY tortoise will bask to warm up, or not bask if it is already warm enough. They get their UV from routine sunlight on the limbs, and only need a few minutes a day to be OK.

3. This may be considered a very hostile statement, but I'm going for it. ANYONE WHO CLAIMS 'RED-FOOTS DON'T BASK' IS AN IDIOT or has been misinformed. Yes- THEIR red-footeds may not bask, but it is absolutely foolish to ignore the research and experiences of keepers, field researchers, breeders, and so on who have observed basking in the wild, in naturalistic captivity, and in pretty much all other kinds of captivity.

Saying 'my red-footeds never seem to bask' is a valid and accurate statement- some red-footeds never do seem to bask. To suggest that all other red-footed tortoises in the world don't need to bask because yours do not is arrogant and just plain incorrect.

Heck- you cannot even really say 'My red-footeds never bask' unless you can somehow prove to us that you have watched them all day for several months in a row.

Yell at me all you want for that statement. I rest with the peace of knowing I am right and having the documentation to back it up (Moscovitz; Vinke and Vetter; Pritchard; Vinke (different source than the first))

 

[mainey34]

Some redfoots bask, and some do not. I have one that doesn't. I have read in several places that they dont need to bask. That was my argument. Many, many debates on this subject, and i dont believe anyone tried to bully anyone off. Just everyones opinions.

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

3 things.

1. Red-footed tortoises are not a jungle or forest species. There are not even any rainforests or such in most of their range. Yes, SOME are found in rainforest locations, but MOST red-footeds come from grassy savannah and open areas in or around forests. They are a tropical grassland species. Yellow-footed tortoises are true forest tortoises.

2. Basking, as used here most of the time, just means the animal is cold in most cases. A captive tortoise basks to warm up (and most hobbyist lighting, including CHES and MVBs really do a very poor job of warming the animal- they get the back really hot and leave the belly cold. ANY tortoise will bask to warm up, or not bask if it is already warm enough. They get their UV from routine sunlight on the limbs, and only need a few minutes a day to be OK.

3. This may be considered a very hostile statement, but I'm going for it. ANYONE WHO CLAIMS 'RED-FOOTS DON'T BASK' IS AN IDIOT or has been misinformed. Yes- THEIR red-footeds may not bask, but it is absolutely foolish to ignore the research and experiences of keepers, field researchers, breeders, and so on who have observed basking in the wild, in naturalistic captivity, and in pretty much all other kinds of captivity.

Saying 'my red-footeds never seem to bask' is a valid and accurate statement- some red-footeds never do seem to bask. To suggest that all other red-footed tortoises in the world don't need to bask because yours do not is arrogant and just plain incorrect.

Heck- you cannot even really say 'My red-footeds never bask' unless you can somehow prove to us that you have watched them all day for several months in a row.

Yell at me all you want for that statement. I rest with the peace of knowing I am right and having the documentation to back it up (Moscovitz; Vinke and Vetter; Pritchard; Vinke (different source than the first))

Thank you!