Hatchling red foot not eating

[Andrea Walker]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and I have a few questions about my new addition. We got him a few days ago and he's not eaten anything. I'm rather worried about him. He sleeps most of the time in his humid hide but every now and then he will come out to explore and to drink. He is housed on sphagnum moss, his temps are lower 80s on the cool side and around 95 on the warm side of his enclosure. His humidity is 75 to 80% at all times. At night we keep him at around 75 degrees. I've been soaking him every day in warm water for about 20 minutes. I have not seen him eliminate since we got him. I wonder if he is still stressed out from the trip from the breeder. He has shown no interest in food at all. I've been offering kale, collard greens, beet leaves, dandelion, and some cactus. He still has an egg tooth and a slight umbilical scar if that means anything. If anyone has any advice it would be sincerely appreciated!! I want to take the best possible care of my new little tort!

 

[Alaskamike]

If your baby still has some egg tooth , she/he is possibly still getting adjusted to life outside the egg. There are many here that raise redfoots. You will get better info from them when they see this.
( if you don't get much reply here you might ask the question in the Redfoot section )

Good fortune to you.

 

[AmberD]

Hello and welcome. 95 is too hot and 75 is too cold for a redfoot. They like their entire enclosure to be in the 80s. That could be stressing the little one out. Mine didn't eat much the first few days either, I was cutting the food into tiny little pieces thinking I was doing him a favour. Turns out he likes bigger pieces to bite and rip apart to eat. Maybe try that too what kind of lighting/heat are you using?

 

[Andrea Walker]

Current using a 50w CHE and a JOB bulb.

 

[Andrea Walker]

UVB bulb

 

[AmberD]

CHE's are good, do you have it on a thermostat? You can regulate it that way. A coil or tube UVB? Coils have been said to cause eye irritation. Do you have he/she in an open or enclosed enclosure? An enclosed is much easier to regulate the heat and humidity, though your humidity is good

 

[Andrea Walker]

I do have it on a thermostat and I also check frequently with a temp gun just to be sure. I've turned down his warm side so his whole enclosure is about 84 to 86 degrees now and he's at about 80 degrees at night. He's currently in an open enclosure. He's more active but still not wanting to eat anything.

 

[AmberD]

I do have it on a thermostat and I also check frequently with a temp gun just to be sure. I've turned down his warm side so his whole enclosure is about 84 to 86 degrees now and he's at about 80 degrees at night. He's currently in an open enclosure. He's more active but still not wanting to eat anything.

Sounds like everything is sat up great now, I would give him time! Mine didn't eat the first few days and it is natural to worry. Being taken to a new environment is stressful. Maybe try mixing some fruit like papaya that is soft in with the greens and see if that entices him

 

[Andrea Walker]

Thank you so much for your help! My little guy is current munching on some kale. I'm so relieved!

 

[AmberD]

Thank you so much for your help! My little guy is current munching on some kale. I'm so relieved!

No problem! that's great news!

 

[Anyfoot]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and I have a few questions about my new addition. We got him a few days ago and he's not eaten anything. I'm rather worried about him. He sleeps most of the time in his humid hide but every now and then he will come out to explore and to drink. He is housed on sphagnum moss, his temps are lower 80s on the cool side and around 95 on the warm side of his enclosure. His humidity is 75 to 80% at all times. At night we keep him at around 75 degrees. I've been soaking him every day in warm water for about 20 minutes. I have not seen him eliminate since we got him. I wonder if he is still stressed out from the trip from the breeder. He has shown no interest in food at all. I've been offering kale, collard greens, beet leaves, dandelion, and some cactus. He still has an egg tooth and a slight umbilical scar if that means anything. If anyone has any advice it would be sincerely appreciated!! I want to take the best possible care of my new little tort!

Can we see photos of your enclosure and tortoise please. In my experience yours is under 60 days old due to still having the egg tooth. However definitely at 2 wks old your guy should be eating. They do take some time to adjust to a new environment though.
The problem with open enclosures is that he only has 2 choices, either hot under the heat source or at your room temperature, you can't get an ambient temperature throughout the enclosure when it's open unless your house is 80f(which I doubt is). It sounds to me your tort could be too cold. We need to see photos to help with fixing the problem.