In need of HELP! and info on 4 month old red footed tortoise

[Miswlynn]

Hi Everyone!

I'm in dire need of some advice and help. I feel like iv researched and spoken to pet store employees and i just feel like something isn't quite as.

I just bought a 4 month old baby red foot tortoise and all he does is sleep all day long and very unactive. I give him water baths in the morning and allow him to eat after his baths. I always apply a reptile vitamin without vitamin D everyday in his food.

His enclosure I bought is off of wayfair and I think it might be part of the problem but could use some serious advice. The SKU number for it on wayfair is SKU RPTZ1110 if anyone wants to have alook.

I thought I was prepared bring home a red foot baby but I feel sooo lost. I have so many questions.

I have a UVB lighting and 2 heater lamps on part or his enclosure because I can't seem to get the temp right, but again I don't know if its maybe the thermometer and hygrometer that's not accurate and iv been using a thermo gun along with the one in the enclosure but the Temps never match up. I also use a fogger machine and it says that the humidity says it's always above 80, but again who actually knows with the damn hygrometer I have. I do spay the enclosure down everyday. I'm planning on getting differnt thermometer and hygrometer devices.

With that being said here are my questions:

Is it normal for a 4 month old to be in hiding all the time? ( the Temps are all different Temps around his enclosure, using the gun, highest usually being around high 80s and lowest being around 65) and when he burrows in the area where it's in the 60s I get super effing nervous.

Also, with food. I have a hard time with this one. What does everyone's weekly feeding schedule look like. I am a person that has to prepare for days to follow and I feel like I have no regimen for feeding him. I would love to see what everyone is doing.

Should I get a differnt enclosure because part of his enclosure doesn't have a screen top so I can't put light of nay kind in that area and it makes it super difficult to maintain heat there.

Any other suggestions and advice would be soo appreciated.

 

[SasquatchTortoise]

I don’t know much about redfoots, but that enclosure looks like it has an open top, which lowers humidity.

 

[crimson_lotus]

You should definitely not have any area below 80 degrees, especially if they are a baby. Get those temps up by buying higher wattage bulbs or they will get sick - Redfoots don't need different temps around the enclosure, it can be 80+ throughout. Also they don't prefer harsh light. What type of bulbs do you have? What substrate? The enclosure looks quite small so I am not sure how a uv strip and 2 heat emitters wouldn't do the job. Also I bet you a herpetologist did not write that product descripton as indicated (as someone who used to write product descriptions, some guy at Wayfair probably made it up) - glass terrariums are generally a bad idea because the tort will always want out. Cover the sides with some paper, is my suggestion, and put tin foil over the top around the lights to keep the heat and humidity in and see if things improve before buying a new enclosure. Your tort WILL outgrow it pretty soon but for now its probably fine if you make the right adjustments.

Hiding is quite normal especially if they were just introduced to a new environment.

For feeding, everyone seems to be a bit different. I feed fruit every 5 days, with greens and mazuri tort diet in between those days. Every 2 weeks is protein like boiled chicken, tuna in water, sardines, etc.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Firstly, baby Redfoot DO sleep (or hide)about 20 hours a day. But they also will remain inactive if they are stressed. Temperature too cool or too hot will stress them. Low humidity will stress them. Harsh lighting will stress them,
The enclosure is wrong. It needs to be a closed chamber. (Think greenhouse or a terrarium. With a closed top.
And I'm guessing that your lights and heating are also wrong. Especially if a pet shop sold them to you.
Please post photos of everything. Or at least give us more detailed information for us to figure out what needs attention. As requested above.
The temperature needs to remain within 80-86. With 82 to 84 being PERFECT.
The humidity needs to remain over 70%.
Be patient. We'll get you there.

 

[Miswlynn]

Firstly, baby Redfoot DO sleep (or hide)about 20 hours a day. But they also will remain inactive if they are stressed. Temperature too cool or too hot will stress them. Low humidity will stress them. Harsh lighting will stress them,
The enclosure is wrong. It needs to be a closed chamber. (Think greenhouse or a terrarium. With a closed top.
And I'm guessing that your lights and heating are also wrong. Especially if a pet shop sold them to you.
Please post photos of everything. Or at least give us more detailed information for us to figure out what needs attention. As requested above.
The temperature needs to remain within 80-86. With 82 to 84 being PERFECT.
The humidity needs to remain over 70%.
Be patient. We'll get you there.

Hi there!

Thank you for your reply. I moved my enclosure to a differnt part of the home which I think will be a more suitable place. Here are some photos for reference. Again, I think the thermometer/hygrometer might be off but I also do use a temp gun.

 

[Redfootguy123]

Hi there!

Thank you for your reply. I moved my enclosure to a differnt part of the home which I think will be a more suitable place. Here are some photos for reference. Again, I think the thermometer/hygrometer might be off but I also do use a temp gun.

What type of water are you using in your fogger? Make sure you use distilled water, otherwise it could have things that might not be good for your tortoise to breathe. You can find it in some grocery stores, and possibly on Amazon if not. Make sure its DISTILLED & not filtered, distilled is boiled & evaporated to remove unwanted particles before it is recollected. Make sure you also use a reptile dechlorinator for his drinking and bathing water, especially if you’re using tap water. Slightly related story but I got my bearded dragon from a big box pet store before I really delved into the reptile hobby & found out how bad big box stores are, the people there never told me I needed one and I went months without it before the vet told me I should get one. Just make sure its for reptiles and not fish.

I would def also get a new thermometer. Spyder robotics makes a temperature controller if you’re not too worried about budget, otherwise exo-terra makes a good day/night controller. If you’re worried about the hydrometer, ink bird tends to be pretty reliable and works as a good controller +/- like 5 degrees. If you want a thermometer and dont want to worry about any controller functions, ink bird makes a controller that ive found works really well as a thermometer (but not a controller). Make sure you get the right one.

If you’re using two basking lights switch one of them to either a CHE or deep heat emitter, this is where the temp controller would come into play because they help a lot with supplemental heat. Its more of a preference thing but I always hook my controllers up to supplemental heat because I dont want the basking spot to turn off & fluctuate too much during the day.

You will also need a much bigger enclosure in a couple of months, there are a few reputable people on this forum that make enclosures but I cant remember the usernames, they shouldn’t be too hard to find though.

Edit: just reread the original post and you say you do have 2 heat lamps. That could be the root of a lot of the problem too if you’re worried, too much light. Just make sure you hook up some sort of controller for safety.

 

[Miswlynn]

What type of water are you using in your fogger? Make sure you use distilled water, otherwise it could have things that might not be good for your tortoise to breathe. You can find it in some grocery stores, and possibly on Amazon if not. Make sure its DISTILLED & not filtered, distilled is boiled & evaporated to remove unwanted particles before it is recollected. Make sure you also use a reptile dechlorinator for his drinking and bathing water, especially if you’re using tap water. Slightly related story but I got my bearded dragon from a big box pet store before I really delved into the reptile hobby & found out how bad big box stores are, the people there never told me I needed one and I went months without it before the vet told me I should get one. Just make sure its for reptiles and not fish.

I would def also get a new thermometer. Spyder robotics makes a temperature controller if you’re not too worried about budget, otherwise exo-terra makes a good day/night controller. If you’re worried about the hydrometer, ink bird tends to be pretty reliable and works as a good controller +/- like 5 degrees. If you want a thermometer and dont want to worry about any controller functions, ink bird makes a controller that ive found works really well as a thermometer (but not a controller). Make sure you get the right one.

If you’re using two basking lights switch one of them to either a CHE or deep heat emitter, this is where the temp controller would come into play because they help a lot with supplemental heat. Its more of a preference thing but I always hook my controllers up to supplemental heat because I dont want the basking spot to turn off & fluctuate too much during the day.

You will also need a much bigger enclosure in a couple of months, there are a few reputable people on this forum that make enclosures but I cant remember the usernames, they shouldn’t be too hard to find though.

Edit: just reread the original post and you say you do have 2 heat lamps. That could be the root of a lot of the problem too if you’re worried, too much light. Just make sure you hook up some sort of controller for safety.

I'm having some conflicting info about foggers. Are they okay to use or not? Do they cause respitory issues?

 

[Miswlynn]

I'm having some conflicting info about foggers. Are they okay to use or not? Do they cause respitory issues?

Thanks you for telling me about the humidity controller. I already use a controller for temp but I find it a bit difficult to control.

 

[Redfootguy123]

I'm having some conflicting info about foggers. Are they okay to use or not? Do they cause respitory issues?

They’re ok to use as long as you dont over do it & as long as you use distilled water. The problem people have with it is if you keep it running 24/7 your tortoise can get shell rot from too much humidity, or can get issues if you use the wrong type of water. get a humidity controller and you should be good to go.

 

[Miswlynn]

Perfect! Thanks! Humidity at 80 to 84ish right? I shouldn't use it 24/7?

 

[Redfootguy123]

Perfect! Thanks! Humidity at 80 to 84ish right? I shouldn't use it 24/7?

The ink bird controller should turn it off and on as needed, you just plug it into the controller and make sure the probe is in a good spot & youre good to go!

You should set it around 80 for a hatchling I think, but not 100% sure on that one.

 

[crimson_lotus]

be careful with those clamp lamps, many have fallen into an enclosure and caught fire. I would suggest zip tieing the light to some metal pole, or easier, you can get one of these stands if you don't want to diy: https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptile-lamp-stand/dp/344982?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12737201938&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqvvIm9Kz-QIVGsmUCR0Z9A_uEAQYAiABEgIvSPD_BwE

I have ziptied all of my lights to metal fixtures and everything is fastened accordingly

also if you want to keep the heat and humidity in, you can cover the mesh/go around the lighting with tin foil

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Have you made changes to your setup?
I'm curious to know how things are progressing