My Red Foot Tortoise inactivity

[Ramus]

My red foot is pretty inactive it will go to eat, and drink it's water but after that it will go back into it's hide out. I have tried taking it outside for excercise but it once it goes back into it's tank it just sits there. I keep the basking area at 91 degrees and the cool spot at 78. I keep the humidity at 80% also. I feed it a variety of fruits, collard greens, and mustard greens. I also give it meal worms on occasion. Once a week I dust it's food with a multi vitamin, and every day I dust it with calcium. I also put something called "Reptisafe" in their water. For my lighting systems I use a deep dome lamp fixture with solar glo mercury vapor bulb. I appreciate you for looking at this and if there is any way to help my tortoise I would appreciate it.

 

[bpham93]

You really don't need to give your tortoise calcium every day, they get enough from the collard greens and mustard greens. I personally don't give my tortoise extra cal but here's a thread on how much calcium you should give.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-64892.html

 

[pfara]

How old is your redfoot? How long have you had him? To me, there's a difference between inactive and hiding out a lot. Hatchlings and/or torts that are new to their surroundings tend to hide out for most of the day. This is totally normal and it takes a while (could be weeks, could be months) for them to grow accustomed to their environment. When they realize that you aren't a predator and that they're reasonably safe, they'll come out a lot more. However, if they're inactive (ie. sluggish, non-responsive to stimuli) then you should double check your husbandry.

Btw, I also agree about not using so much calcium. I leave 2 cuttlebones in the enclosure at all times for them to mess with whenever they have the need. The rest of the calcium comes from their diet. Hope this helps!

 

[Kathy Coles]

My red foot is a stinker. No, he doesn't smell. But I thought he never came out of that darn log. Until I discovered he liked to travel around after the lights went off. My tortoise works the evening shift just like me. Maybe your's is getting out more than you know.

 

[Ramus]

My red foot is one and a half years old. I got her Christmas for a birthday present from my mom. I have a Russian tortoise that is about 5 (I've had him since I was 14) and he was pretty active as I remember but then again Kathy may be correctly turtle could be more active at night.

 

[Ramus]

Oh and would it be alright if my tortoise got it once every single 3 days or is that to little. Also isn't cuttlebone for birds if i'm not mistaken?

 

[abclements]

I dust my rfs food with calcium once a week. I do this on Sundays just so I remember lol

 

[pfara]

Oh and would it be alright if my tortoise got it once every single 3 days or is that to little. Also isn't cuttlebone for birds if i'm not mistaken?

Cuttlebone is an additional form of calcium that is recommended for reptiles as well. It also doubles as a way for torts to keep their beaks from overgrowing.