Can somebody please help me on how to get my RF out of hiding. He stays in there day and night. He went to the vet last week, and he came out healthy as can be. The temps staying about 90, then around his hut is about low 80's.
My RF doesn't come out of hiding!
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Hi Monica. What does your setup look like? Is there a lot of light in the enclosure? Redfoots like to hide, especially if there's too much light. How old is he? Can you post pictures of the enclosure or him? 
Well I do know that the setup is too small, that's what the vet said. I'm going to work on a new one this weekend. She said he's about 4-5 yrs old. And I can't post any pics as of now cuz I'm at work
And yes, there is a lot of light. Should I turn off the heat lamps and the UV light at night?
And yes, there is a lot of light. Should I turn off the heat lamps and the UV light at night?
Most of us have filtered lighting whether it is through plants in the enclosure or just turning the light away from part of the enclosure and only letting it hit part of it. I have a heat emitter and a separate light and yes I turn off the light at night but leave the heat on. Part of my enclosure will reach around 70 degrees at night, but under their basking spot it always stays at 85 degrees. This way they can choose what temp is best for them. Hope this helps. How big of an enclosure do you have? You can always use a Rubbermaid storage box (like from Target). You can buy them pretty big and there not expensive. I've heard that they're good for humidity also.
I'm not sure how big the tank is. I believe it's a 20 gallon tank. I originally had a russian and it was pretty small, so the tank seemed ok. But she died... she had herpes. So then we got the redfoot but he was much bigger than her. Yeah I think I'm going to go to the store this weekend and do the whole storage box thing. We are trying to sell our house cuz it's super small so whenever we move we are planning on buildinga big enclosure for him. And I will definately look into the heat emitter. Where would I get one?
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I had the same problem. We got our RF last Spring and had him in a tank with a spot light and a CHE. I had to take him out of his hide to eat and drink every day, then he would go back to his hide. During the summer when I had him in a 50 gal rubbermaid bin outside he was very active. (He was too little to be in an open air enclosure/garden) This fall when we came back into the house he reverted to his old behavior. I swapped out the tank for a tort table thinking that was the problem, but still he stayed in his hide even though the temps where kept high. I was given advice from redfoots.com that my lights were to bright. I changed out the spot light for a infrared bulb. That helped. He started at least coming out on his own to eat. My next challenge was humidity. With an open air table I was losing all my heat and humidity. I found a chlorine free, odorless shower curtain liner and was able to drap it over the table. I now have a mini greenhouse. It isn't pretty, but humidity is way up and I've been able to cut back to using only the CHE most of the time because keeping in the heat isn't a problem. That is all it took. My RF is a totally different tort! He is out all the time now and is VERY active. Now he just destroys the plants and makes a mess of everything, but I couldn't be happier! He just needed it Dark, Humid, and Hot.
Here is a picture - I warn you it isn't pretty, but it does the job.
Here is a picture - I warn you it isn't pretty, but it does the job.
Yes definitely too small. He should be around 5 or 6 inches in length right? The problem with keeping him in a tank that small is it doesn't get any air circulation and the temps can't drop on one side in case he gets too hot. I would get something else as soon as possible. I use dirt and mulch and moss in my enclosures for my Cherry's. Good luck and let us know how it ends up.
I love that shower curtain idea. Where did you find it at? I think I'm going to give that one a try.
I love that shower curtain idea.
Where did you find it at? I think I'm going to give that one a try. 
1. Brand new torts hide, pretty much all of the time. It takes them about a week to get used to the new place.
2. Young Red-foots hide a lot as well- although that should not be an issue with a 4 year old.
3. Red-foots are not more light sensitive than any other species, although some people think they are because there is a misconception that it is primarily a deep forest species. Red-foots are mostly a grass-lands, forest openings, etc. species and show no real sensitivity to light (other than as babies, in which case see point 2.) They DO need a good, balanced light that offers some UVB.
4. Temps- how are these measured? We often find that using a decent infrared thermometer shows that the temps are a lot different than we think they are. Red-foots prefer about 85F overall, but should be OK in the ranges you mentioned. Try boosting them to see if you get more activity. If not, try dropping them a bit.
5. What is there to do in your tank? Torts do not spend a lot of time 'just wandering' like some other pets do. If they are not eating or looking for food, they are probably resting. Having said that, they do benefit from and enjoy having places to explore, to climb on, to poke under, to smell, etc. If nothing like that is offered, they get bored.
2. Young Red-foots hide a lot as well- although that should not be an issue with a 4 year old.
3. Red-foots are not more light sensitive than any other species, although some people think they are because there is a misconception that it is primarily a deep forest species. Red-foots are mostly a grass-lands, forest openings, etc. species and show no real sensitivity to light (other than as babies, in which case see point 2.) They DO need a good, balanced light that offers some UVB.
4. Temps- how are these measured? We often find that using a decent infrared thermometer shows that the temps are a lot different than we think they are. Red-foots prefer about 85F overall, but should be OK in the ranges you mentioned. Try boosting them to see if you get more activity. If not, try dropping them a bit.
5. What is there to do in your tank? Torts do not spend a lot of time 'just wandering' like some other pets do. If they are not eating or looking for food, they are probably resting. Having said that, they do benefit from and enjoy having places to explore, to climb on, to poke under, to smell, etc. If nothing like that is offered, they get bored.
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Candy said:Yes definitely too small. He should be around 5 or 6 inches in length right? The problem with keeping him in a tank that small is it doesn't get any air circulation and the temps can't drop on one side in case he gets too hot. I would get something else as soon as possible. I use dirt and mulch and moss in my enclosures for my Cherry's. Good luck and let us know how it ends up.
I love that shower curtain idea.
I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond. Soft Sensations Pure, Eco-Friendly, Chlorine Free Shower curtain liner. The BEST part it truly had NO odor. Just in case I did hang it outside for awhile. Even with heat, it still has no plastic smell. It is even mold resistant. For 14.99 it was well worth it. I'm sure it will save me that in electricity with being able to cut down on the use of the infrared bulb. It really has created a greenhouse. Smells like a jungle under it LOL.
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