New Owner with Juvenile RF

[JessN]

hi everyone, my name is Jessica and I'm from Airdrie, Canada. Our family just bought a juvenile RF. We are unsure of gender but thinking he's a male. He's been in his new tank since Sunday evening. We've used coco husk as a substrate and have a warm end (85-90 degree) and a cooler end (70-80 degree). It's very dry here so I've been misting the enclosure twice a day to keep the humidity up. I've also out in some nice living moss to hold the humidity. So here are my questions: after getting him home I relaised he had a few little white spots on his shell. Only on the top and not underneath him. After researching it and talking to a reptile specialist we figured it could be a little big of fungus. I gave him a Luke warm "bath" and brushed off the white stuff with a soft/new toothbrush. I then applied a very this layer of athletes foot cream. The spots went away and haven't been back. Now here's the thing, he's not really active. We figure he's about 5 months as he's o my 3-4 inches long. He's eating. He ate a bunch the first two days and lots today. A mix of green leafy veg, cucumber and I gave him some strawberry. But as soon as he's done he goes I to his hidey hole and stays there until I remove him either to soak or eat again. Is this normal? He's only been here for 72 hours. Is he just adjusting? I noticed the first couple days he did lots of head bobbing, making me think he's stressed. Today he hasn't been doing it, but when I soaked him he made a few clicking noises at me. He ate out of my hand too, which was adorable. Thoughts? I will upload a pic of his tank.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Welcome!!

It's very normal for them to hide in a new environment. Head bobbing is okay at times, it's how they breathe by bobbing in and out, but just keep watch. If they're straining to breathe all the time, and putting a lot of effort into it, opens his mouth to breathe, has mucus coming out of his nose, or you can hear him squeak, he could be sick.

This could just not be the case and he could just be stressed from the move, which is more likely. Just something to watch for.

Do you have anything to measure the humidity in there? I would be careful about letting the temps get down to 70 degrees, these guys need high humidity and can easily get sick with low temps. Your hot side temperatures are spot on, though. If you see your red's eyes bubble up or water, it is most likely due to low humidity. Some of the members on here either make their own humidifier or buy one and connect it with a long tube to place it in their enclosure. I have a little misting system that turns itself on while I'm at work.

The enclosure looks good, but I would recommend feeding him on a terracotta saucer instead of on the ground. It's cleaner, the tortoise has less of a chance ingesting the substrate, and it keeps their beak trimmed when they scrape their beak on it.

Here is a good site for raising a healthy red foot:

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

We always love pictures if you happen to have any of your tortoise!

 

[JessN]

Thank you so much! I did have his food in a little dish and then someone suggested spreading it out as they are natural grazers. I will put the dish back in. How do I keep the temp up? I bought a heat pad and it's not making a difference at all. Should I continue taking him out once a day to soak and bring him to his food? The humidity is about 60-70 with misting.

 

[crimson_lotus]

My understanding is that when they find food in the wild, most of the plants are on stems and off the ground. They would definitely eat fallen fruit or carrion which are on the ground, though.

You could probably just move the lamp and center it so the colder side isn't so far away from the warmer one. I would give it a try.

Soaking daily is never a bad thing. I would keep it up.When your tortoise gets older, you could decrease the soaks to every other day or 3 times a week. As babies it's really important to keep them hydrated. Soaking also helps them poop (keeps my enclosure cleaner, too!), nothing bad about that

60-70% is good, I just thought after the misting the humidity would drop considerably until you mist it again.

 

[JessN]

Thanks, I will give moving the light a try!

 

[JessN]

I took him out from his hidyy hole and put him in his food dish and he's eating lots again. I wanted to look at his eyes and see if they are ok. If he was hungry why wouldn't he come out on his own to eat? Should I kee bringing him out a few times a day to eat?

 

[JessN]

Here he is eating.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Very cute! Do you have a name for him yet?

Its common for them to not eat for a few days and hide a lot in a new environment. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier. Before you know it, he will be waiting for dinner every day. When I get home from work, my Charlotte is sitting on the spot where I put her food dish, I always have to move her!

 

[Randi]

Hi, welcome! I live in Edmonton, Alberta which isn't too far from you. First person I've come across that lives close to me. Hahaha. My red footed cherry head tortoise is about the size of yours. The humidity here is a problem for me. I've had to completely close the top off to keep in the moisture and warmth. I mist the enclosure 3 to 4 times a day, as well as her shell and three daily soaks. Another challenge here is our weather - we only get 2 to 3 months of summer so growing food indoors for our torts is helpful. I order seeds from Carolina Pet Supply.com and I grow most inside. As soon as the snow is gone, I will be utilizing the backyard. Mine likes to eat, poop and sleep. I don't see her unless she's eating or soaking. I think it's a normal behaviour to not see juveniles often.

 

[JessN]

Thanks everyone! Randi, do you have a humidifier in her tank at all? I'm wondering if it's worth the investment. Ok so his name...lol...is Gordie the Torti. Bahahahahahhaah. My husband and two year old daughter came up with that one. Since he ate he's moved over under his basking light. He so cute.

 

[Gillian M]

A warm welcome to the forum!

Please keep in mind that torts take quite a long time to adapt to a new place, a new environment, new owners and so on.

Your tort is gorgeous, GOD bless and good luck .

 

[bouaboua]

Congrats and Welcome! ! ! !

Good to have you both here! ! !

 

[Chenderson]

Cute tortoise, I would recommend sinking the food bowl into the substrate, I had the same one, and my tort flipped herself getting in and out of it.

 

[JessN]

Ok thanks! I will do that. Here's an update: when I went to bed last. Ugly he was sitting under the basking light and when I woke he was in the same a lot. Didn't move all night. I made him breakfast and put it in his tank and put him in his fish and he's devouring it. He just doesn't seem to go anywhere unless I put him there. I haven't seen him drink water unless it's when I put him in for a soak. Is this normal? Today will be day four of him being with us.

 

[Chenderson]

Ok thanks! I will do that. Here's an update: when I went to bed last. Ugly he was sitting under the basking light and when I woke he was in the same a lot. Didn't move all night. I made him breakfast and put it in his tank and put him in his fish and he's devouring it. He just doesn't seem to go anywhere unless I put him there. I haven't seen him drink water unless it's when I put him in for a soak. Is this normal? Today will be day four of him being with us.

I wouldn't worry too much, I had similar worries with my redfoot when I got her a couple of months ago. I was initially worried that it was due to the cool end being too cold, that may be worth checking, but they do roam around when you don't expect, I recently upped my hot end temp to 95~ and she still spends a lot her time there, I tried putting things around the hot end to keep her entertained/shaded to create micro-climates such as a succulent plant(she digs under it and basks) some leaves like you have in yours to shade under etc. In the time I've had mine, I've probably seen her drink from her water bowl twice, they get a lot of their hydration through soaks, humidity and food.

If he is actually eating when you put him infront of his bowl, you might just be missing him eating.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello and welcome to the forum Gordie and Jessica.
Gordie is gorgeous.
Everything sounds pretty normal to me.
My Tidgy took several days to settle in, didn't eat and tried to hide or escape all the time. She's a greek but I understand it's general for torts to take time to settle in. All quite normal.
In a few days she should adapt and eat more. It's hard to stop my Tidge from eating now!
Good luck.

 

[allegraf]

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to learn and share info. Pretty little one as well.

 

[Randi]

Thanks everyone! Randi, do you have a humidifier in her tank at all? I'm wondering if it's worth the investment. Ok so his name...lol...is Gordie the Torti. Bahahahahahhaah. My husband and two year old daughter came up with that one. Since he ate he's moved over under his basking light. He so cute.

No humidifier in her tank. I'm considering getting a misting system for her enclosure. I think either would be worth the investment. Aw, cute name and a cute tort.

 

[JessN]

I just got home from the reptile shop. I invested in an automatic mister for him. I will update later on how it works!

 

[christinaland128]

You can make a homemade fogger really easily... I chose to use a crane brand humidifier, because it's very very quiet they have them at target they're only $40.