Noobie with questions

[BrendanNF]

Hi Everyone this is my first post on the fourm. I recently got a 1 year old red foot tortoise. His name is herb he's such an interesting pet, I made sure to do my research before I got one. He is really inactive and in the month that I have had him I haven't seen him outside of his hide. The only time he ever eats is if I take him out and hand feed him. I've been doing soaks to make sure he's hydrated because I am worrying that he is not drinking.
At first I thought that it may be he doesn't like the bright basking light but even when it's off in the night me never moves. I've been feeding him spring mix, baby kale, strawberries, apple and the ocasional banana oh and a little bit of pumpkin during Halloween lol. I have a cottle bone in his enclosure and I am misting every day at least 2 times. His substrate is Eco earth with one section being coco husk and his hide is filled with moist sphagnum moss.

Hope someone can give me some advice

 

[wellington]

Hello,and Welcome. Double check that the temps are not too hot or too cold. If your using one of those disc type temp gauges the pet stores sells, they are not very accurate at all. A good digital thermometer with humidity gauge on it form Home Depot or a hardware store is the type you want to get and they are inexpensive.

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Oh, also be sure the top layer of substrate is dry. RF are prone to shell rot. Also, wet and cold equals sick tortoise. Hot/warm and humid equals good growth and healthy tortoise.

 

[Mgridgaway]

On top of that, do keep in mind that many hatchling and yearling tortoises don't move around much if at all. Don't worry if you never see them drink. I've only seen mine drink once or twice in the 2 years I've owned them.

Finally, my old standby is "see how he reacts to mazuri." Every tort of mine turns into a fearless warrior whenever its around.

 

[ascott]

I recently got

If he is still new to the new environment then he will need time to settle in....keep up/form a routine and if you have your basics down and where they should be, then be patient...

 

[Michael in MO]

is the enclosure barren save for the substrate? You could try placing something at the far end directly in his line of sight. Perhaps he's bored, and if you pique his curiosity you can motivate him to come out and investigate. He appears to be fine in the pic, my vote is for either he's not yet acclimated or maybe bored

 

[AnnV]

What are his temps?
If you put some plants in, he may feel a little less vulnerable and come explore more. You can use fake ones. Sprinkle some bird seed around. It will sprout in the orchid moss. Giving him a more natural environment and another food choice.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Brendan:

Welcome to the Forum!!

I think your light is too bright. You can either put more plants (artificial are ok) or get a smaller wattage light. Tortoises don't come out at night, so when you turn off the light at night and he doesn't move, that isn't a good test. Turn it off during the day and see what happens. Also, you might think about getting a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) to heat the habitat and only turn the light on for a few hours in the morning.

There is some very good info on RF tortoises here in the Tortoise Library