Red foot suddenly obsessed with soaking

kagi

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I've had my baby red foot (Pebble) for about 3 weeks now, and she/he has HATED water the entire time. Very fussy during daily soaks despite trying different temps/setups. Seems like a very healthy tort, eats and poops every day and loves roaming around outside when we go out for sun. Today, I put Pebble in the water as I do every morning, and did not see any usual intention of leaving for a good 20 mins. Pebble has now been roaming in and out of the water dish for about two hours despite usually leaving ASAP and sleeping 20-22 hours a day.

The sudden change is a little concerning so as a new tortoise owner I was hoping to receive some opinions on this behaviour. The temp is between 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night, and the humidity is 60-70% during the day and 80-90% at night. My substrate is a mix of Repti Bark and coconut fiber.

Thank you very much! Sorry for the long read!
 

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TammyJ

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Hi. Seems to me everything is just fine! I just do not see the reason for the humidity at night being higher than in the day, when the temp is cooler. You don't want cool and damp.
 

kagi

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Hi. Seems to me everything is just fine! I just do not see the reason for the humidity at night being higher than in the day, when the temp is cooler. You don't want cool and damp.
Okay, thank you very much! I find it just naturally happens but I will try to find a way for it to get lower
 

Mrs.Jennifer

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I've had my baby red foot (Pebble) for about 3 weeks now, and she/he has HATED water the entire time. Very fussy during daily soaks despite trying different temps/setups. Seems like a very healthy tort, eats and poops every day and loves roaming around outside when we go out for sun. Today, I put Pebble in the water as I do every morning, and did not see any usual intention of leaving for a good 20 mins. Pebble has now been roaming in and out of the water dish for about two hours despite usually leaving ASAP and sleeping 20-22 hours a day.

The sudden change is a little concerning so as a new tortoise owner I was hoping to receive some opinions on this behaviour. The temp is between 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night, and the humidity is 60-70% during the day and 80-90% at night. My substrate is a mix of Repti Bark and coconut fiber.

Thank you very much! Sorry for the long read!
Hello! I think I can help you with the humidity question...
Hot air has the ability to hold more moisture than cold air. As the temperature rises, the humidity drops. When the air temperature cools, the humidity increases.

I hope this helps explain things!
 

Toddrickfl1

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I've had my baby red foot (Pebble) for about 3 weeks now, and she/he has HATED water the entire time. Very fussy during daily soaks despite trying different temps/setups. Seems like a very healthy tort, eats and poops every day and loves roaming around outside when we go out for sun. Today, I put Pebble in the water as I do every morning, and did not see any usual intention of leaving for a good 20 mins. Pebble has now been roaming in and out of the water dish for about two hours despite usually leaving ASAP and sleeping 20-22 hours a day.

The sudden change is a little concerning so as a new tortoise owner I was hoping to receive some opinions on this behaviour. The temp is between 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night, and the humidity is 60-70% during the day and 80-90% at night. My substrate is a mix of Repti Bark and coconut fiber.

Thank you very much! Sorry for the long read!
I agree with Zenherper. Try to keep your temperature consistent day and night if you can. Shoot for 82-84. Some Redfoots just like water too. I have one that likes to sit in water. I wouldn't get to concerned.
 

ZEROPILOT

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I agree with Zenherper. Try to keep your temperature consistent day and night if you can. Shoot for 82-84. Some Redfoots just like water too. I have one that likes to sit in water. I wouldn't get to concerned.
I'm sorry.
I'm again having eye issues.
Redfoot can and do overheat pretty easily and anything warmer than the lower 90s can get stressful fast. Especially if they can't escape to a cooler, shady spot.
 

willee638

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I've had my baby red foot (Pebble) for about 3 weeks now, and she/he has HATED water the entire time. Very fussy during daily soaks despite trying different temps/setups. Seems like a very healthy tort, eats and poops every day and loves roaming around outside when we go out for sun. Today, I put Pebble in the water as I do every morning, and did not see any usual intention of leaving for a good 20 mins. Pebble has now been roaming in and out of the water dish for about two hours despite usually leaving ASAP and sleeping 20-22 hours a day.

The sudden change is a little concerning so as a new tortoise owner I was hoping to receive some opinions on this behaviour. The temp is between 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night, and the humidity is 60-70% during the day and 80-90% at night. My substrate is a mix of Repti Bark and coconut fiber.

Thank you very much! Sorry for the long read!
I have 3 red foot tortoises myself & they all get a 10-15 minutes soak in separate containers "to prevent them from drinking each others pee" in the lukewarm bath, it's normal for some torts to want to leave the water asap. The region I'm in has very warm temperatures in the summer & occasionally one would go into the water dish to soak for up to an hour or more for unknown reasons, the only get one morning soak for the day but my tortoises are taken out for sun as well 4 times per week for 1 hour each & at least one likes to roam around the enclosure for hours.
 

kagi

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Redfoots need their temps to stay around 82*F day and night...the cooler temps at night will cause illness.

The high daytime temps are no doubt to blame for her sluggishness and water-seeking.

@Toddrickfl1 @ZEROPILOT @jsheffield @Cherryshell
Okay, thank you so much for your help! I will keep it warmer at night, I've just been trying to follow information online and I'm sure everyone is aware of how much discrepancy there is from site to site!! Thank you again! Pebble has not been soaking a concerning amount recently :)
 

ZenHerper

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Redfoots are very "turtle-like" in their love of water.

They also need a lot of plant cover...this species lives at the forest floor in a very hot and humid climate, but the shade keeps the temperatures moderate (in the low 80s) most of the time where the animals hang and move around.

They need to hide from blasting hot light (from the sun or heat bulbs -- that black shell color takes up a LOT of heat). If you make your set up as close to nature as possible, your wee one will thrive and be very happy!

Stop by the subforum for ideas:
 

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