Redfoot Hatchling Not Gaining Weight

[Liggysasha]

I have 3 Redfoot Hatchlings that I got about 4-6 weeks ago.

#1 Hatchling (Phineas - 73g) is the largest and gaining weight and doing well. Eating well etc.
#2 Hatchling (Chell - 51g) is the smallest and only gaining about 1g per week. She eats only small amounts. I haven't seen her poop for a while.
#3 Hatchling (Monty - 64g) was doing really well. But in the last 2 weeks he hasn't gained weight, he even lost 2g this week. He eats, but only a few mouthfuls. I haven't seen him poop for a while.

My set-up is:
Indoor closed chamber
Cypress mulch
Terracotta dishes for food and water
Reptisun T5 HO tube
CHE 100w bulb
Temp is 85 degrees
Humidity 85%

I feed them once a day a mixture of soaked Mazuri pellets, soaked Zoo Med Forrest Tortoise diet, hibiscus leaves, mulberry leaves, spring mix lettuce, and cactus pads. I've also started giving a small about of papaya every day because that's all the Monty will seem to eat. Chell likes the Mazuri but not much else.

I soak them daily but none of them poop during their soak (they used to). I'm going to get carrot baby food today to try carrot soaks.

Chell and Monty are a lot less active than they used to be. Any other ideas about what I can do to help them?

 

[Liggysasha]

After I posted Chell seemed more lively and ate quite a bit, so I'm not as worried about her now.

But Monty had 2 bites of papaya and that was it. I gave him a carrot soak for 25 minutes and then put him in his food bowl. He had a few more bites of papaya then but then went into his hide.

Here's a photo of them. Monty is in the middle. - https://www.tortoiseforum.org/media/breakfast-time.10818/

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Something is amiss, I'm not sure what though because your conditions sound ideal. A Hatchling Redfoot should gain 15-30 grams a month in the correct conditions. Maybe a trip to the vet for a fecal parasite exam?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are you providing separate sleeping spots? Baby RF hide and sleep a lot.
At that small size, bullying is probably not yet a big deal. But baby RF eat a lot when they are healthy.
Try two separate feeding dishes and see if the more timid eaters choose to stay away from the more aggressive eater.

 

[Liggysasha]

Thanks @Toddrickfl1 and @ZEROPILOT.

I've found an exotic vet near me and I'm waiting for them to call me back so I can find out more about their tortoise experience.

I think you could be onto something with the aggression. Yesterday I noticed Monty (the sickly one) head on with Phineas (the big one). Monty dropped his head and looked like he was trying to bite Phineas' shoulder. I have 3 different hides (made from different things) but they all seem to prefer one particular hide (a half-hollowed log), so I've just ordered another one of those which will be here tomorrow.

I fed them separately today and Monty had a few bites of food. The carrot soaks seem to be helping. He also had a very big poop today too!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thanks @Toddrickfl1 and @ZEROPILOT.

I've found an exotic vet near me and I'm waiting for them to call me back so I can find out more about their tortoise experience.

I think you could be onto something with the aggression. Yesterday I noticed Monty (the sickly one) head on with Phineas (the big one). Monty dropped his head and looked like he was trying to bite Phineas' shoulder. I have 3 different hides (made from different things) but they all seem to prefer one particular hide (a half-hollowed log), so I've just ordered another one of those which will be here tomorrow.

I fed them separately today and Monty had a few bites of food. The carrot soaks seem to be helping. He also had a very big poop today too!

Aggression usually happens a little bit later on. But not always.
It's very stressful for them.

 

[Liggysasha]

Monty is doing much better today. Cruising around, eating. The carrot soaks seemed to have done the trick! Going to wait a few days and then weigh them all again.

The new hide arrives today, so I'm sure that will help too. I definitely think there is some territorial stress. They are in a 40-gallon long aquarium, which I know is on the small side for them. I was always planning on getting them a bigger one within a month or 2, but now it's more urgent. So now I'm looking into options to get a larger tank or build something.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Monty is doing much better today. Cruising around, eating. The carrot soaks seemed to have done the trick! Going to wait a few days and then weigh them all again.

The new hide arrives today, so I'm sure that will help too. I definitely think there is some territorial stress. They are in a 40-gallon long aquarium, which I know is on the small side for them. I was always planning on getting them a bigger one within a month or 2, but now it's more urgent. So now I'm looking into options to get a larger tank or build something.

Build something.
Aquariums are expensive and the shape isn't ideal.
You want length and width without all of that height. And frankly, your trio needs something much larger than you are probably currently thinking.
Think large. As large as you have the space for.