Redfoot hiding all day?

[Amconaway88]

Hello everyone! Quick question...is it normal for a redfoot hatchling to hide constantly? He NEVER leaves his hide unless I get him out for his soak and food. We've only had him for 6 days, so I'm sure part of it is that he's scared still...

His enclosure is kept between 80-82 degrees, with a basking area that is 90-95 degrees. His humidity levels are always 85%-95%. He's started eating little bits at a time everyday after his soak, and today he ate a massive pile of kale and collared greens that was as big as him! He is very active in his soak, blowing bubbles under the water, looking for ways to escape, ect,..but when I put him back in his enclosure he briskly walks to his hide, burrows under the substrate and stays there until I get him out the next day.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! It's crazy how much I stress over this tiny little guy...l never thought I'd get so excited over a tortoise's bowel movements [emoji23]

 

[Minority2]

Kale and collard greens are not the type of foods they should be eating together regularly or on a week to week basis.

The link below will do a better job explaining what type of foods are allowed and the reasons why certain foods should be given often.
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

It has only been 6 days since you have gotten your tortoise. Tortoises take time to get used to a new environment. Continue with the daily soakings. You do not have to wake/bother the tortoise when you bring them food. They will forage when needed.

Additional: The size of your enclosure/cement mixing tub may be a factor in the reason why your tortoise is constantly going to their hides. Your basking light is probably giving off too much heat over the small enclosure. 80F-90F is a good range to stick with for Red foots. Instead of using a basking light bulb you can instead use a ceramic heat emitter or a reptile heat panel and just configure them to keep temperatures above 80F day and night. If you had a bigger enclosure, feel free to offer them a basking option. Otherwise I would suggest saving costs and sticking with the other two options instead.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

@Minority2 has given you some great advice.
I'd ad that in my opinion and decades of observation, Redfoot go looking for shade at anything over 87-88 degrees and can and will downright overheat at much over 93ish. Make sure that your "Basking" spot is relatively small.
You will need to provide a larger enclosure. One that has a top of sorts on it. We call this a CLOSED CHAMBER enclosure. It is great for keeping in humidity and warmth. Or better yet, an outdoor enclosure.
With all of this said.....And with all of your parameters absolutely perfect.......It's still perfectly normal for a baby Redfoot to hide and sleep for about 90% of the day. It's what they do.
My adults come out early in the morning. Get some food, take a swim in a pool, roam around and then disappear into the bushes or the sleep houses when the sun comes out and it gets hot. Only to come back out late evening or if it happens to rain. (And it rains a LOT)
There's a baby in that pen too. I see him/her about once every 3 to 4 weeks. But I don't get concerned. Because I've come to expect that.

 

[Amconaway88]

Thanks for the advice.

The cement mixing tub is set up as a nursery (and future quarantine) while my husband is currently working on a massive permanent enclosure.

The basking area is very small. Based on all of the research I've done, my temp and humidity is pretty perfect. If not, what are the ranges supposed to be?

I'll look at the food list you linked! It's so frustrating because I got the kale and collared greens directly from a redfoot list. It seems that nobody agrees on just about anything!

 

[Amconaway88]

Oh and I am very familiar with an closed enclosure! My cement mixing tub is basically enclosed as it has a greenhouse built over it. Ever since doing that, my humidity levels have stayed 85%-99%. I test his temps constantly and it's usually around 82-85 degrees. I live in a upstairs apartment in an old converted warehouse, so I have plenty of room for his big enclosure, and my house generally stays pretty warm and humid itself.

 

[Amconaway88]

As for outdoor enclosure....i live two blocks from Lake Erie....it gets down to - 30 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter so that's not really possible right now

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thanks for the advice.

The cement mixing tub is set up as a nursery (and future quarantine) while my husband is currently working on a massive permanent enclosure.

The basking area is very small. Based on all of the research I've done, my temp and humidity is pretty perfect. If not, what are the ranges supposed to be?

I'll look at the food list you linked! It's so frustrating because I got the kale and collared greens directly from a redfoot list. It seems that nobody agrees on just about anything!

Those are both perfectly suitable foods. But not a good staple food.
Almost no one disagrees.
Do you have hibiscus plants?
I use hibiscus leaves and flowers as my daily staple right now with other greens and fruit. Quite literal whatever I have on hand.
Feeding a RF is easy.
As for humidity, above 70% is your target. Over 80%? Even better.
Anything that you use as an enclosure CAN work, but a closed chamber will make your life easier.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

As for outdoor enclosure....i live two blocks from Lake Erie....it gets down to - 30 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter so that's not really possible right now

Again. Living in South Florida, I take a lot for granted. And please understand that I/we answer similar questions daily and sometimes they get a one size fits all response.
Not every part of it will be something that you need to be concerned about. And none if it is meant to discourage or upset anyone.
Just the opposite.

 

[Amconaway88]

Again. Living in South Florida, I take a lot for granted. And please understand that I/we answer similar questions daily and sometimes they get one size fits all response.
Not every part of it will be something that you need to be concerned about. And none if it is meant to discourage or upset anyone.
Just the opposite.

Haha don't worry, I worked in upper management for years for Walmart, it's takes a LOT for me to get discouraged.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Haha don't worry, I worked in upper management for years for Walmart, it's takes a LOT for me to get discouraged.

Great.
Because at some point, it all gets much easier.

 

[Minority2]

Thanks for the advice.

The cement mixing tub is set up as a nursery (and future quarantine) while my husband is currently working on a massive permanent enclosure.

The basking area is very small. Based on all of the research I've done, my temp and humidity is pretty perfect. If not, what are the ranges supposed to be?

I'll look at the food list you linked! It's so frustrating because I got the kale and collared greens directly from a redfoot list. It seems that nobody agrees on just about anything!

The information given, when asked, about tortoises in this site are usually quite up to date. You'll just have to compare them to the other sites/people you're also getting your information from.

Kale and collard greens are acceptable foods in moderation. However, all acceptable food types contain some form of harmful properties. This is why many members suggest giving tortoises a varied diet. You don't need to give them too many choices. You just need to make sure certain foods are not fed too regularly that may cause a buildup of that specific harmful property.

Here is a list of harmful properties from the same site as the link from my last post:
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tortoise-diet/harmful-properties/#.WMfT4BicZBw

Temperature: Warm side 86-90F, cool side 80F, humidity: 80%, and night time cool side 80F.

An optional basking light at 90-95F is optional for larger (6-8 ft) enclosures. It also acts as an additional cheap lighting source for people that don't want to install lengthy 6ft UVB fixtures or dual UVB setups.

 

[Amconaway88]

The information given, when asked, about tortoises in this site are usually quite up to date. You'll just have to compare them to the other sites/people you're also getting your information from.

Kale and collard greens are acceptable foods in moderation. However, all acceptable food types contain some form of harmful properties. This is why many members suggest giving tortoises a varied diet. You don't need to give them too many choices. You just need to make sure certain foods are not fed too regularly that may cause a buildup of that specific harmful property.

Here is a list of harmful properties from the same site as the link from my last post:
https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tortoise-diet/harmful-properties/#.WMfT4BicZBw

Temperature: Warm side 86-90F, cool side 80F, humidity: 80%, and night time cool side 80F.

An optional basking light at 90-95F is optional for larger (6-8 ft) enclosures. It also acts as an additional cheap lighting source for people that don't want to install lengthy 6ft UVB fixtures or dual UVB setups.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that is all I'm feeding him! That's just the only one he actually ate a decent amount of. In the week we've had him we've tried a number of different greens, fruits, as well as the pellets the breeder recommended. He just really seemed to like the collared greens especially.

So it seems like my temps and humidity are pretty spot on, though my humidity is usually at 90%.

We actually already have the fancy expensive lighting, including the UVB tubes, we just haven't gotten it installed yet as it was delivered this morning. Money isn't really the issue, as we saved and budgeted before buying knowing that setup was pretty pricey. I didn't want the little thing to have an improper setup, so I made sure not to buy him until I could afford to do it correctly

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Welcome to the forum from a fellow RF keeper

 

[lisa127]

Also no one seems to be mentioning that this is a hatchling and it's perfectly normal for babies to hide all the time....

Baby animals don't last very long in nature of they are out and about.

 

[Amconaway88]

Also no one seems to be mentioning that this is a hatchling and it's perfectly normal for babies to hide all the time....

Baby animals don't last very long in nature of they are out and about.

Thank you very much! I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a sign of illness necessarily or anything