Shy or sick?

Status
Not open for further replies.

mywildlove

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
New York
Hi everyone! I got a redfoot tortoise two weeks ago, and she seems to be in good shape. She has a little bit of pyramiding from the pet store, but I keep the humidity usually around 80% and the temperature about 80 degrees, so I am hoping it won't get worse. My concern is that she doesn't ever come out of her hide. If I take her out and put her in her water dish, she will drink, and then move to the food and eat, and then move back into the hide. My concern is that she doesn't seem to come out on her own, and doesn't ever seem "hungry" - she usually eats because she catches sight/smell of the food as she goes past after I take her out, but if I just put food in, she doesn't seem to notice or care. At first I thought she was just adjusting, and she does still seem not to be used to us - she's in a glass enclosure (for now) and whenever she catches a glimpse of us walking through when I take her out, she pulls into her shell, but how long is a normal adjustment period?

Is this normal shy tortoise behavior, or are these signs of a sick turtle? Thanks in advance!
 

ISTortoiseLover

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jun 2, 2010
Messages
216
Seems shy mostly. Did you provide a basking area for him/her during the day? Is the enclosure well lit? Could take weeks for them to adjust. One day it may just be brave enough to explore.
 

Terry Allan Hall

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
4,009
Location (City and/or State)
The Republic O' Tejas
Put up blinds around her glass tank, so she can't see y'all moving around, or make her a container out of a large storage box.

Might help him/her feel safer.
 

mywildlove

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
New York
Thanks for the responses! I think she's just shy but seems to be getting over it. I walked out of the kitchen today to see her basking on top of the aloe plant (which had been flattened yesterday, and I had assumed it was dying). Glad to see she's getting used to us :)
 

HarleyK

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
404
If he's eating a drinking then I think that's a good sign. I agree with everyone else. Seems like a shy tort....like mine (a 4")! Mine has to be physically placed in front of the food everyday, otherwise it would starve. I have dug up some posts from the past and it looks like all redfoots "snap" out of it at some point. Waiting for the day to come.
 

Madkins007

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
5,393
Location (City and/or State)
Nebraska
Probably just shy, but...

There are a lot of keepers in the northern parts of the US whose Red-foots seem to have gone 'quiet' lately but are still eating, pooping, etc.

If these were Box Turtles, we would say they in a sort of pre-hibernation mode triggered by the light or other seasonal elements. Since Red-foots don't hibernate in the wild, this was not considered for Red-foots.

However- I am hearing about it from a LOT of keepers, many of whom have great experience, so it is not just a care-related issue.

It might just be a form of dormancy, a very mild form of hibernation. Red-foots in the north and south parts of the range actually do experience seasons, and there are field reports of them sleeping though bad weather. More research would be interesting!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top