Redfoot loss of Appetite | Tortoise Forum

Yes, Red foots don’t bask or need basking lights. Try getting a Ceramic Heat Emitter or two. (These are non-visible-light heat sources.)
Look through this, it will help keep you from mistakes. And ask questions! ~

Its important to understand where your tort’s species evolved. RF are tropical and need high temps and high humidity, but because they are from the Amazon jungle area, they don’t need or expect spots of sunshine.
This is my favourite background info about Red and Yellow Foots. There are a couple bits of info that we have since discovered are not good keeping practices, but so much of this is good info that its definitely worth the read ~

80% is still too low for a Red Foot. They need 85% or higher humidity with 85F or higher temps, all the time.

What do you mean by “humidifier”?
– It is not good to use Sprayers, Misters, or Humidifiers. They only produce droplets, not humidity, which can cause respiratory infections. These droplets are too large for your tortoise to easily breathe with them in the air. (Look at the size of the nasal holes – nares – on your tort’s face. They’re quite small. You are essentially waterboarding your tortoise if you use a sprayer, mister, or humidifier.) There is no good way for your tortoise to get away from the droplets in an enclosure.
– Also, the heavy water droplets settle onto the surface, evaporate up, creating a cooling cycle – which screws up your ability to keep your temperatures even and above the 84F/29C minimum that your Red Foot NEEDS 24/7.
– With a constantly damp surface you are increasing the probability of shell fungus. Because RedFoots need it to be mid-80sF temps and mid-80s humidity all the time, for their entire lives, they are more liable to catch a shell fungus. (It can be gotten rid of by a few days of using athlete’s foot cream, but why subject your tort to an unnecessary problem?)

Remove the humidifier.

Soaking is healthy and necessary for your tortoise. Once per week is entirely inadequate. When they are young, it should be once or twice per day. As an adult it should be every-other-day, or more often. The soaking water needs to be warm (95F is good) for the entire time the tortoise is in it. The water should only be as deep as where the top and bottom shells come together, and because this is so shallow, it is VERY important to keep a close watch of the temperature. DO NOT allow the water to get cold. If it drops below the 85F mark, immediately rewarm it and add more soak time to compensate for cooling your tortoise down too much. Always end the soak with maximum warm water temps for at least five minutes before you take your tortoise out to return it to its enclosure. Each soak should be a minimum of a half-an-hour, but longer is better. (I soak my Red Foot for about an hour or longer each time.) There is almost no such thing as too much soaking!

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Because your tortoise is showing signs of being too cold/not eating normally, soak it every day for at least 45 minutes in constantly warm water each time. Warm the enclosure to a constant 90F day and night until a few days after you see improvement – then you can lower the humidity to mid-80%s and temps to 85F, and soaks to every other day.

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The longer soaks have the additional perk of pooping and peeing usually being done in the water, which keeps your substrate cleaner. I seldom have to do a complete substrate change, and it smells reasonably “clean” in the enclosure.
Additionally – You also can more easily check the level of your tort’s health by monitoring the consistency, size, color, and so on, of the turds.

The best way to keep correct humidity is to maintain a wet lower inch or two of substrate, with a “dry” layer on the top. Here is how you do that ~

I buy the coco coir in the 3-brick packages which are a little cheaper that way, and they store more easily than the loose type. I do NOT buy the loose stuff because it is messier to get it to hold the water initially, it seems to dry out again quicker, plus there is a “dusty” factor when you initially try to get it damp (that can cause you to cough like a fool for a bit – think what dusty coco coir does to the poor tortoises who are trying to live on it only!). It will also take as much, quantity-wise, so you would have to buy more packages of the loose stuff to have the same amount as the compressed bricks. It also takes up a lot more space to store it in loose form.

Then I use a very clean, definitely does not have any soap, oil, or other type of residue, five gallon bucket (I have two five gallon buckets dedicated to only tortoise substrate, nothing else).
Fill it about 2/3 full of warm water and submerge one of the bricks. Allow it to soak until it has completely fallen apart, with no hard lumps left. You may have to add more water if it expands above the waterline.

Hand-wring-out as much of the water as possible and pack it tightly into the bottom of the enclosure. Tight packing is essential. Begin at one end and work your way to the other end, so that you can see if you got enough of the water out. You don’t want standing water visible, especially not when you are finished.

Pack the hand-wrung coco coir about two or three inches deep. (I like 3-4″, but two-three will do for most situations.)

Next put a two to four inch layer of Orchid Bark/Fir Bark on top and pat it down – this shouldn’t be packed as firmly as the coco coir, but pat it down until it feels even and solid. Some use Cypress Mulch instead, but I don’t care for the swampy smell of the Cyprus Mulch, plus, the stringy fibers and pointy pieces have the potential to cause health problems (think intestinal impactions and stab wounds in the delicate skin areas).

Some Keepers use only the Orchid Bark/Fir Bark, but still maintain the lowest inch or two as a humidity-water reservoir.

Close your enclosure up tight and let it acclimate for several hours or a day, then measure the humidity and heat. If it is too humid when you check, vent it for a day or more until it is in the range that’s best for your tortoise while closed, in its normal operating condition. It is good if you see some condensation and drips on enclosure walls in places.

The lowest layer should feel quite-wet-but-not-sloppy if you push your finger to the bottom. Any time your humidity begins to drop, you add more warm water into the corners only. This replenishes the humidity reservoir. Add cautiously – a couple cups at a time (it is easier to add than to try to remove excess).

And, as Tammy has asked, why do you think there is a vitamin deficiency? If you are feeding well NOW, it should be caught up. Where did you get info that lead you to believe your tort is deficient?

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