Help! Vomiting redfoot

[RonTheTortoise]

My male red footed tortoise hasn't been eating (when he does it's small bites) or pooping very much and he is constantly hiding. Today I observed him throw up after eating a few dandelions outside. I am very concerned and any advise would be helpful. He has a vet appointment tomorrow, but I'm concerned if he will make it till then. He is about 7 years old I think

 

[Maggie Cummings]

How do you keep him? Lights, substrate etc...

 

[RonTheTortoise]

Well we've been trying a few different things to get things just right but currently we have half turf, half organic soil, a reptifogger on all day medium, 3/4 of the tank is UV lights, 1/4 red basking light and we just added a ceramic heating bulb to bring the temps up. The also have a huge water dish filled with river rocks to soak in.

 

[T33's Torts]

Emergency Bump.

 

[muu]

I hope he's ok? Any news?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Why so many UV lights? Did you take him to the Vet?

 

[RonTheTortoise]

He has a pretty big tank (5X2) and we started with less UV lights but we are still learning and thought we needed to cover the whole area so we got more, is that true? He is in quarantine today and hasn't moved much, but he was walking around outside yesterday and seemed fine until he vomited. I can't wait to get him to the vet

 

[crimson_lotus]

What are the temperatures in there? I have a 4x4 for my redfoot, 1 UV strip, a basking light, and a CHE and the temperatures in her enclosure are around 80-85 on the cooler side

 

[crimson_lotus]

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/commondisease.html#Vomiting

( Let us know how the vet visit goes

 

[RonTheTortoise]

*UPDATE*
Just got my tortoise back from the vets and they really don't know what is wrong. So they gave us antibiotics to inject (baytril) into his front leg, he also injected B and A complexes before we left. He says he still needs a bigger stool sample to really know what's going on, but I don't know when that's gonna happen. He needs to stay warm so we are keeping him on the warmer side of the tank which should be around 90 during the day and 75 at night. Any advise?

 

[crimson_lotus]

I would make it warmer, 80-85 at night

 

[naturalman91]

*UPDATE*
Just got my tortoise back from the vets and they really don't know what is wrong. So they gave us antibiotics to inject (baytril) into his front leg, he also injected B and A complexes before we left. He says he still needs a bigger stool sample to really know what's going on, but I don't know when that's gonna happen. He needs to stay warm so we are keeping him on the warmer side of the tank which should be around 90 during the day and 75 at night. Any advise?

step your temps up at night i don't even let it fall below 80 and get rid of some of the lights i doubt it's the light making him sick but redfoot's aren't a fan of bright lights. i use a tube for UVB and a normal house hold light for my basking area

 

[RonTheTortoise]

We have a ceramic heating element now that's bring things up a bit, but I need an infra red thermometer to know what it's at for sure. How do you keep your enclosure so warm all the time with less lights?

 

[crimson_lotus]

How many watts are your lights?

 

[crimson_lotus]

Did the vet you go to specialize in reptiles? I'm wondering why they would need a bigger stool sample..I mean, ANY stool sample should do. My Redfoot poops like crazy when she's on her way to the vet.

 

[naturalman91]

We have a ceramic heating element now that's bring things up a bit, but I need an infra red thermometer to know what it's at for sure. How do you keep your enclosure so warm all the time with less lights?

ceramic heat emitters on a thermostat is the most reliable way my acurite walmart gauges can read what a CHE makes the enclosure so why would you need a infra red thermometer?

 

[RonTheTortoise]

To be fair, his stool sample was small. He hasn't really had much bowel movements for the past few weeks, and when he did it was slimy and mucusy looking, and that is a main reason we are very concerned. I heard infrared thermometers can be pretty cheap and that way I can take more accurate temperature readings in several places, especially get a better feel for how warm the tortoises actually are.