(New red footed tortoise) Shell rot??? help please :)

[crimson_lotus]

I wouldn't supplement plant protein for meat protein, although I do like to toss some mushrooms into her greens every once in a while.

Canned tuna, boiled chicken, boiled shrimp, earthworms, snails, salmon, sardines, boiled egg are all good options. I personally feed protein every 2 weeks. I used to feed once a month but with my map turtle I have more protein on hand so I do it more often.

Spring mix at the store is a good start for food as well as Mazuri tortoise diet. They love hibiscus if you can get any. My tortoises favorites seem to be butternut squash, occasionally brusselsprouts, zucchini, arugula, watercress, endive, escarole, chicory, and dandelion greens. Also possibilities are wheat grass, clover, radish or beet greens. Check out this website that tells you what a tortoise can and cannot eat, it's helped me a lot http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

Fruit favorites are mango, kiwi, papaya, banana, any kind of melon, and cactus fruit.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[raven44]

Yes, so u have met Einstein lol small world. Mt gf bought him last Friday

He had been bought by someone and returned... and my gf got sad about that when he was bought by a snake keeper.

I told myself if ein was returned I would tell my gf win could live w us. Well lifes synchronicity led to us picking him up Friday after he had been bought and returned cause the snake keeper guy said they were too hard to care for

I hope to move to some land w at least a few acres optimally this year. If not then at least a large yard w garden and area for Einstein also.

I know he needs at least an 8'x4' now. We did not know this upon buying him. My gf needed to do a lot more research than was done prior to buying him and I'm finding this all out now lol

So hopefully things will get better for him sooner than later baby steps for now unfortunately

 

[raven44]

Whats the difference in meat protein and plant protein?

 

[raven44]

My gf had been bringing eon mushroom snacks for a few months at the pet store, then the snake keeper took him home and broke her heart. He was returned tho

We went in and I had the hunch to check to see if ein had been returned.. my gf was gonna wall right past the pet section after having got a few succulents

I'm happy we have ein, too bad he isn't enjoying 5 acres tho

 

[jockma]

Runny eyes and whistling are probably due to low humidity. If the whistling doesn't go away after the humidity reaches 75-80% then I strongly recommend a vet checkup to rule out any potential respiratory problems. Some RFs naturally whistle. My boy does, even at 100% humidity.

My boy has a 2 story enclosure. He gets about 6'x6' of area to roam around in, so I bring him outside whenever possible. Most days his enclosure is just a nighttime enclosure. They do wander quite a bit in the wild so smaller enclosures can stress them out. If you live in a cold, dry area I would focus on making the enclosure as large as you possibly can, even if it's still too small. Place a lot of live plants in there and cover the top of the enclosure. You'll see the humidity skyrocket. Add lots of visual stimuli, plants, hides, rocks, anything as long as it's clean (wood tends to rot quickly which can bring out some nasty, though harmless, bugs). If you can block his visual field you can trick him into thinking the enclosure is bigger than it actually is. Rearrange the setup every now and then. This will keep him happy until a larger space can be provided.

I don't see any shell rot on him, maybe some substrate is stuck to the bottom of his shell?

 

[jockma]

According to Google, they contain different concentrations of amino acids and animal proteins are metabolized faster. When feeding a tortoise it's important to think less in terms of the makeup of the foods in the diet and more in terms of replicating their diet in the wild. By the way, do you have weeds, dandelions, stuff like that growing in those 5 acres? Those are great for RFs as a staple.

 

[MPRC]

Small small world - I'm from Spokane originally. I was both sad and glad to see him gone. I still had a chance to pet and play with Nelson the sulcata. I swear he's been there as long as I have been visiting NW Seed.
It sounds like you probably don't have access to a big ol garden. My parents grow all kinds of organic treats for my critters and send me home with them when I visit. I'll have to remember to look you up next time I visit and see if I have any surplus.

 

[crimson_lotus]

All Protein Isn’t Alike
Protein is built from building blocks called amino acids. Our bodies make amino acids in two different ways: Either from scratch, or by modifying others. A few amino acids (known as the essential amino acids) must come from food.

• Animal sources of protein tend to deliver all the amino acids we need.

• Other protein sources, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, lack one or more essential amino acids

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/

 

[raven44]

Reishi mushrooms contain all essential amino acids. Ein can't eat those tho lol

I don't buy that meat is the best source of protein. Science is wrong atm I'd say

I do like this input tho it's what I was looking for appreciated ty

IL look into the amino acids in oyster compared to whatever meat he'd be given. My gf doesn't eat meat so she'd prefer to not feed ein meat.

Sadly and reluctantly we r keeping ein in his cage more. All day... we let him out for an hour or so to excersize. Once he is done he sits und er the table in his lil spot that he claimed lol. When he does that and doesn't move for ten plus min we pit him bacj in his cage..

We give him a bath when w take him out of his cage, then let him roam. Bath every other day. Mist on off days..

Our house is always clean, never anythung left on the floor at all and we literally never take an eye off of ein. If he is active he is being watched. If he is sitting under the table he may go not being watched a few min but no longer and we check on him. If we check and he's moving around we don't leave him unattended. He is confined to the living room and kitchen. Doesn't have access to the entire house. So he isn't just roaming all day, and when he comes out he gets hydrated and not left out too long

 

[raven44]

According to Google, they contain different concentrations of amino acids and animal proteins are metabolized faster. When feeding a tortoise it's important to think less in terms of the makeup of the foods in the diet and more in terms of replicating their diet in the wild. By the way, do you have weeds, dandelions, stuff like that growing in those 5 acres? Those are great for RFs as a staple.

I do not have five acres. Small enclosure

We do have dandy lions tho

If I haven't replied to ur post specifically everyone it's not for any reason. I appreciate everyone's advice once again ty everyone

Einstein is slowly on his way to tortoise paradise soon hopefully he can have a yard to roam in and we will Def get a big basement when we move so he will have a much bigger enclosure. At least 6'x6' hopefully 8'x4' maybe his own room

 

[raven44]

Why did you soak him in Epsom salt? Just regular warm water is all he should need in a bath. Epsom salt can probably make a tort sick. I could be wrong, of course, it's just I've never heard of anyone using that for their tort.

Also, there's multiple threads around about why it's not good to let your tortoise wander around the house but to name a few problems:
1. They can eat something and get sick.
2. The floor is usually much colder than you think and they can easily get sick from being cold. And no, torts don't always have the sense to go back to their heat lamps where it's warm.
3. They can get stepped on/knocked around easily if someone isn't paying attention.
4. It's very stressful for the torts most times.

I think you said that you were planning on having a 4'x4' enclosure for your tort, right? Is there also going to be an outdoor enclosure?
A tortoise should have enough room in their enclosure for them to comfortably walk around and live healthily. They shouldn't have to have time outside their enclosure (unless it's for them to go into a safe and secure outdoor enclosure) because their indoor setups should be large enough to accommodate them.

I would definitely read the threads and links that were posted above. The beginner mistakes thread is very important and the care sheets for Redfoots is very important too.

I do commend you on trying to set up this tort with a better life. And keep asking questions if you have them.

Care to lead me to the beginner mistakes thread and care sheet please?

 

[JoesMum]

Beginner Mistakes http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

I can't find the Redfoot Care Sheet. Someone might beat me to that

 

[crimson_lotus]

I respect your girlfriends choice to not eat meat, hell I don't eat meat, but redfoot tortoises do eat occasional carrion and bugs in the wild. How does she feel about bugs?

Glad you're doing your research on the mushrooms, just make sure your tortoise is getting everything he needs.

 

[raven44]

Well how do u guys contruct your two story turtle boxes? And weather proof them? So the humidty doesn't cause molds..?

We're trying to avoid plastics, don't wanna trap ein in a box made of plastic. Plastics gas off toxic fumes. Not cool. Pvc in particular

 

[jockma]

You can let it air out after waterproofing, some people don't waterproof but scrub down the enclosure regularly and let it bake outside to kill off mold spores. With such a large enclosure that might not be possible. Some kinds of wood are possibly more mold-resistant + expensive.

I let my enclosure air out for 3 months while I was on vacation, the fumes are all but gone at that point. I think 2 weeks is all that's needed to reduce fumes, correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know if anyone's tried this but what about lining the entirety of the enclosure in pond liner or something to protect it from the moisture?

EDIT: Oh, and I meant waterproofing as in using epoxy, polyurethane coatings etc

 

[jockma]

And you can feed him bugs, or eggs. Is your gf vegan or vegetarian? Some species can handle vegan diets, redfoots in particular consume more animal protein than others so I don't recommend skipping it.

I think in the case of RFs they're like dogs and cats, they need meat to have a full diet and feeding a vegan diet can be detrimental to their health. You can try LOW-FAT dried cat food as well, I know some people feed that instead of bugs/eggs/chicken.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I use high quality dog food for animal protein and the occasional whole, crushed, boiled egg.

 

[Sara G.]

I don't eat meat either but my Forsten Tortoise does require some animal protein, so I make the sacrifice for her.
She's in my care, skipping on any part of her diet because of how I feel just wouldn't be fair for her.

 

[raven44]

I think it's simply a matter of replacing what's in the meat protein.

U replace it w a veggie thay has the same type of nutritional profile.

Simple

If chicken and hardboiled eggs has one type of amino acid he needs..

You simply find a veggie that has the amino acids to replace the meat protein.

It's not like meat protein isn't replaceable w veggies that contain the same type of meat protein if u will.

Same type of amino acids ect

Gotta understand nutrition here

 

[raven44]

How much chicken or meat protein do u feed?

Chickens nutrional profile is measured by 1 cup diced chicken

Oyster mushrooms are measured in 128 g incriminates

Not knowing how much meat protein a tortoise need makes me unable to calculate how much mushrooms ud need to feed to replace meat and if it'd be practical

If not whay other veggies could u feed that'll give the torts the right amino acids is what u ask urself here

Did u know hemp hearts have more protein than beef per cost per lb?? Ud get more protein Thats a better heathier more nutrient rich protein from hemp hearts than u do beef