Redfoot's arms and neck look puffy.

Randi

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Glad you had your appointment. It's good that it's only fecal loading showing on the x-ray. I would be concerned though about how long it's taken to resolve if it's just fecal matter. Hopefully yours is a poop machine. Are you sure that it isn't eating it's own poop? Mine did that an incredible amount when I first got her and thought she was never pooping in her enclosure and only in soaks. I spot cleaned daily and could never find any. I kept noticing how dark her face was getting and that it'd go away in a soak. She also had a smelly face. Haha. I walked into the room where the enclosure is and saw her eating a big fresh poop, and it was smeared all over her. Yum! Cleaned her all up. Didn't matter because she did it for a while. As my baby Cherry Head that I rescued started to get better, the poop eating was less and less. I haven't seen any signs of poop eating for a long while now.

I'm glad yours has pooped and is hopefully on the mend. :) as others have suggested, maybe it is related to dietary concerns? Listing what you feed and how often would be good. Best of luck to you and yours.
 

jockma

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I've seen him eat his own poop before...but I've been spot cleaning a lot these past few months so I thought he stopped. Now what he does is he buries his poop. I sifted through his substrate and didn't find anything. He tends to always poop in the same few spots so it's easy to find. Maybe he did eat it...

I've been feeding him a bit more these past few weeks. Mostly lettuce, peppers and squash, as well as grapes, all foods he eats regularly. I fed him protein twice this week. Maybe he was due for a growth spurt. But I've definitely been stuffing him these past few days. There was no sudden change until papaya day. Then he puffed up like a marshmallow. :(
 

Randi

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Any chance mine had to eat her feces, she would. Any time I was close to her enclosure I'd check for feces. It was as if she'd poop, turn around and start eating. Ahhaah. I wonder if yours is doing the same, and you're looking and finding none. Mine will sometimes poop and lay on it (I wonder if she is pooping while sleeping?) and then that squishes it into the substrate.

I feed mine at least twice a day. The minimum amount that I soak is twice daily. I normally end up doing 3 or 4 soaks daily, and 3 feedings. Never hurts to do either in my opinion. I would try to vary the diet with more things like weeds and flowers. Google "Tortoise Table Plant Database" and browse. They have so many items listed. They also discuss how often to feed a certain item, what benefits those items can have, what kind of negative impact it can have and beyond. I rarely feed mine fruit. Rarely every two weeks, normally once a month. Mine gets protein once every week. Sometimes if I feed the turtle protein and have leftovers, I'll feed them to her. Boiled chicken, boiled turkey, cat food, cod, halibut, krill, salmon, silversides, etc. She loves mealworms and anything that wiggles.

Maybe yours had a reaction to it? I would avoid the papaya from now on. I also would avoid feeding the peppers too often, as well as the grapes. I would try to add more beneficial food items to fill up that tummy. I don't see why they couldn't be allergic to certain food items. If you ever notice such a reaction again, pay close attention to what you're feeding and record the reaction. I really hope from here on out, it's smooth sailing for you and yours.
 

jockma

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Yes I'm going to start growing some weeds for him. Before I moved I had a nice yard that he spent all day in. He would eat all the weeds and I'd feed him some fruits and veggies as a supplement. Now there's not much "yard" for him to do that so it's been just fruits and veggies for a while. But I'm growing cactus for him so I don't see why I can't grow weeds. He still eats all the weeds that grow in the little yard. There's just not enough of them to fill him up like before. :)

I soaked him three times a day when he was smaller. I only soak him once a day now that he's bigger and healthier. I've been soaking him 3 times a day since this puffiness issue began, though. I always worry about stressing him out so I feel bad soaking him often, it's good for him but he just gets so frustrated since he's the kind of tort that can't sit still for a moment. And I'm also the kind of person that's bad at "tough love".
 

jockma

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I found a big wet puddle in his temp enclosure. He peed! And he drank some water during his soak. I haven't seen him pee or drink water since this started so I'm really relieved.
 

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jockma

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This is a very good list of redfoot foods. All the info on this site for redfoots in my opinion is spot on.

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/nutrition-2/good-foods-list/
This list is surprising!

I read elsewhere that cabbage and kale were no good to feed regularly for RFs. And that yam was great and could be fed regularly. I'd still be feeding him yam regularly if he didn't suddenly become violent towards it. :D

I like the dog/cat food for protein, so much more convenient and I probably wouldn't have to trick him into eating it like I do with boiled eggs. I was always too scared to feed it because so many MBD case stories start out with "this tortoise was mostly fed dog food..."
 

Anyfoot

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This list is surprising!

I read elsewhere that cabbage and kale were no good to feed regularly for RFs. And that yam was great and could be fed regularly. I'd still be feeding him yam regularly if he didn't suddenly become violent towards it. :D

I like the dog/cat food for protein, so much more convenient and I probably wouldn't have to trick him into eating it like I do with boiled eggs. I was always too scared to feed it because so many MBD case stories start out with "this tortoise was mostly fed dog food..."
I have quite a few rescue adults. Finally, i think I've got the feeding correct. I had some with poop the consistency of soup and some that was the consistency of cold putty.
I reckon at one point I was feeding too much dried cat food, this gave some of them the runs. I keep away from that now. Occasionally I will drop a few cat biscuits for them. The 2 I had that had hard poop when I got them, ate anything and everything in the garden that was green even toxic plants. One of them won't eat banana. So I started to feed them plums, not too ripe though(the riper the fruit the more sugar there is in general) you dont want a fat tort. I will feed over ripe fruit if there is some left in our fruit bowl. But usually it's just firm. For example the pears I feed are hardish.
The eggs I scramble. Beat the egg crush the shell up and mix it in. Them microwave to scramble. Sometimes I add other foods in that just for a change.
I was surprised when you thought the papaya was upsetting your tort. Not saying its not, but suprised.
Veriety is key.
Mine get weeds or greens/romaine every day. Protein once a week, and I fruit, very little but often.
Poop tells you a lot. Firm and moist is what I aim for.
BTW. They don't digest the food completely the first time around. When they eat the poop they get, I think I read about 90% of the nutrients. First time around about 50%.
I've had many a debate with my Missis about tomatoes giving them the runs too. We feed tomatoes about twice a month at the most.
If my reds eat all the fruit and mushrooms then leave most of the greens or weeds, they then get only weeds and greens for the next couple of days. I've had it where on the 1st day they turned there nose up to the weeds, but them on the 2nd day they have had to eat them(a fresh pile of course).
Read your tort, and don't just feed what you know it likes. Very very rare do mine leave any dandilions. All this is for my adults.
Good luck in the future.
 

Kori5

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Sorry I was absent because of an exam but I passed :D. How is he doing and is he pooping?
 

jockma

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Sorry for the late reply. I was too nervous to say anything before the blood panel results came back.

He has high potassium and high SGOT (AST) levels. The vet won't be in until Wednesday so I had to ask for the results and review them myself. I don't know what this means but I'm terrified. All I can find is elevated AST indicates liver disease. I'm scared.
 

jockma

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I spoke with another vet on the phone. She says he has a mild infection and should be given antibiotics and have his bloodwork rechecked in a few weeks to see if SGAT levels go down. Kidneys appear to be okay. It's all in the liver.
 

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I'm wondering if the wonderful deadheadvet can give some guidance as to what to expect and look for in your situation. Your tort hasn't been examined by this person of course but maybe they have some suggestions as to what to test for and maybe a suggestion as to what medication can be used. I'm glad there's an update - not exactly the best news but it could be worse. I'm glad it is what it is.

@deadheadvet , any advice?
 
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jockma

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The vet made it seem like it wasn't a big deal...apparently a lot of reptiles especially rescues have liver disease...but it doesn't make me feel any better at all...I don't know what this means for my baby.
 

jockma

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They said to do a biopsy on the liver to see exactly what's wrong. I have another appointment on Wednesday. Does anyone else have a herp with liver disease...I'm so scared I don't know what to do for him.
 

jockma

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I just got the BEST news of my LIFE.

The original vet I saw on Monday just called me. She told me that my tortoise's liver enzymes are NOT elevated. EVERYTHING IS NORMAL. He needs a little bit more calcium but that's all.

The vet I spoke to before was looking at the general liver enzyme levels for ALL reptiles. My baby's levels are NORMAL for a redfoot. Everything is normal except for the calcium and mild infection.

SORRY FOR THE FALSE ALARM. I'm so happy right now.
 

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That's great that there aren't any abnormalities other then the calcium levels and infection. That is normally an easy fix. Do you provide calcium supplements and how often? Do you have a UVB light? Does your tort have access to the sun? Do you feed foods that contain calcium? Does your tort have a cuttlebone? And once some antibiotics are started, hopefully the infection goes away. Don't be sorry for the false alarm. I'm happy that that's all it was, was a false alarm. :):<3::tort:
 

jockma

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Yes, he gets UVB and natural sunlight. I started feeding less calcium supplements a few months ago because I was afraid I was giving him too much. I'll bring it back up to the old amount I was giving him. The infection is very mild, so it's likely caused by the infected wound on his head. Half of it has healed nicely, the other half is taking longer. I think what happened was he was climbing and jumping off things as usual, and his shell scraped a flap of skin off his head when he dove down onto his substrate. The flap fell back on top of the wound so it just looked like a little scrape, but as it started healing it peeled off and I noticed it's much deeper than it looked. It's finally started improving these past few days so I'm not too worried.

Sorry for the weird emotional roller coaster. I'm glad he and I can both start to relax...
 

Randi

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You don't need to apologize at all. Save them for another day. :) It is always good when there is less wrong then first anticipated. Just don't forget to breathe, OK? You took the necessary steps to ensure that your tort was healthy. That's being a good owner. You should be proud.

Sounds like a good idea to increase the calcium that's offered. It sounds like you are on the right track. Are you able to get an ointment on the wound? Polysporin, maybe Fucidin, things like those? Would help with the healing process. As I said, you're on the right track. Great job. I wish there was a thumbs up icon as I'd use about 5, at least. Haha. :)
 
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jockma

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Thank you so much for your kind words. I've been able to apply antibacterial and antifungal ointment to the wound twice a day (will adjust treatment once the lab culture comes back). I always worry that past neglect from his first home will catch up to him so I fuss a lot over his health. He has two "sets" of smooth growth on his shell because I went on a trip for several months and he was kept too dry in boarding, so he had a surge of new pyramiding. I STILL beat myself up over that. So I really appreciate it, it means a lot :)

He's eating some pumpkin right now, sprinkled with calcium as promised! Also @Kori5 this morning he made two perfectly firm, perfectly moist poops. So proud of my handsome boy.
 

Randi

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You're most welcome. It's good that you're applying ointment to the wound. Did the vet do a swab on the wound and is waiting to receive the results? I understand the fussing. My tortoise was a rescue and was very sick. I've spent almost the entire time I've had her trying to repair the damage that was done from her previous life. I can't even say previous home as she has only ever been with the vendor and then the pet store (for over 6 months) before me. She's much better now and is still healing. She has a lot of catching up to do. Mine is a Cherry Head Red Foot. I think I'd rather be too concerned then not concerned enough. Too often people don't give a **** about their animals. I love it when the person is attentive to the animals needs and will take action when needed. It is also great when they take action with the advice that's given. I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. As long as there is effort to repair what's been done or what was deemed as wrong, and there is effort to avoid making that same error, then we shouldn't be upset with ourselves. That gives us an opportunity to fix it and grow from it. I'm glad there's improvement. Yay for poop! Who knew that poop could be so exciting! Haha.
 
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