Redfoot's arms and neck look puffy.

Kori5

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I'm glad to hear he is ok :). Again, I went through the same experience with waiting for the blood results. When I recieved them I searched the net and was terrified because some things seemed off. But after a call with my vet she explained to me that parameters vary from specie to specie and even depend on the season :). So sometimes the best thing is to not search the web and let the vets do their job. I'm glad he is doing much better! They do worry us sometimes.
 

jockma

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Yes, I thought that the difference in species would affect the results so I called the vet to confirm, my vet was not there so I spoke to another vet. I think maybe she specialized in birds or rodents instead of reptiles so she confirmed my worst fears for me. I could've kissed my vet when she called me to tell me my little Bean was FINE. She was a goddess in my mind when she said that.

Today I'm buying a new UVB bulb for him in case the last one stopped working properly and that's why his calcium is low, just in case. @Randi I'm so glad we're in the same boat, even though it's a very sad situation to be in! RFs (and by extension cherry heads, I'm sure) are surprisingly resilient. Mine was very sick when I got him as well. He slowly but surely got much better. He hasn't had health problems in a while now. He was being fed pellets only (not Mazuri, the rainbow pellets from Petco) and it took days for him to even open his eyes. It's a process but I'm sure your baby will eventually thrive. It takes a lot to undo the damage but good husbandry is 90% of the cure so I'm positive you'll have a thriving CH soon. :D
 

Randi

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I'm sure species would affect results, as well as the age, care, circumstances before owning the animal, size, etc., so it's good you spoke with your vet about it. I'm glad it has turned out to be much better then first anticipated.

Good idea to replace the bulb. I replace mine every 6 months. Different circumstances but the outcome was the same so we are in the same boat indeed. This boat doesn't make for smooth sailing. Mine has gotten so much better but she's really small and I feel she's stunted. Mine had been in a pet store in a sick room in a five gallon tank with soaking wet soil and no heat source, no light source and was only offered kale and carrots for atleast 6 months. Staff said they had never seen her eat. No one could give me a date of birth or paperwork to show how old. I was told by the vet that she was a year and a half old and that was when I got her. She was around 40 grams. That was July of last year. She's now almost triple that and has increased in length. She also had severe shell rot and needed an injection of antibiotics as well as oral to fight the infection internally. Her plastron was rotting away and she smelled horrible. She also needed medicated scrubs and cream daily and that went on for at least 9 months straight. I still do a treatment a week to ensure it never happens again. Both of ours were in very terrible situations. What's even sadder is that they can't choose what happens to them. Mine has improved tremendously and continues. I think that I expected that getting her to where she is would easier and quicker. It's been a process. I see how my turtle is growing and wish that my tortoise was similar. I believe they are slower growing then turtles. So it's ok, I will give her the time and care she needs for the rest of her life. We will see in a few years how big she is. Only time will tell. Thanks for your inspiring words. I'm sure ours will do great. :)
 

jockma

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Today I replaced his UVB bulb and he was basking under it all day (with a very pleased look on his face!) but the old bulb was only 4 months old! I think the calcium deficiency came from a faulty bulb and NOT the reduction in supplements, but I'm still feeding him extra calcium just in case. I feel horrible! He must've felt crummy for months from a faulty bulb and inadequate/no UVB. I noticed he had been ignoring the last bulb ever since I put it in when he used to bask under his UVB bulbs frequently in the past but I didn't think anything of it. That's potentially 4 months of low to no UVB from the bulb, the UVB he got in that time frame would've been from a few days a week outside and even then he's always in deep shade. :(

Randi, those conditions sound horrible! I'm so glad you took her in! I can't imagine what she went through in those months or years but what matters now is she's well cared-for. I'm sure she's having the time of her life now that she's being given proper temps, proper humidity, proper food, proper CARE. It's probably the first time in her life that she's properly cared for. It sounds like she's improving and I have no doubt she'll continue on getting better. I have no idea how old my RF is so I can't properly map out his growth rate but he had slow growth for a few years even with proper husbandry and I thought he may be stunted as well. He only recently started having big growth spurts these past 6 months or so. Hope the same happens for your CH, but I've seen some other rescues that were stunted but still were able to go on and have happy, healthy lives. Frequent vet check ups to monitor organ function and good husbandry should be all she needs, and you sound like you have it down pat.
 

Kori5

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I'm sure your tortoises will be fine with time. Unfortunately we can't change their previous life and care, we can only hope our love will make them strong and healthy :). @jockma I had a coil uvb bulb for a month before I changed it to a uv tube. He didn't want to bask under it and was lethargic. Now he is active and loves his new lamp :). I also give him calcium powder on his food two times a week and vitamins ( they also have calcium and vitamin d) three times a week. The low calcium level in blood is easily fixed :). Don't worry!
 

jockma

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His first bulb was a coil bulb and although it didn't give him any problems (his eyes didn't open for several days when I got him but they eventually opened while using that bulb) I switched it out right away when I found out about the health issues they were causing. Good job catching the problem! Glad you're giving good quality UVB for your baby. I've been using Reptisun mercury vapor bulbs for a while now. He's always loved basking under them until this last bulb, he acted like it wasn't even there and he had another bulb to bask under so he favored that one. I didn't think it was possible for these bulbs to be faulty, I hope they're not and this is just a coincidence, but the last time he spent all day basking under the UVB bulb was years ago when he got his first one. He was severely calcium deficient from lack of UVB. His eyes hadn't opened yet and he wasn't moving much but he climbed on top of his hide just to get more of it. So I feel like he was missing out on his UVB and he's trying to make up for lost time. Well, now he has all the time in the world :D
 

jockma

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He's taking the antibiotics really well with no side effects except for a bit of diarrhea after each dose. Pee looks and smells normal and his wound has finally started to heal quickly after the first dose of antibiotics. I think we're in the clear. :)

(Not that it matters, but I saw his tail out and looked to see if he was pooping and he decided to flash me. Twice. He's also making that grunting sound a lot which I now know is associated with Male RF Horniness. We have some trying times up ahead. :D)
 

nootnootbu

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Another trick for calcium in torts is to leave a cuttlebone in the enclosure. Often, a depleted tort will eat a great deal of cuttlebone when they feel they need a boost.

Some of my rescues, when I first got them, ate a whole bunch of cuttlebone, then, as soon as they felt well again, they pretty much quit eating it and just give the occasional nibble now.
 

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