Starvation/malnutrition effects in tortoises?

Ketta

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So its been almost 2 weeks since Keto have been with me and his improvements have been amazing.. incluiding that his colour is brighter everyday around his head and legs especially. So i remembered that when i got him his head colour some parts were either very pale or gray in colour and now he is even getting new spots around his chin.
So i remembered that my mom's friend have 2 tortoises they are either Yellow foot or Red Foot tortoises not sure as i hadnt been for a few months in their house. The last time i saw them they had their head with gray colouring and and very pale they get ONLY lettuce as food :/ Keto used to be in a similar situation before he was mine, where his only food was lettuce and dry dog food once a week.
So I begun wondering what are the signs of malnutrition in tortoises. I might be taking care of these 2 for 6 months as the owners will travel from November 2019 to May 2020. I trully believe that these two are suffering from malnutrition.
 
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dmmj

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Poor diet can affect coloring. MBD, slow or little growth, poor bone development. Lots of things really.
 

Ketta

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What's MBD? I knew Keto's poor colour was result of a poor diet.
Poor diet can affect coloring. MBD, slow or little growth, poor bone development. Lots of things really.
 

dmmj

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What's MBD? I knew Keto's poor colour was result of a poor diet.
Metabolic Bone Disorder. It happens when a turtle or tortoise does not get enough calcium & sun sunshine & the :tort: develops weak bones & a lumpy mis-shapen shell
 

Ketta

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Metabolic Bone Disorder. It happens when a turtle or tortoise does not get enough calcium & sun sunshine & the :tort: develops weak bones & a lumpy mis-shapen shell
Oh ok Wow!
 

Ketta

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Is it bad that Keto just had dirrhea? I read it means he have been overfed? So how much should I give him? He pooped normal today then he did diarrhea...
 

Toddrickfl1

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Oh soo diet it's not what's important? It's the humidity what matters...
They're both equally important. A good wide diet and proper humidity you should be fine. It should actually be easier for you than most keeping Redfoots because you live in the Redfoots natural range.
 

Ketta

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They're both equally important. A good wide diet and proper humidity you should be fine. It should actually be easier for you than most keeping Redfoots because you live in the Redfoots natural range.
What about the diarrhea he just had?
 

Toddrickfl1

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What about the diarrhea he just had?
I would get his diet right and give him a few weeks to settle in. I think if you do that he'll be fine. If it persists after a few weeks then it might be time to get it checked out.
 

Ketta

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I would get his diet right and give him a few weeks to settle in. I think if you do that he'll be fine. If it persists after a few weeks then it might be time to get it checked out.
I have been giving him papaya, tomatoes, arugula, lettuce, basil, mango, hibiscus leaves, raddicchio, banana.. yesterday night he ate some cooked chicken... egg yolk and Guava.
Not all at the same time yesterday night I gave him the chicken pieces with some radicchio and lettuce. This morning it was papaya with radicchio. He doesn't like hibiscus flower... only the leaves.
 
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Ketta

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Thing is the quantity I read that he should eat an amount about the size of his head but I give him that and he stares at me like I want more he eats 3x the size of his head..
 

Toddrickfl1

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Thing is the quantity I read that he should eat an amount about the size of his head but I give him that and he stares at me like I want more he eats 3x the size of his head..
I've heard a good rule of thumb is imagine if you flipped your tort upside down and used him as a bowl. Whatever would fit in that bowl should be about how much you offer daily.
 

Ketta

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I've heard a good rule of thumb is imagine if you flipped your tort upside down and used him as a bowl. Whatever would fit in that bowl should be about how much you offer daily.
Wow that would be a lot XD for his size! And also should it be once a day? Or several times a day? I have been feeding him 2-3 times a day. So maybe I'm over doing it..
 

Toddrickfl1

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Wow that would be a lot XD for his size! And also should it be once a day? Or several times a day? I have been feeding him 2-3 times a day. So maybe I'm over doing it..
I feed once a day in the mornings but I make sure there's always some for him to nibble thru out the day if he chooses.
 

Ketta

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Wow he is way younger than Keto wow. Keto is 2 years old but because the family that had him before had him on a poor diet and lack of sunshine his growth wasn't right. I hope he will catch up with his size and weight soon.
 

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