Red footed tortoise don't eat fruit and general eating problems

[Martellone]

That's certainly a success! I think, you may start tracking his weight now

Would be glad to hear more updates and see more photos from you!

Hi.
Unfortunately after a good period of eating he stop eating again..this weekend he has eaten a good quantity of pineapple on saturday and five small cat kibble for cat sunday mixed with calcium and greens. And now he hasn't eaten since monday. And he doesn't want to eat today either.
Also on weekend he walk a lot on our balcony under sun because we had 25°c,i think more on balcony.
The enclosure temperatures are optimal and humidity too. He is quite active, drink but don't eat. And i don't understand why.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and happy birthday!

Were the cat kibbles dry or wet? If dry, they can take some time to pass through with help of drinking and long soaks.

 

[Martellone]

Hello and happy birthday!

Were the cat kibbles dry or wet? If dry, they can take some time to pass through with help of drinking and long soaks.

Thank you.

Wet, i put kibble in water for 20 min before to give him ..and this morning we soak them and produce a lot of poop.but don't eat

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

That sounds fine and should not cause any issues. Perhaps it's just a reaction to animal protein - my redfoot usually takes a "day off" if it was too much (sleeps more and almost stops eating).

I would not worry for a day or two more if he is active and well hydrated.

 

[Martellone]

That sounds fine and should not cause any issues. Perhaps it's just a reaction to animal protein - my redfoot usually takes a "day off" if it was too much (sleeps more and almost stops eating).

I would not worry for a day or two more if he is active and well hydrated.

Ok thanks.we hope is all ok

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Ok thanks.we hope is all ok

Keep us posted.
Hopefully he'll act more like himself when Summer gets here

 

[Martellone]

Keep us posted.
Hopefully he'll act more like himself when Summer gets here

Unfortunatly he dosen't eat anything for 6 days and yesterday i give him pellet of tortoise food. I see in the mouth that it is brown/necrotic at the internal edges. I think the stomatitis, mouth rot?!, has started again. Now the only thing that eat are pellets. For a period to support him i will feed him with those mixed with good food. But he is smart and look for pellets among the food and eats only those!

Yesterday we had 29°c degrees and he walk a lot on balcony.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Unfortunatly he dosen't eat anything for 6 days and yesterday i give him pellet of tortoise food. I see in the mouth that it is brown/necrotic at the internal edges. I think the stomatitis, mouth rot?!, has started again. Now the only thing that eat are pellets. For a period to support him i will feed him with those mixed with good food. But he is smart and look for pellets among the food and eats only those!

Yesterday we had 29°c degrees and he walk a lot on balcony.

You can try to wet pellets, make a mush with a fork and mix it with other foods (or even use a food processor).

At 29C make sure he has some hide or shade as under direct sunlight he may overheat. A soaking dish and a humid hide would be perfect.

If it's possible to make a photo of his mouth (probably, you will need two people to do that) - you can post it here, perhaps experienced members can confirm if it's mouth rot.

 

[Martellone]

You can try to wet pellets, make a mush with a fork and mix it with other foods (or even use a food processor).

At 29C make sure he has some hide or shade as under direct sunlight he may overheat. A soaking dish and a humid hide would be perfect.

If it's possible to make a photo of his mouth (probably, you will need two people to do that) - you can post it here, perhaps experienced members can confirm if it's mouth rot.

Yes, when temperature reached over 29°C it went into the shade of plants and pots.

Tonight when i get home i try to take a photo. If i offer a pellet he open a mouth and i can fast take a picture. I think is stomatitis because he suffer of that 2 month ago and was diagnosed by the vet. But when i started to write on this forum vet after visit say that he was recovered.

 

[Martellone]

You can try to wet pellets, make a mush with a fork and mix it with other foods (or even use a food processor).

At 29C make sure he has some hide or shade as under direct sunlight he may overheat. A soaking dish and a humid hide would be perfect.

If it's possible to make a photo of his mouth (probably, you will need two people to do that) - you can post it here, perhaps experienced members can confirm if it's mouth rot.

Here some pictures. You can see the dry at the external of the mouth and the brown at the internal sides of the mouth.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

@Yvonne G @zovick @ZEROPILOT Can you take a look if it's a mouth rot? (It was diagnosed by vet and treated once in the past)

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I appreciate that it was previously treated by a vet. But it looks pretty normal to me. Maybe I'm missing something.
His tongue looks good and his eyes look clear.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I appreciate that it was previously treated by a vet. But it looks pretty normal to me. Maybe I'm missing something.
His tongue looks good and his eyes look clear.

I'm concerned about brown spots on the sides of the beak they don't look like a food stains to me.

 

[Martellone]

No

I'm concerned about brown spots on the sides of the beak they don't look like a food stains to me.

No is not food

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

No

No is not food

I agree. And it doesn't look like a normal coloration either. You can make an appointment with vet again. Mild cases of mouth rot are treated with dilluted 1 to 30 Betadin (povidone-iodine), without antibiotics. However, mouth rot is not very common and this can be something else, that's why I've asked for help from more experinced members.

 

[Martellone]

I agree. And it doesn't look like a normal coloration either. You can make an appointment with vet again. Mild cases of mouth rot are treated with dilluted 1 to 30 Betadin (povidone-iodine), without antibiotics. However, mouth rot is not very common and this can be something else, that's why I've asked for help from more experinced members.

An update.

We were on holiday for 2 weeks and I leave the tort to my parents. He continue to don't eat nothing, only tortoise food pellet. My parents give him only 2-3 pellets a day, and one day banana, and he lost another time weight.
We tried with all kind of food but nothing. Today he eat 9 pellet and 6 meal worms put into a mix of hibiscus flowers cut in very small pieces but he select only pellet and worms. Yesterday I tried with kiwi, mango, tomato, dandelion and clover but nothing. And if juice of fruit is adsorbed by pellet he doesn't eat pellet too. I really don't know what to do anymore. I continue with pellet but i don't think it's okay to just eat that. On september 2023 he was more or less 580 g and now 475 g.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Depends on the pellet, but nothing is good to feed daily. Could you post the ingredients of your pellets? Have you made all the other changes recommended on this thread earlier? The amount of weight loss sounds concerning.

 

[Martellone]

Depends on the pellet, but nothing is good to feed daily. Could you post the ingredients of your pellets? Have you made all the other changes recommended on this thread earlier? The amount of weight loss sounds concerning.

Attached the ingredients.

Yes. I soaked him every other day, the temp is 28,5 °C during day and 27°C at night, humidity up to 80%. I changed the substrate too. When temperature is fine he walk on balcony all afternoon. When I changed this parameters after days he started to eat all for 2-3 weeks and suddendly more or less 20-25 days ago he stop to eat another time. I supposed a return of mouth rot, i posted picture in this post.

The only thing that I don't change is the size of enclosure because i waiting for summer, when he can stay all day outdoor, to make it bigger by the manufacturer.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Attached the ingredients.

Yes. I soaked him every other day, the temp is 28,5 °C during day and 27°C at night, humidity up to 80%. I changed the substrate too. When temperature is fine he walk on balcony all afternoon. When I changed this parameters after days he started to eat all for 2-3 weeks and suddendly more or less 20-25 days ago he stop to eat another time. I supposed a return of mouth rot, i posted picture in this post.

The only thing that I don't change is the size of enclosure because i waiting for summer, when he can stay all day outdoor, to make it bigger by the manufacturer.

Wheat flour and corn strach aren't the ingridients you want see... The amount of grude fiber is quite low and grude protein is also on the lower side. Do you have any other pellets available/have you tried other pellets? There are better pellets out there, but as I said nothing is good to feed on a daily basis.

Hope that it is the mouth rot and he heals soon!

 

[Martellone]

Wheat flour and corn strach aren't the ingridients you want see... The amount of grude fiber is quite low and grude protein is also on the lower side. Do you have any other pellets available/have you tried other pellets? There are better pellets out there, but as I said nothing is good to feed on a daily basis.

Hope that it is the mouth rot and he heals soon!

I can try to find other pellets on amazon or per store. Suggestions?mazuri in italy is unobtainable. I wanted to try giving only safe food until he starts eating again but i've al ready tried for 7 days and he never ate. Given the further weight loss i wouldn't want to Force it again, or could it be useful?