Baby Redfoot Health Check and Some questions

[iTorto]

Hello, a while a go i posted this thread on my baby redfoot that was sick and died

After he died, the seller i purchased it from replaced it with a new small redfoot, it arrived at 4 july 2018.

This is a little bit bigger then the previous one, hes arround 6.5cm scute length when it arrives a month ago.

I need help doing some basic health check based on the photos i take, i took photos of his face from side and front and also his shells.. Temperature is 80 - 95 all the time, i dont use heat emmiters because its the default tempreature where i live. The humidity is arround 70-80%.

Another thing i noticed that this new one also have some kind of watery stools problem, he pooped almost everyday and most of the time the stools are loose and green or brown, occasionaly its black and hard but not very often. I tought i made the correct diet change when poop is hard but the next day its back to green and watery again.


Other than that he seems pretty fine, he eats a lot (hes a bit of picky eater) and has gained arround 1 cm, i measured him again yesterday and he is now 7.5cm in scute length

Beside health check i have some questions also...

- Is it normal for redfoot to hide and sleep all the time ? He always sleeping in his hide and never came out unless i took him in the morning to soak and feed him. Once hes out he is very active tho. Should i take out his hide cave for now ?

- Is it safe not giving food for few days to eliminate the picky eating habbit ? He only wants to eat these : Romaine lettuce, Hibiscus (flowers and leaves), papaya, and RepCall tortoise diet (he only eat the purple one and ignore the other colors), and fumak vegetable, and ocasionaly mealworms. Other foods he wont touch at all. The seller said he was given mazuri before but i tried gave mazuri and he wont eat it.

- Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning his eyes difficult to open and watery, but once it opened he seems fine. Is this a problem ?

- Are weight differ individualy ? i also have a baby cherry head which is a bit smaller, but it is way heavier then my redfoot

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Redfoot babies DO sleep and hide a lot.
Maybe as much as 80% of the day. Especially if it's too hot. And at 95 degrees, it is. They are most comfortable at 82 to 85.
Watery, slow to open eyes could be caused by a lack of humidity, dehydration, lights too bright or wrong type or any other eye irritation problems such as a previous injury or the type of substrate, etc.
As for the eating.....As long as he eats, let him eat what he wants but gradually offer more of a variety. Hibiscus leaves and flowers are a great staple food in my opinion.
The stools may be unusual because of a parasitic issue. If so, it may take care of itself or you may need to take some poo to a veterinarian for inspection. It may also just be the diet, high in moisture.
It sounds disgusting, but use a toothpick or something tiny and look at the pop really well. Look for anything that looks like it could be a worm. If you see none, then even if the tortoise has a few parasites (and a lot do) it probably requires no help to deal with them
If the animal stops eating or becomes sluggish, I would see a vet right away.

 

[daniellenc]

I agree with watery stools being attributed to a higher than normal parasite load. I’d consider a fecal. Other than your temps being too warm the rest of his behavior is normal. My guy slept a lot for the first 6 months. At about a year he became more active. I also agree with the food. Just keep adding safe foods to what he’ll already eat. Eventually they eat about anything.