Hi i have recently purchased a baby red footed tortoise her name is LittleFoot i have had her for 2 months but i bought her when she was 3 months old and she quickly got used to me very active ate and drank alot she is in a 50 gallon tank she has a food and water dish in the basking spot i have it at 90 in the cooler part of her tank its 80 i did lack a bit for about a week with her humidity but i kept it at 40 her eyes were starting to get shut cuz of the lower humidity so i have been keeping her humidity at 65 to 80 i am getting a fog machine to help with humidity. I did go away for 1 day to my brothers wedding made sure her uvb was off incase it got to hot cuz i keep it pretty warm in my room and left for the day leaving her food and water when i came back [i also got a new hair cut] she refused to eat and she started to grind her bottom jaw on her upper jaw and was bobbing her head no snot bubbles she has been able to keep her eyes open she hasnt eaten in 5 days as of me posting this and im really worried about her i usually feed her green letuce and apples and 1 or 2 weeks would boil her an egg for her protein i have been soaking her in warm water to see if she would want to eat or drink but she hasnt even drank cuz she usually would drink from her soaking water but doesnt do it anymore i will find feces in her water so she has been pooping but not eating or drinking i am trying to change her diet to squash and romaine lettuce but so far she still hasnt wanted to eat heres a picture of her tank
Baby Redfooted Tortoise Wont Eat
- Thread starter Carny
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daniellenc
Well-Known Member
There are quite a few things going on that could be the problem. 90 is too hot for sure. Get one end around 84-86 degrees and the other at 80. Definitely never colder than 80.
You need more hides and some moist moss inside them to provide humidity. A plastic bin with a hole cut in it is fine. Your food and water dishes should be level with the substrate so bury them down.
You need to also cover the top of that enclosure red foots really need humidity to be 80 and above. You should probably invest in a digital thermometer/hydrometer for accurate readings.
Lastly, your diet is pretty bad to be honest. The bulk of his diet should be weeds, then grocery store greens, then fruit, and then protein. Variety is key here! I suggest reading through redfoot diet threads here to get some ideas.
Head bobbing can be a sign of an RI and couple that with not eating I'd really seek out a vet.
You need more hides and some moist moss inside them to provide humidity. A plastic bin with a hole cut in it is fine. Your food and water dishes should be level with the substrate so bury them down.
You need to also cover the top of that enclosure red foots really need humidity to be 80 and above. You should probably invest in a digital thermometer/hydrometer for accurate readings.
Lastly, your diet is pretty bad to be honest. The bulk of his diet should be weeds, then grocery store greens, then fruit, and then protein. Variety is key here! I suggest reading through redfoot diet threads here to get some ideas.
Head bobbing can be a sign of an RI and couple that with not eating I'd really seek out a vet.
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
If they're head bobbing to breathe it may be they're having an issue. Mine does not do that for sure.
also im asking the wrong questions i just did some research on RI and she has energy she walks around alot but the other 2 is definately happeneing i dont have a reptile vet so idk what to do there is a vet close by but im not sure if they are good or not i already have moss and fake plants on the way to help with humidity and the fog machine aswell i have recently bought alot of different variety greens and fruits i bought romaine lettuce green lettuce squash im gonna buy fresh apples tomatoes and strawberries and get her diet on track also what should i do cuz it seems like she is in the early stages of RI i just watched a video of a tortoise looking like hes hicuping and i have seen her do it a few times but not often or repeatedly what are the early symptoms of RI cuz im still not 100% sure if she has it or not also a big question is how does she get RI cuz if anything im keeping it 4 degrees hotter in her basking spot which im going to correct but if its to hot in there how did she get RI?
daniellenc
Well-Known Member
Green leaf and romaine lettuce have little nutritional value as with apples and tomatoes. There are many great threads here on better choices so put in some time and use the search function here.
An RI is deadly in a hatchling and they crash much quicker. Loss of appetite, hiccuping, and head bobbing are serious enough to look for a reptile vet asap. Where did you get your tort? It is possible it was already sick. Kept too cool and moist can do it as well though it doesn't sound like thats an issue. Poor diet and temps too warm can cause stress which can cause illness too. How isn't relevant now but a good vet, baby food soaks thirty minutes a day using carrot or sweet potato in their warm soaking water, correcting your diet, and providing a better environment is imperative.
An RI is deadly in a hatchling and they crash much quicker. Loss of appetite, hiccuping, and head bobbing are serious enough to look for a reptile vet asap. Where did you get your tort? It is possible it was already sick. Kept too cool and moist can do it as well though it doesn't sound like thats an issue. Poor diet and temps too warm can cause stress which can cause illness too. How isn't relevant now but a good vet, baby food soaks thirty minutes a day using carrot or sweet potato in their warm soaking water, correcting your diet, and providing a better environment is imperative.
i mixed yellow squash green squash and romaine lettuce let me know what you feed your tortoise and if you recomend that for a hatchling ill start her on that asap she is going to the vet tomorrow also i have just noticed a bit of goopy ness around her eyes what could that be its not in her eyes just around and she has her eyes open how do u recommend i get her to eat because she hasnt eaten in 5 days and i have tried alot of combinations and different fruits and veggies also idk if you acknowledged it when i said she was grinding her bottom jaw on her beak is that normal the moss and plants and fog machine will be here shortly also she hasnt head bobbed at all today can that mean she is getting better she hiccuped 2 days ago havent seen her do it since and she hasnt headbobbed at all today but she still wont eat i saw a bit of poop in her water when i cleaned it aswell
Hi i got a redfooted tortoise 2 months ago got her when she was 3 months old her name is LittleFoot i just posted about this but got the wrong title so now im re doing it so more people will respond and help me out she lives in a 50 gallon fish tank which i have learned isnt a good idea so im going to change over to something else like a plastic long box or whatever they are called. I went to my brothers wedding and came back the next day [Leaving her water and food of course] and came back with a new hair cut if that would affect it any but she hasnt eaten in 5 days i am taking her to the vet tomorrow to see if it is RI but now after reflecting and taking some time to think it out i think it may be a parasite possibly anyways ill tell you her condition of her living space once again she lives in a 50 gallon fish tank i have unfortunatley not been feeding her the best diet i usually fed her green lettuce and apples and once a week gave her a boiled egg for protein and she loved the egg and lettuce she wasnt a big fan of the apple but i wanted her to eat some fruit and get some vitamins and what not but all of a sudden she stopped eating and drinking she used to drink the water i soaked her in but she wont do it anymore nor will she eat i have read alot of threads and people are saying to change her diet and see if she will eat but before i read that i figured since some people were saying maybe she wouldnt eat because she only wants to eat protein so i tried giving her egg no go tried feeding her the same boring diet wouldnt work so i changed it up today and gave her romaine lettuce green squash and yellow squash with some apple and she still wouldnt eat i was lacking in her humidity a few days keeping it at 40 and her eyes started to close now i have been making sure her humidity is about 60 to 80 but now she wont eat with low humidity or with high humidity its been 5 days and im honestly really worried shes so small and cute and sweet so i dont want her to pass away. In her basking spot of her tank i keep it at about 90 and in the colder part of her tank i keep it at 80 i keep her water dish on the warmer side so it stays warmer and her food on the colder side so it doesnt dry up to fast her symptoms are sleeping alot lost in appetite and she head bobbed for 1 day and then stopped she hasnt has any snot poop looks kinda weird when she poops in her water some of it is white and some is brown she was completely healthy until i left and came back i thought RI but she hasnt had any snot or hiccuping at first i thought she hiccuped but that was her just getting scared she only has one place to hide in her tank and that is under her log which is under the basking spot i am ordering moss fake plants and a fog machine to help with humidity so it stays up to where it should be i think she is really stressed and idk if she is stressed or not cuz if she is and i take her to the vet that wont help any and if its RI then she needs to go but if its a parasite i need to get her meds so she will eat and climb her way back up to health idk what to do cuz it could be 3 things please let me know if im doing anything wrong also i am keeping it warmer than usual cuz apparently it helps with stress and if she has RI i have a towel and plexi glass over the top so it helps keep warmth in let me know what diet i should use and how to help her over come this sickness here are some pics of her tank pretty lame but i have some more stuff coming so it will help her releve stress and feel safe
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Usually you can take a fecal (poo) sample to the vets without taking the tortoise. They would be able to tell if it is parasitic. As for diet, yes you should change and read the information others have left for you. I feed mine hibiscus leaves and flowers, dandelion leaves and flowers, squash and pumpkin leaves, spring mix, clover, papaya, squash, strawberries, kiwi, zucchini , sow thistles, You can also feed mulberry leaves, figs, grape leaves and look up The Tortoise Table for more acceptable foods. Variety is key. 90 is too hot for red foot, could be what I'd stressing it out, keep it at 80-85 and humidity 75 plus.
yeah thank you for your response but she has RI i took her to the vet and the about the only thing thats gonna keep her alive is me soaking her they gave me something that i can inject in her front leg that will help over the next 10 days they also ordered me some b12 so she will eat if i can get her to eat she has a good chance right before i posted this she had her first snot bubble sad stuff 
