First time tort owner help !

[acciotortoise]

Hi everyone this is Horatio. A red footed tortoise only a few months old. Sad to say we went to the vet yesterday and found out poor little tort is very ill.
Anyway the vet put my tort on antibiotics and de worming medication. Horatio seems to be more hungry, more tired, and pooping more than usual is this normal on these meds ?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[Paul M Jones]

Welcome. I hope the best for you and Horatio. What did the vet say was wrong with him?

 

[acciotortoise]

Welcome. I hope the best for you and Horatio. What did the vet say was wrong with him?

Thank you, sadly he has worms, slightly dehydrated and an upper respiratory infection. He also said he has something around his mouth and eyes which i don't remember what it was and he also might have inherited something from his parents also don't remember. Sorry new to this. But he gave us two types of oral meds to give him. He has more energy this evening though

 

[Paul M Jones]

Thank you, sadly he has worms, slightly dehydrated and an upper respiratory infection. He also said he has something around his mouth and eyes which i don't remember what it was and he also might have inherited something from his parents also don't remember. Sorry new to this. But he gave us two types of oral meds to give him. He has more energy this evening though

I hope he gets better soon. Keep us updated on his condition.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome to you and Horatio. So sorry to hear he is poorly, make sure he is warm enough day and night.
You may find this useful to help with your temps - www.redfoottortoise.com - and there will be lots of other great information in the Redfoot section of Species Specific.
There are lots of RF keepers here; @ZEROPILOT has experience of nursing a very sick tort who seemed to have died at one point but miraculously revived just before burial!!! @Redfoot NERD is also a very experienced RF keeper - I have tagged them to see if they can offer you any further advice about your temps etc.
I do hope he recovers soon - he is beautiful

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome , hope little Horatio gets better soon !

 

[acciotortoise]

Thanks everyone for being so kind and I will keep everyone updated as best as I can. We have him on meds for 2 weeks then he'll go back to the vet to see how he is doing.

 

[MPRC]

Welcome, I'm sorry he is ill. Has he always been that pale? His colors are pretty, but they almost remind me of anemia.

Tell us a bit about his set up (temps, humidity, etc). How is his diet? Is he a good eater?

 

[acciotortoise]

Horatio loves to eat. Horatio eats spinach, kale, collard greens, zucchini, yellow squash, tomato's, fruit wise loves pears and apples. Meat wise gets freeze dried bugs, We started on the Mazuri small tortoise diet yesterday. I've only had my tort a month, I think part of looking that pale was due to the lighting and being night time when I took the picture plus my camera. Hopefully this updated pic gives a better idea. Our set up is a work in progress we added the shredded paper to see how he/she likes it, maybe burrow under it.

 

[acciotortoise]

We were using reptile bark but asked to discontinue using it until he's bigger for risk he may try to eat it. Paper is only temporary. Plan to ask about using like a moss or something to better help with humidity and such. We mist the tank on and off through out the day for now.

 

[Ciri]

I hope your adorable redfoot is feeling better very soon. He's lucky to have you looking out for him.

 

[Sandy Martinez]

Horatio is sooo cute! -- hope he gets getter soon!!!

 

[acciotortoise]

is anyone else's tortoise super active especially at night ? I don't know if this is normal or not but our tort kept moving alot last night. I'm hoping that means the meds are helping

 

[DutchieAmanda]

I hope he gets better soon!

My redfoot sleeps all night. What do you use for night heat? Is it all dark at night?

Good luck!

 

[acciotortoise]

we have 2 heating lamps that we use. We keep them on petty much all times especially at night however I'm not sure if that's correct or not. We do turn them off for a little every now and then since they get hot. Also mine just tried to eat his poop is that weird sorry for all the questions I'm sure this gets easier.

 

[Speedy-1]

we have 2 heating lamps that we use. We keep them on petty much all times especially at night however I'm not sure if that's correct or not. We do turn them off for a little every now and then since they get hot. Also mine just tried to eat his poop is that weird sorry for all the questions I'm sure this gets easier.

They should have some darkness to sleep properly , you need a CHE "Ceramic Heat Emitter" . It will give you the heat needed without the light .

and , yes "poop eating" is pretty common !

I just try to clean it up , as soon as it happens !

 

[acciotortoise]

that is really helpful ! Mind if i ask what some of you do for yours? You all seem experienced and knowledgeable. I generally do clean up quick however, I just happen to leave the room for a few minutes came back he went and tried to eat it but hey atleast he's pooping before he wasn't much.

 

[MPRC]

Redfoots love poop (disgusting little creatures), but since you are treating him for worms you definitely want to be vigilant about removing it since he can reinfect himself with the eggs. Once the worms are gone it is still a gross habit, but it wont hurt him.

 

[Speedy-1]

that is really helpful ! Mind if i ask what some of you do for yours? You all seem experienced and knowledgeable. I generally do clean up quick however, I just happen to leave the room for a few minutes came back he went and tried to eat it but hey atleast he's pooping before he wasn't much.