Got my son a redfoot tort help!

[Savanna86]

Hi I bought my son a baby redfoot tort seems like the first week its been one thing after another yes we dont know much about tortoises but we are learning and love this lil guy, first he had what looked like shell rot, now we are treating him for upper respiratory infection we have the tank completely empty paper towel along bottom of the tank, food, water, hiding area lady said we want no humidity, his eyes have been very dry since day one and I have been back to store so many times cause he hasnt pooped maybe a few times since September, Ive been giving him pumpkin once in a while we have been doing everything we have been told and it seems like hes getting worse! Any suggestions?

 

[theguy67]

Unfortunately, it seems like you've been given incorrect information.

What are your temps? He could have a respiratory infection due to low temps. If this is the case, it would also explain his lack of eating and pooping, as well as any sluggish behavior.

What type of equipment do you have? Heating device? UV light?

Redfoots are a tropical species, so they will want high humidity - although this is true for hatchlings of most species. Humidity above 70% is generally acceptable, although many aim for above 80%. You will also want to keep the ambient temp. above 80. A basking spot isn't super crucial for redfoots. Ceramic Heat Emitters on a thermostat seem to be a popular heating choice for tortoises. This allows the tank to stay warm at night too as it produces no light, just heat.

I'm assuming he's in a standard glass aquarium? If so, that will work for now. He will need a larger enclosure, but I would worry about that later. Inorder to achieve higher temps and humidity, you will want to make what we like to all a "closed chamber". That's an enclosure that has little to no ventilation. This allows for proper regulation of temp and humidity. Your current cage can be modified by placing plastic wrap over the screen lid, and using tin-foil around the heat lamp. All you would need then is a spray bottle, and you can mist his enclosure a couple times per day.

I'm not quite sure about the thoughts on paper towels. I keep all of my babies on a soil/mulch mix. They are only on towels until their yolk sac absorbs. Considering he has shell rot, others may think he would need to stay on the towels. Personally, so long as the top layer of the substrate is dry (and you continue to treat his shell) I would get him a substrate mix.

Also, I would soak him every day to every other day for a while. Once you get everything above corrected, things may turn around rather quickly.

 

[Melis]

Hi I bought my son a baby redfoot tort seems like the first week its been one thing after another yes we dont know much about tortoises but we are learning and love this lil guy, first he had what looked like shell rot, now we are treating him for upper respiratory infection we have the tank completely empty paper towel along bottom of the tank, food, water, hiding area lady said we want no humidity, his eyes have been very dry since day one and I have been back to store so many times cause he hasnt pooped maybe a few times since September, Ive been giving him pumpkin once in a while we have been doing everything we have been told and it seems like hes getting worse! Any suggestions?

That is totally inaccurate information. Have you read the care sheets on this site? Red foots need high humidity. What are the temps in your enclosure? What are you feeding? Please post pics of your enclosure and include the answers to these questions, as the red foot experts will need this info to further help you. First read the caresheets. You need a proper enclosure with proper substrate, heat, UV, and humidity, as well after the proper diet.

 

[Ernie Johnson]

I have a one hour video husbandry course on Redfoot's/Yellowfoots (been working with them 17+ years, I'm happy to send you for free). Will answer 99% of your questions and get you and your tortoise in a much better state. My email is in my profile and if you send me yours I'll get you the link to the course for free. Everyone above is correct, high humidity, lots of coverage and temps 83-88 are what the little ones need to be healthy - that and the right diet.

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Here's a link to the course where I have two free previews you can watch to see if I know what I'm talking about.

https://tortoisehusbandrycourses.ze...sful-redfoot-and-yellowfoot-tortoise-care8473

 

[Savanna86]

So when i got him in September the 1st week i was kind of super nervous still am as of now but his eyes seemed very watery the guy at the store agreed I have been giving him drops for his eyes soaks more greens and fruits, ill post pictures starting how tank looked at the beginning to now can tell difference from the bottom being lined with paper towel cause the lady that raises red foots said we needed to get rid of humidity to draw out the infection, usually tank is at lower 90s for heat and humidity i finally got it to 70-80, we feed him bananas, collard greens, spring mix greens, fuji apples, green beans here n there he was doing good eating just not going to the bathroom pooping and he seems to be getting kinda puffy I have been back and forth to the store every other day to week no Im soaking him in warm soaks with T.C Tetracycline once a day for 2 weeks but his eyes very dry not pooping and now under his mouth looks like what his shell did with what they said was shell rot, we have been doing everything since day on and it seems like nothing is working... def going to watch and read everything tonight with my son learn more hopefully something helps this poor baby feel horrible everything i read or listen to hasnt been correct i guess dont know what to do.... willing to learn and his little cuteness as already grown to all of us... thought i had it figured out then his shell started looking horrible and getting soft which is still kinda soft. Just need him to poop!!

 

[daniellenc]

Def read all the care sheets here but if your little guy has an upper respiratory infection he needs antibiotics or he will inevitably die slowly. Dry air will not draw it out I promise. Sounds this lady while well intended is year behind on redfoot care.

 

[theguy67]

The timeline is still not super clear but...

Watery eyes could be a symptom from being kept too dry.

Why do you think he has a respiratory infection? Just the watery eyes?

When did you make the changes (mulch, humidity, temp.)? And what was the temp before?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Id also check the bulb... It LOOKS like it is one of the not recommended florescent CFL type bulbs. Could be creating the dry eye syndrom as well. Just throwing thst out to check.

• ...and, how are you keeping the overall ambient temps regulated?
• I don't see a CHE. Or a basking light...etc.

 

[Ernie Johnson]

Here's what is needed for these guys and yours in particular.

1- They must have a pen 75-90% covered with vegetation in order to hide (they dig in the substrate under leaf matter in the wild), which they do 23 out of 24 hours a day at this age. Plastic plants work best to do this as they can hide under them, they can't eat them, and they'll dig into the substrate under the leaves.
2- Get the temp where they spend 23 hours a day between 83-88 degrees. A 60 to 100 watt heat emitter is the best way to accomplish this temp range.
3- Get the humidity where they spend 23 hours a day at 80-90%. Use coconut fiber bricks (find at PetSmart or Petco) soak them until they break up and are soaked. Squeeze out the excess water and put it 2 inches thick across the pen and cover with 1 inch of cypress mulch. This wil go a long way to keeping the ambient humidity at 65-85% at tortoise level across the entire pen.
4- Soak it everyday for 10-15 minutes in warm (80 degree or so water chin deep to the tortoise) to make sure its well hydrated.
5- Feed it the right diet of 50/50 fruit greens. Fruit should be Papaya, Mango, fresh figs, cactus fruit, maybe a little pineapple. NO banana, tomato, or vegetables including beans. The greens should be hibiscus leaves and flowers, dandelion greens, turnip greens, endive or escarole and well chopped up cactus pads if you can find it.

1-5 will get it less stressed, hydrated, and fed the right stuff.

Lastly, if it has a respiratory infection it needs antibiotics and a "qualified" reptile can determine the right amounts and how ling a course is needed.

Do all of this and it will get better and start to recover from what its been through and be on its way to being healthy and acting like a normal tort. MAke sure you know "normal" is hiding 23 out of 24 hours a day.

These are dense tropical forest tortoises that at his age DO NOT spend any time in open areas or in direct sunlight. A 13 watt tropical UVB bulb is all that's needed as they live in muted forest light and until they get to be 5-6 inches long (5-7 years old).

 

[Savanna86]

Here's a link to the course where I have two free previews you can watch to see if I know what I'm talking about.

https://tortoisehusbandrycourses.ze...sful-redfoot-and-yellowfoot-tortoise-care8473

Thanks so much watching now

 

[Savanna86]

The timeline is still not super clear but...

Watery eyes could be a symptom from being kept too dry.

Why do you think he has a respiratory infection? Just the watery eyes?

When did you make the changes (mulch, humidity, temp.)? And what was the temp before?

Ok when we 1st got him we got the heating pad for under tank heating light and uvb bulb,got rainforest mulch i couldnt keep any humidity in there and he was getting very dry eyes, where his eyes looked like he couldnt open them,only opened when i soaked him it seemed, guy at store then tells me i need to spray tank and keep humidity in there, around 70% i couldnt get it, come to find out cause i didnt have the soil (eco earth i believe) but before the soil was added he was getting sprayed but then shell was getting very soft eyes also when opened were very watery, to me (which i dont know much about them but trying to learn ) he didnt look right, shell turning colors white spots and his belly was getting darker, so i was told by the lady at the pet place put betadine on his shell and soak him in the T.C guess its like an antibiotic soak but he doesnt drink it at all he trys and gets out of it, so then around his mouth started looking like it was rotting like the shell white spots and brownish around his mouth lady said the soak in that stuff would help but to keep doing it for 2 weeks, keeping the heat in the lower 90's has never been a problem its humidity has been actually still there cant get no humidity out which i thought sounded weird was that a thing trying to heat out the infections? When he opens his mouth and closes it looks like it hurts cause of whatever is around his mouth but because he was opening and closing his mouth every now and then looking like he yawned or something lady said thats what he had but since the 1st week he hasnt pooped maybe 1-3x since, so should i put the forest floor mixed with eco earth back in or continue to keep high heat and dry out this infection ill post pictures of him right now.... he has white stuff on him hes not hiding just sleeping out in the open... he ate some collard greens this morning he was walking around full of energy it seemed The lady said shes going to get back to me shes going to talk to a vet

 

[Savanna86]

The lighting is what the pet store told us to get, his shell on the bottom is getting darker, not looking good, his face and mouth looking bad that white stuff seems to be spreading! Just wanna cry! Ive done everything Ive been told now Im reading the stuff I was told to feed him I shouldnt have am I doing this to him? When hes soaking he does this yawn in the water, thats way the lady said infection, and to take moisture out, bottom of shell still soft.

 

[Savanna86]

I have a one hour video husbandry course on Redfoot's/Yellowfoots (been working with them 17+ years, I'm happy to send you for free). Will answer 99% of your questions and get you and your tortoise in a much better state. My email is in my profile and if you send me yours I'll get you the link to the course for free. Everyone above is correct, high humidity, lots of coverage and temps 83-88 are what the little ones need to be healthy - that and the right diet.

So even if he has a respiratory infection high humidity is still good should i put everything back in forest floor mixed with eco earth? Get his home back to what it was? I dont want him to be sick he has this white stuff on gis face now i just dont understand

 

[Savanna86]

Id also check the bulb... It LOOKS like it is one of the not recommended florescent CFL type bulbs. Could be creating the dry eye syndrom as well. Just throwing thst out to check.

• ...and, how are you keeping the overall ambient temps regulated?
• I don't see a CHE. Or a basking light...etc.

Thanks so much I have two gauges one on cooler side i can see the humidity and another on the heated side tells me how hot, the uvb bulb i got when i got this lil guy, the guy recommended it since i couldnt get the strip lights at the moment... just seems like everything Im doing isnt right for some reason....

 

[theguy67]

The lighting is what the pet store told us to get, his shell on the bottom is getting darker, not looking good, his face and mouth looking bad that white stuff seems to be spreading! Just wanna cry! Ive done everything Ive been told now Im reading the stuff I was told to feed him I shouldnt have am I doing this to him? When hes soaking he does this yawn in the water, thats way the lady said infection, and to take moisture out, bottom of shell still soft.

Ahh I see. So she told you to keep it dry to fight the infection. I'm assuming she meant for the shell rot and not respiratory infection. This is partially true. You will want to keep the top surface dry, but humidity still needs to be above 70%. My guess is, since you couldn't keep the humidity up to begin with, you sprayed and sprayed until the floor was too wet. If she mean't for the respiratory infection, then that is false. Humidity may cause a problem only when the temps are too low.

Humidity is easy to fix. Just cover your screen top with plastic wrap, and for the section around the lamps use foil. It will only take spraying the enclosure a couple times per day at that point. Also, moss and the appropriate substrate will help.

I'm still lost as to why you or the lady thinks it has a respiratory infection. Yawning? Like gaping for air? Do you see any secretion from the nostrils? Wheezing? I'm not saying it doesn't have an infection, I'm just suspicious of the "diagnosis". Some of those symptoms could be from the low humidity.

Also, I would not use that water dish. It's too tall, and too steep/deep. Find a shallow plant saucer and use that.

It will be difficult to keep humidity high with just paper towels. See what others say about treating for shell rot, but I would consider switching back to the substrate. I've only treated shell rot in adults and juveniles, and I didn't put them on paper. One case was super severe.

 

[Savanna86]

The paper towel i guess is because of the respiratory infection.... so you know how i said he has this white stuffy spreading all over him it was on his neck bad and i told her i felt bad because hes been opening his mouth and then closes it and it seems like it hurt cause it makes this weird noise and he keeps opening n closing his mouth its like a click noise and she asking if he did it alot he did it a few times in his bath but it was like yawning i dunno, so she told me to take everything out lay paper towel down and try and lose humidity cause it seemed like the infection, i dont know, i just think his mouth hurts from being dry but he had this white stuff growing with everything in his tank so im not sure what it is but its spreading so ive been soaling him in that t.c. tetracycline (antibiotics soak she said n theb betadine on his shell for shell rot which isnt just on the shell.... so maybe not infection so confused. ... but thinking putting his bedding back in will be a start to making him a bit happier...the picture is of that white stuff not sure what to do

 

[theguy67]

Have you tried to lightly brush/scrub it off?

Even with a respiratory infection, they need high humidity. Just make sure the temp stays up. You could even just spray under the heat lamp, so it evaporates rather quickly. But again, we don't really know if he has a respiratory infection. Could be like what you said, his mouth is irritated.

Good thing is he's eating and somewhat active. There seems to be a lot going on here (lots of changes) so its hard to tell what the problem is. The first step is for you to get him in the proper environment.

 

[Savanna86]

Ok when he eats hes making loud clicking noises what could that be?

 

[Ernie Johnson]

The clicking sounds COULD be from a misaligned beak, but could be normal too IF the beak formation is normal.