Hello (dont have my redfoot yet couple ?'s)

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wheezysmomma

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Hello everyone my name is Tracy and we (my 2kids BF and I) are adopting a red foot from a local reptile rescue (the owner of the rescue also happens to be a friend of mine) we are in British Columbia, Canada.

I have a few questions (and I'm sure 100's more once she is here) I'm wondering if anyone has any photos of Severe pyramiding in redfoots they could share? Wheezy (the redfoot for adoption) has the Most Severe case of pyramiding I think i have Ever seen!! Her shell is sooo bad she can no longer tuck her legs and her head stays 1/4 out of her shell when you can tell she would love to be hiding. I have scoured the net trying to find anything comparable to her shell and nothing this bad.....However to me she's beautiful and has the most Amazing personality and Truly Loves people!

Right now we are getting together an idea of what we want to do to house her and really start her off on a good note (even though I highly doubt her shell could get any worse!) I really want to provide her with the best home possible! I already know its not ideal to start out your tortoise owning on a tortoise that already has health issues (she also wheezes hence her name) but she has been seen by a reputable vet and was given a clean bill of health (besides being horribly disfigured and the wheeze which she was treated for but the sound remains) so no need to remind me about that. We call her a "she" but because of her disfigurement the vets are unable to come to a consensus as to male or female. She is tiny as far as redfoots go but has not grown over the last years that the rescue has had her in their care, leading us to believe she is an adult or again the disfigurement and lack of proper husbandry when she was young has stunted her growth. She has such a great personality though and she Loves to see my kids. So here are my questions now that you have all the back ground info lol.

1. Has anyone owned a RF that sounds similar to her?
2. Does anyone have any advice on how to make her more comfortable?
3. If you've owned one or heard of it are there any special enclosure adjustments I should make compared to what I've seen in basic set ups?

I really appreciate all pieces of advice and am glad to have found this forum :) I will take a photo of her on Friday when I go to visit her (and pick up my bug order for my bearded dragon.) thanks again everyone :)
 

bigred

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wheezysmomma said:
Hello everyone my name is Tracy and we (my 2kids BF and I) are adopting a red foot from a local reptile rescue (the owner of the rescue also happens to be a friend of mine) we are in British Columbia, Canada.

I have a few questions (and I'm sure 100's more once she is here) I'm wondering if anyone has any photos of Severe pyramiding in redfoots they could share? Wheezy (the redfoot for adoption) has the Most Severe case of pyramiding I think i have Ever seen!! Her shell is sooo bad she can no longer tuck her legs and her head stays 1/4 out of her shell when you can tell she would love to be hiding. I have scoured the net trying to find anything comparable to her shell and nothing this bad.....However to me she's beautiful and has the most Amazing personality and Truly Loves people!

Right now we are getting together an idea of what we want to do to house her and really start her off on a good note (even though I highly doubt her shell could get any worse!) I really want to provide her with the best home possible! I already know its not ideal to start out your tortoise owning on a tortoise that already has health issues (she also wheezes hence her name) but she has been seen by a reputable vet and was given a clean bill of health (besides being horribly disfigured and the wheeze which she was treated for but the sound remains) so no need to remind me about that. We call her a "she" but because of her disfigurement the vets are unable to come to a consensus as to male or female. She is tiny as far as redfoots go but has not grown over the last years that the rescue has had her in their care, leading us to believe she is an adult or again the disfigurement and lack of proper husbandry when she was young has stunted her growth. She has such a great personality though and she Loves to see my kids. So here are my questions now that you have all the back ground info lol.

1. Has anyone owned a RF that sounds similar to her?
2. Does anyone have any advice on how to make her more comfortable?
3. If you've owned one or heard of it are there any special enclosure adjustments I should make compared to what I've seen in basic set ups?

I really appreciate all pieces of advice and am glad to have found this forum :) I will take a photo of her on Friday when I go to visit her (and pick up my bug order for my bearded dragon.) thanks again everyone :)

Well sounds like you love your tort already so you are off to a great start. I dont know what the weather is like where you are but she needs REAL sun if the temps are high enough outside. Are you going to be housing her inside or out or both. I have always used sphagnum moss with great results, some use a sphagnum moss mixed with other substrates. The substrate needs to be deep enough for her to snuggle in, the depth would depend on the size of the tort. The best thing for her is high humidity warm temps and good varied diet. Some greens and fruit and protien about every 10 days or so. You will get different advice im sure but the general care is Real sun, Diet, Humidity, Temps, Excercise. You can pm me if you need anything. Lets see some pics of your tort when you get her
 

tyguy35

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Hey I don't own a rf sorry I can't help with that. I also live in Canada what is the name of this rescue I can't fond rescues anywhere on Ontario that have reptiles. I just wanted to browse the website of possible.

Oh btw bigred the guy above me is the guy to talk to he knows his stuff same with n2torts
 

Eweezyfosheezy

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Sorry I cant help right now I saw your username and I just cant focus right now lol im really sorry. Look at my username if you dont know what I'm lol-ing about.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Tracy:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

We have many RF tortoise keepers here on the forum, so I'll let one of them help you with your questions. I just wanted to welcome you and hope you enjoy your stay here.
 

allegraf

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I posted about our severely pyramided tort, named Tallulah. Here is the link:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Tallulah-and-pyramiding-over-7-years#axzz20Pmjxjsj

How small is she? All you can do is put her on the right track and the new growth on the shell will start to grow properly. There is nothing you can do to reverse what has been done, but you can make a huge difference with how she begins the rest of her life. You can also check out tortoiselibrary.com for some good tips on indoor enclosures since you are so far north! Can you post pics of her? I hope that helped.

Allegra
 

Madkins007

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1. Has anyone owned a RF that sounds similar to her?
None of mine have been as bad as Allegra's, thankfully, but sadly it is pretty common to see that sort of thing, even in zoos.

2. Does anyone have any advice on how to make her more comfortable?
Try to have really good control over the heat, light, and humidity. With severe shell deformities, there may be skeletal issues as well, and that often causes muscle and organ concerns. Keeping things at the right temps, humidity, etc. mean that she'll be comfortable and able to breathe and move more easily.

Try to avoid the common basking light solution. They do a great job in many ways, but create a fairly small 'pool' of heat that overheats the top of the shell without really warming the limbs. It would be better to use a few smaller basking lights to make a larger 'pool' of heat- but you also want to avoid overheating the whole place. (It is also thought by some that 'one point' basking lights may be one contributer to pyramiding in how they affect the shell.)

3. If you've owned one or heard of it are there any special enclosure adjustments I should make compared to what I've seen in basic set ups?
About the only thing I can think of is diet, and I am not sure exactly sure what to recommend. My gut feeling is to go for a 'slow-growth, bone-healthy' diet with relatively few carbs, and lots of fiber, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K, etc. (https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/vitamins-and-minerals, most of the way down)
 

bigred

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Eweezyfosheezy said:
Sorry I cant help right now I saw your username and I just cant focus right now lol im really sorry. Look at my username if you dont know what I'm lol-ing about.

HAHAHA when I saw that user name I thought of you. So Im gonna tell your mom if I dont like your posts. :D
 

wheezysmomma

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BigRed - Thanks for the info :) Where we are in BC it rains A LOT lol and its only hot in the summer so hard to have her outside only. She will be inside/outside. If they have sphagnum moss will they/can they eat it? she tends to eat Everything. I will probably PM you a lot once she's here lol.

tyguy35 - the rescue is called Reptile Rescue, Adoption and Education Society there website is http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org/ Wheezy is not on their site as they weren't sure about adopting her out but when I showed interest she was offered to me :D

Eweezyfosheezy - lol that is funny too bad the forum doesn't allow you to see everyones users before picking one for your self ;)

emysemys - Thank you :)

allegraf - Thank you VERY much for the link I read Tallulahs story (sorry to about your grandma) Wheezys shell is worse I believe I will get the pics tomorrow. Wheezy is quiet small which is what lead the vet to believe she was very young when intact it seems she may be older and just not growing. Wheezys shell is almost flat it looks awful! That was very helpful thank you I will take a look at the tortoiselibrary.com for some ideas thanks :)

Madkins2007 - Thanks for all the helpful info :)

I will be going to see Wheezy tomorrow and will measure her and take a pic of her (poor little thing) Im sure she will be tickled pink to have spot light and attention on her lol. She moves like lightening when she's outside lol. Thank you all so much for your help I will be doing More research (like i have been for the last month since I started thinking about taking her) and do my best to provide her with what she needs before she gets here :D
 

wheezysmomma

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AllegraF that's sooooo funny also went back to look at ur pics again and saw ur JRT we have a JRT as well her name is Rowdie :D I can't wait to go see Wheezy tomorrow and take pics!!
 

bigred

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wheezysmomma said:
BigRed - Thanks for the info :) Where we are in BC it rains A LOT lol and its only hot in the summer so hard to have her outside only. She will be inside/outside. If they have sphagnum moss will they/can they eat it? she tends to eat Everything. I will probably PM you a lot once she's here lol.

tyguy35 - the rescue is called Reptile Rescue, Adoption and Education Society there website is http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org/ Wheezy is not on their site as they weren't sure about adopting her out but when I showed interest she was offered to me :D

Eweezyfosheezy - lol that is funny too bad the forum doesn't allow you to see everyones users before picking one for your self ;)

emysemys - Thank you :)

allegraf - Thank you VERY much for the link I read Tallulahs story (sorry to about your grandma) Wheezys shell is worse I believe I will get the pics tomorrow. Wheezy is quiet small which is what lead the vet to believe she was very young when intact it seems she may be older and just not growing. Wheezys shell is almost flat it looks awful! That was very helpful thank you I will take a look at the tortoiselibrary.com for some ideas thanks :)

Madkins2007 - Thanks for all the helpful info :)

I will be going to see Wheezy tomorrow and will measure her and take a pic of her (poor little thing) Im sure she will be tickled pink to have spot light and attention on her lol. She moves like lightening when she's outside lol. Thank you all so much for your help I will be doing More research (like i have been for the last month since I started thinking about taking her) and do my best to provide her with what she needs before she gets here :D

My redfoots have never eaten the sphagnum moss, pm me anytime
 

wheezysmomma

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Ok so I went to visit Wheezy at the rescue and took her out to their exercise pen to have some of her Favorite dandelion leaves. I measured her she is 7 inches (of I measure straight across her shell 7.5inches if I round the tape measure to her shell.) so you can see she is small she has not grown in the 5yrs since being at the rescue and was found by the SPCA in a back lane all by herself! She has a Huge appetite and eats Everything so if she was going to grow she should have, and that's what threw the vets off when they first assessed her. So with out further suspense here are her pics.
This one is just funny tongue sticking out busy eating lol!
bd740743.jpg

Here is under neath of her (hate doing this but wanted to be able to show everyone how disfigured she is under neath pic doesn't show it but she is concave on the sides.)
84da8a8e.jpg

Here is a pic of her shell
60463575.jpg

This is her shell close up in between the lumps on her shell there is scaring as when she came in to the rescue she has oozing sores in there that have since healed.
e8185fb8.jpg


Any info would be helpful and I'm gonna do my best to make her happy and as healthy as I can in whatever amount of years she has left!!
 

dmmj

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I am not picking on you, but that is just sad.
I would make sure she has lots of sunshine and calcium. Just sad.
I think that is probably the worst RF I have ever seen.
So is she up for adoption?
 

wheezysmomma

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Pick on me?? I did not raise her I don't even own her yet! She is at a rescue and was found in a back lane 5yrs ago by the SPCA. The rescue was not going to adopt her out as there is no way of knowing how old she was and because of her case the rescue was worried about someone adopting her and it getting worse or something else happening to her! However I do EVERY spec of research before adopting my animals (I have a dog and beardie that are Both healthy and happy!) I make sure that my enclosures are the Best that I can supply and Never make snap decisions on getting a new family member! (which is why this decision to get her has taken me over a month of research and planning before I even said I was interested in her!) I love Wheezy for who and what she is and want her life to be the happiest it can be from the day I get her to the day she has to leave this earth!!
 

Madkins007

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As I said, with severe deformity, the skeleton, muscles and organs will be affected as well. I would strongly suspect her lungs are at least somewhat compromised 9possibly why the wheezing) and it sure looks like the limbs are messed up as well.

I am glad she is eating well, but I wonder if she has room for lots of food and for good air in the lungs in there? I am not sure I would limit food, but you will want to monitor the situation and maybe skip a day or alternate normal and very light days.

I am so glad she is in a better place!
 

wheezysmomma

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Thanks :) yeah her wheezing doesn't seem to get worse or better after a meal so it doesn't seem as if it affects her the rescue just feeds her what they think she should be eating and she eats most of it all at once then the goes back and picks at the leftovers over time. But good suggestion something to keep in mind for sure!! Once she is here I will monitor and see if her sounds change at all before and after feedings! At the rescue she is 1 of 4 tortoises they have no one else even resembles her thank god the others were at least cared for in their previous homes!!
 

bigred

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Thanks for posting pics and glad you have her and going to let her have a good home
 

wheezysmomma

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Thanks bigred :) Im going to always try to do my best to give her the best home I can like I do with all my pets!! I have always (since I was a kid now I'm a mom of 2) wanted a tortoise but we always had dogs,cats,rabbits and hamster as my mom and dad weren't fans of reptiles so now that Im the grown up (lol) I get to have one :)

Im continuing to do my research and am always open to more suggestions and will post pics when I get her all set up (she's still at the rescue now) we want to have her set up ready for her to just move right in. We will be converting an armoire into a turtle table so we are pretty excited luckily hubby is quiet handy :)
 

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Welcome to the forum Tracy. That tortoise is so bad... unfortunatly lots of them end up like that up here (maybe not AS bad but different types of deformities). Not many people actually know that tortoises should have outdoor time. My tortoise spends all summer outdoors when I'm home and it's nice of coarse.
 

wheezysmomma

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Hey Rich :) THANKS :) Yeah when I first saw her I started looking online to see if I could find any that were as bad as she is and the worst one I found was a Sulcata that was in seriously rough shape and had to be hand fed as it couldn't reach the ground, couldn't find Any red foots as bad as her sooo sad :(

She's such a great and friendly little thing though (as most rescues lol just happy to be treated well) can't wait to get her home Im sure you'll hear All about her on FB lol! Your russian is adorable and I LOVE your outdoor setup as well :)
 
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