help my baby redfoot is not eating

[toskaxiii]

my redfoot tortoise stopped eating, i noticed it yesterday night he didnt finished his food, and tonight, he did not eat anything. i soaked him this morning and since i put him in his bin after soaking he didnt move until i came home from work. this is not normal for him because everytime i put leaves in his bin he walks over to eat it right away. i noticed him plastron that there is dark greenish patches on booth side of the abdomen. there is no exotic vet here :,( pls help me

 

[Gillian M]

my redfoot tortoise stopped eating, i noticed it yesterday night he didnt finished his food, and tonight, he did not eat anything. i soaked him this morning and since i put him in his bin after soaking he didnt move until i came home from work. this is not normal for him because everytime i put leaves in his bin he walks over to eat it right away. i noticed him plastron that there is dark greenish patches on booth side of the abdomen. there is no exotic vet here :,( pls help me

A warm welcome to the forum.

Don't panic. How long have you had the tort for? Am asking as I am quite sure of one thing: torts take time to adapt, and one who chooses such a pet has to have a real lot of patience.

 

[dmmj]

Temps, what are they? Sudden loss of appetite is usually temp related.

 

[toskaxiii]

he's been with me for 6 months now. 2 dAys ago, i pulled off the light of the enclo and i forgot to turn it on. i guess it took almost 48 hours before it took me to turn it on because i went to work that day and i was really tired then, i forgot that i turned off the lights. but i looked at his nose, it was clear. i soaked him yesterday outside in sunlight and after soaking he didnt move in his place till night. it was really my mistake to let the lighta off. but btw, my tortoises were kept in a closed room ( windows are closed, no wind )

 

[crimson_lotus]

Do you mean your tortoises heat lamps, or their UV? They need to be warm enough to digest their food properly.

 

[toskaxiii]

The heatlamp. I really dont know what to do. Its 2nd day since he last ate and he is not moving. I soaked him tonight in gerber squash in water. Pls help me. What can i do to help him i dont want him to die :,( the temp in his enclo now is around 33-34

 

[HLogic]

The first thing to do is relax, calm down and focus on determining what the real problem is. Two days without light should not be a problem. Even two days without heat should not cause any lasting issues providing the temp did not drop below 10 C. Your current temps *may* be a little on the warm side. If the tort is moving to the cool side of the enclosure, it is likely finding the temps to be too high. 27 - 29 C would be a more appropriate median range. You should keep a basking spot at one end of the enclosure at the 32 - 35 temp range.

Try tempting the tort to eat with a small (smaller than its head) piece of ripe fruit like strawberry, mango, papaya or even banana. This may trigger an feeding response that you can then leverage into eating its customary diet of varied greens.

 

[Michael in MO]

your "he is not moving" is a bit cryptic, IMHO, is your tort active? are it's eyes open? I'd guess that it's a bit constipated if it's not eating and it was without light/heat for a bit.. if it is active... I'd use warm water soaks and try to get it to eat some greens (radish or dandelion would be best).. I completely agree with taking a few steps back and a few deep breaths, don't try to over-cure something that may be a minor problem.

 

[toskaxiii]

after soaking, he just stays on one place. his eyes are closed but when i pick him up he opens his eyes. is it normal for an eight month old redfoot to have a soft part abdominal side in plastron? theres like dark patches on left and right but maybe im just getting paranoid. sorry guys, i cant help but to worry i really saved money to buy this guy :,(

 

[Michael in MO]

IDK as long as he's active when you soak him I'd keep that up a few times a day in warm water, the soft spot isn't something that I've had experience with but seems to not be a normal thing. You don't think he got trapped in a spot he couldn't cool of in do you? (under a heat lamp, or if he was in a glass enclosure outside)

 

[HLogic]

is it normal for an eight month old redfoot to have a soft part abdominal side in plastron?

No, it is not normal for an 8 month old to have a soft plastron. Do you have a UV-B source? What type? Are you providing supplemental calcium or vit D3? In what quantity and frequency?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Redfoot tortoises do not generally bask. The light is your only heat source? What type of light are you using? I agree with HLogic. Soft anything is a bad sign. Your tortoise needs a UV source. Can you take photos?