Hi Everyone, We just purchased a redfoot from Petsmart on Wednesday. (She weighs 238 grams and is 4 1/4 inches long.) When we got her (don't know, just using for reference), her eyes appeared fine. Yesterday we started noticing that her right eye is little watery. This morning her eye is very noticeably watery, to the point of "bubbles" around the eye. Should we get her into the vet or what do we need to do? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Temperatures range in the enclosure from 74-94 degrees. We have cypress mulch, repti bark and coconut fiber as the substrate. (I have some of the repti bark in the enclosure because that is what she had in her enclosure at Petsmart.) She is eating some and going potty as well. She will walk around in her enclosure and is very curious. I tried taking a picture to post, but having difficulty being able to get a clear picture of the eye. Any suggestions about what we should do. Also, what should we keep her humidity at? Thanks. We are already very attached and don't want to have to take her back. Right now I hear her chomping of a cuttle bone. I will continue to try and get a good picture and post it.
Help! New Redfoot with runny eye
- Thread starter SpeedyGontortoise
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What kind of lights are you using ? The coil UVB bulb is suppose to be bad for there eyes or it could of gotten something in its eye try soaking it and see if that helps because my red foots get things in there eye they will go in there water bowl and dunk there whole head and if that doesn't work maybe go see a vet
And humidity I keep mine at 80 percent
And humidity I keep mine at 80 percent
I'm still kind of a noob with redfoots myself. I had a little trouble at first with mine, but I'll share my humble opinions anyway:
Lose the coil bulb. They're too bright and are known to cause issues with tortoises. I've been using a 5.0 Repti-Glo tube fluorescent bulb and my little Toby hasn't had any issues with it since.
Definitely begin a routine of misting daily and soaking in warm water at least a couple times a week. Right now, I soak Toby every 2 days. When he had eye troubles, I would VERY gently wipe his eyes with a damp tissue (from warm water), and then started putting those Reptile Rinse eye drops (sold by ZooMed and a few other companies). It worked pretty well, and his eyes cleared up within a week or two.
You may want to consider bumping up the temps just a tad. I provide a warm area in my tub right under the ceramic heat emitter (CHE) that gets to 100'F. A little hotter than most RF keepers prefer, but I do routinely find him on that end of the tub. IN general, cooler temps can instigate respiratory infections.
Lose the coil bulb. They're too bright and are known to cause issues with tortoises. I've been using a 5.0 Repti-Glo tube fluorescent bulb and my little Toby hasn't had any issues with it since.
Definitely begin a routine of misting daily and soaking in warm water at least a couple times a week. Right now, I soak Toby every 2 days. When he had eye troubles, I would VERY gently wipe his eyes with a damp tissue (from warm water), and then started putting those Reptile Rinse eye drops (sold by ZooMed and a few other companies). It worked pretty well, and his eyes cleared up within a week or two.
You may want to consider bumping up the temps just a tad. I provide a warm area in my tub right under the ceramic heat emitter (CHE) that gets to 100'F. A little hotter than most RF keepers prefer, but I do routinely find him on that end of the tub. IN general, cooler temps can instigate respiratory infections.
Weepy eyes in the RF species is a strong indicator to check your humidity....you should not allow your humidity to fall below 60....but strive for 80+ if your tortoise is doing all it is suppose to other than the swept eye...I would try to get your humidity consistent...also..IMHO....
My other suggestion would be to hang tight and allow some of the more experienced RF caregivers offer their opinion as well....
My other suggestion would be to hang tight and allow some of the more experienced RF caregivers offer their opinion as well....
We are using a solar glo UVB 125 watt and a 100 CHE lights. No coil bulbs at all. I will definitely raise the humidity and hope this works. Thank you all for your replies. Any suggestions for raising the humidity?
Cover as much of the top as you can...making sure your lights can have clear path to do their thing.....substrate can be dirt and coco coir which help to hold humidity...pour warm water right into the substrate in like 3/4 of the enclosure and be certain your temps remain warm (not high except on your hot spot) also misting your tort lots of times each day--they get use to this and some even come right up to be a misted....I am ordering a little humidifier on line and once I get and use it I will let all know how it performs....
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Bubbly or runny eyes is classic in redfoots when too dry. We experienced the same thing some years ago with a small one as well. You will need to find a way to keep the humidity up. I have heard great things about Zoomed's Reptifogger http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=252&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=1. I think your bulb choices are fine.
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The best way we have found for humidity (and it helps with heat too) is:
a) Get yourself a deep substrate (we use 3 inches)
b) Use one of the underground 'heater cables' and run it around the pen about 2 inches below the surface (we use 100w for the 4x10 pen, 50w for the 4x4 pen and 25w for the 2x4 pen)
c) Dump a LOT of water into the pen - not enough for the moisture to get to the surface (or even that close) - but so that it is really quite damp (almost wet) around the heater element
d) Construct something a bit like a 'plastic greenhouse' that covers about a third of the pen (we literally use a polycarbonate cold-frame in the big pen; inverted rubbermaid bins in the smaller ones.) Cut a 'tortoise + an inch' size hole in the side of the 'greenhouse'
e) <Optional> get a thermostatically controlled power control and put the probe into the greenhouse just above ground level
f) Let rip
- Using this system our 'greenhouse' enclosure rarely falls below 94% humidity (current 22% outside); the thermostat also ensures that they don't get boiled or drop below 70 at night. This is working EXTREMELY well in the larger two pens ... little pen is more of a struggle <all of the pens are in a garage>
a) Get yourself a deep substrate (we use 3 inches)
b) Use one of the underground 'heater cables' and run it around the pen about 2 inches below the surface (we use 100w for the 4x10 pen, 50w for the 4x4 pen and 25w for the 2x4 pen)
c) Dump a LOT of water into the pen - not enough for the moisture to get to the surface (or even that close) - but so that it is really quite damp (almost wet) around the heater element
d) Construct something a bit like a 'plastic greenhouse' that covers about a third of the pen (we literally use a polycarbonate cold-frame in the big pen; inverted rubbermaid bins in the smaller ones.) Cut a 'tortoise + an inch' size hole in the side of the 'greenhouse'
e) <Optional> get a thermostatically controlled power control and put the probe into the greenhouse just above ground level
f) Let rip
- Using this system our 'greenhouse' enclosure rarely falls below 94% humidity (current 22% outside); the thermostat also ensures that they don't get boiled or drop below 70 at night. This is working EXTREMELY well in the larger two pens ... little pen is more of a struggle <all of the pens are in a garage>
Weeping/bubbly eye can also be a sign of dusty conditions or other irritants in the air, or a possible sign of a respiratory infection.
What are your temps set at? And can you describe the set-up a bit more, or shoot a photo?
There are links and articles about humidity, respiratory infection, and more at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com or via the link in my signature below.
What are your temps set at? And can you describe the set-up a bit more, or shoot a photo?
There are links and articles about humidity, respiratory infection, and more at http://www.tortoiselibrary.com or via the link in my signature below.
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Wow Madkin; I haven't been to your site in a couple of months - it is even better than before! Love the tBMI!
I was a little suprised by the idea of humidy not fixing hydration though; they all seem moist and full of beans - but I can go back to the baths ....
I was a little suprised by the idea of humidy not fixing hydration though; they all seem moist and full of beans - but I can go back to the baths ....
Here are a few pictures. Sorry it has taken awhile to post, been trying to figure out photobucket. So hopefully this will work. These pics were taken this morning. He have changed her hide to a 1/2 log (seems much happier with it) and added alot of moisture as well as several temp and hydro gages.
Thanks for the great info. I have been reading through the website. It is very helpful. I was just getting a handle on "desert tortoises" and then we get a "rainforest tortoise". But we have a very happy household now or we will once we get Turbo's enclosure all set. Thanks again everyone for the help. It is greatly appreciated.
SpeedyGontortoise said:Here are a few pictures. Sorry it has taken awhile to post, been trying to figure out photobucket. So hopefully this will work. These pics were taken this morning. He have changed her hide to a 1/2 log (seems much happier with it) and added alot of moisture as well as several temp and hydro gages.
Thanks for the great info. I have been reading through the website. It is very helpful. I was just getting a handle on "desert tortoises" and then we get a "rainforest tortoise". But we have a very happy household now or we will once we get Turbo's enclosure all set. Thanks again everyone for the help. It is greatly appreciated.
May I suggest more plants...the reason I say this is that they are hiders and they appear to really thrive with loads of places to hide under...I use silk plants (a fern and creeping charlie type silk plants) that I have placed in a round low height oversized cup and then packed in some soil and then added water to the soil in the cup which adds hiding and moisture....I do not use a hide (as my RFs show to prefer hiding under the silk plants) ...I tried a hide in the beginning and they totally did not take to it...so did the plant hides and they both seem to have really taken to that set up----so you will need to try different set ups until you tweak it just right....It seems really bright in there enclosure all over...so if you offer shaded areas then that would help to balance that out....IMHO that is
What a beautiful Redfoot, such a great little face
What a beautiful Redfoot, such a great little face
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Nice looking enclosure and even nicer looking Redfoot! It will be tough to keep humidity high with the open top. You may consider using half the lid for a cover. You will likely need to mist it several times throughout the day as well. Good luck.
sorry, meant "their".... duh
ascott said:May I suggest more plants...the reason I say this is that they are hiders and they appear to really thrive with loads of places to hide under...I use silk plants (a fern and creeping charlie type silk plants) that I have placed in a round low height oversized cup and then packed in some soil and then added water to the soil in the cup which adds hiding and moisture....I do not use a hide (as my RFs show to prefer hiding under the silk plants) ...I tried a hide in the beginning and they totally did not take to it...so did the plant hides and they both seem to have really taken to that set up----so you will need to try different set ups until you tweak it just right....It seems really bright in there enclosure all over...so if you offer shaded areas then that would help to balance that out....IMHO that is
What a beautiful Redfoot, such a great little face
We are looking to add more plants. I had thought about silk plants, but am a little afraid she will try to eat them. Reason being, we have a background scene attached to the outside and she was trying to "eat" the grass that was on the scene. She was "digging and biting" at the scene. We have tried different "hides" and tonight rather than in the hide, she has buried herself in the cypress mulch at the opposite end of the hide. I feel bad because it seems like since we have gotten her, we are constantly changing her enclosure. We are just trying to figure out what works best. We think she is beautiful as well, thank you. She is ver curious and likes to look out to see what is happening around her. Will work on getting more plants in the next couple of days. I am putting that duty on my oldest daughter since hubby and I will be taking the youngest daughter to ski races this weekend.
Tim/Robin said:
Thank you. We have covered part of the top with plexiglass and another lid. We are trying to work out the details with working around the lights, so the heat goes through yet keeps in moisture. We will be misting as often as our schedules will allow. We are also looking into a humidifier (to adapt) or a fogger to add humidity.
Again thank you.
SpeedyGontortoise said:ascott said:May I suggest more plants...the reason I say this is that they are hiders and they appear to really thrive with loads of places to hide under...I use silk plants (a fern and creeping charlie type silk plants) that I have placed in a round low height oversized cup and then packed in some soil and then added water to the soil in the cup which adds hiding and moisture....I do not use a hide (as my RFs show to prefer hiding under the silk plants) ...I tried a hide in the beginning and they totally did not take to it...so did the plant hides and they both seem to have really taken to that set up----so you will need to try different set ups until you tweak it just right....It seems really bright in there enclosure all over...so if you offer shaded areas then that would help to balance that out....IMHO that is
What a beautiful Redfoot, such a great little face
We are looking to add more plants. I had thought about silk plants, but am a little afraid she will try to eat them. Reason being, we have a background scene attached to the outside and she was trying to "eat" the grass that was on the scene. She was "digging and biting" at the scene. We have tried different "hides" and tonight rather than in the hide, she has buried herself in the cypress mulch at the opposite end of the hide. I feel bad because it seems like since we have gotten her, we are constantly changing her enclosure. We are just trying to figure out what works best. We think she is beautiful as well, thank you. She is ver curious and likes to look out to see what is happening around her. Will work on getting more plants in the next couple of days. I am putting that duty on my oldest daughter since hubby and I will be taking the youngest daughter to ski races this weekend.
Tim/Robin said:
Thank you. We have covered part of the top with plexiglass and another lid. We are trying to work out the details with working around the lights, so the heat goes through yet keeps in moisture. We will be misting as often as our schedules will allow. We are also looking into a humidifier (to adapt) or a fogger to add humidity.
Again thank you.
Things are looking (and sounding) great! I know you've had a lot of suggestions flying around and it can be frustrating, looks like you've done a great job.
I'd agree with ascott's position on adding more plants. Mine love to hide in the fake/real mix I've provided them. Lastly, the foggers are good, but can drop temperatures quickly as they pour cool water vapor throughout the enclosure. I use heat ropes under ~2-3inches of substrate:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes
Good luck!
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