Need help with sick Red Foot hatchling ASAP

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WolfgangGullich

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Hi,
it's snowing here and I can't get out to a vet. My baby red foot, about 3 1/2-4 mos old, has been having trouble getting around his cage the past couple days as well as eating barely anything. Yesterday, I came home to him upside-down in his water dish and I though he was dead. I got him out of the water and he looked dazed for a minute, then continued on around his cage as normal. Well, later, he started walking very weird, lifting one leg way up in the air, then falling down on it and would walk around that way.
When we tried to get him to eat later, he ate half a small tortoise pellet (not the ZooMed) then freaked a little. I got him to calm down holding him in my hand and noticed that his weight is not what it was the day before and his plastron appeared to be slightly concave. I did get him to eat a couple pieces of turnip green though. At this point, he was also acting very weak and very slow to wake up.
This-morning, he looked and was acting fairly normal again. I gave him fresh mustard greens and romaine and went to work.
When I got home, Emmet was again walking around his enclosure and appeared to have eaten a bit of the greens I gave him this morning.
Tonight, my wife and I got him out to check on him and he was acting almost dead. I warmed him up a little (he'd been hiding under his log in the cool shade) and he started to move in that weird way again. We got him out and looked at his plastron again and it appears caved in down where his stomach would be. We are trying to get him to eat right now.
Is it possible that he got super-stressed from being on his back in the water (there was a large amount of poo in the water and on his underside so I figured it must have happened a long while before I got home and found him like that) and just evacuated his bowels completely therefor becoming very light in only a day and making his belly empty and suck in?
I thank anyone for any help they can give me, I'm planning on taking him to the vet as soon as i can.
 

jlyoncc1

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I am no expert by any means, but I think I would kick in the 4-wheel drive and get to a vet. I would make sure he is plenty warm. I am sure there are other people here that can give you better advice, but I would want a vet.
 

JustAnja

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I sent a message to Terry @ Turtletary to take a peek at this thread. He is the Redfoot guy so maybe he can help give and idea whats going on here.
 

Redfoot NERD

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WolfgangGullich said:
Hi,
it's snowing here and I can't get out to a vet. My baby red foot, about 3 1/2-4 mos old, has been having trouble getting around his cage the past couple days as well as eating barely anything. Yesterday, I came home to him upside-down in his water dish and I though he was dead. I got him out of the water and he looked dazed for a minute, then continued on around his cage as normal. Well, later, he started walking very weird, lifting one leg way up in the air, then falling down on it and would walk around that way.
When we tried to get him to eat later, he ate half a small tortoise pellet (not the ZooMed) then freaked a little. I got him to calm down holding him in my hand and noticed that his weight is not what it was the day before and his plastron appeared to be slightly concave. I did get him to eat a couple pieces of turnip green though. At this point, he was also acting very weak and very slow to wake up.
This-morning, he looked and was acting fairly normal again. I gave him fresh mustard greens and romaine and went to work.
When I got home, Emmet was again walking around his enclosure and appeared to have eaten a bit of the greens I gave him this morning.
Tonight, my wife and I got him out to check on him and he was acting almost dead. I warmed him up a little (he'd been hiding under his log in the cool shade) and he started to move in that weird way again. We got him out and looked at his plastron again and it appears caved in down where his stomach would be. We are trying to get him to eat right now.
Is it possible that he got super-stressed from being on his back in the water (there was a large amount of poo in the water and on his underside so I figured it must have happened a long while before I got home and found him like that) and just evacuated his bowels completely therefor becoming very light in only a day and making his belly empty and suck in?
I thank anyone for any help they can give me, I'm planning on taking him to the vet as soon as i can.

Hi Wolfgang,

Go here and see how your set-up lines up and then email me.

http://www.redfoots.com/redfoot.htm - Read everything!

I breed redfoots.. and 3 of my females I raised from hatchlings.

Don't panic.. we'll get your little guy back on track.

I'm sure you did what you were told to do.. a water dish that a baby can fall into or turn-over into is too big/deep!

Look forward to hearing from you...

Terry
 

WolfgangGullich

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We've got a really good set-up and keep the water level in his water tray very low. He cannot see out of his enclosure either. He is acting as though he has forgotten how to use his body (no coordination at all now) and is unable to even get his head out of his shell now (gets egg-tooth caught and can't go out). He has a 75w infrared lamp at one end and the uvb lamp in the middle (5 level bulb)
He has never once eaten vigorously as they are always described and we now think he just was sickly from the get-go.
 

JustAnja

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If he has his egg tooth still he really should not have been sold yet. These little guys are fragile and good breeders make sure they have a good head start before letting them go. How long have you had him? Have you contacted the breeder?
 

Redfoot NERD

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WolfgangGullich said:
We've got a really good set-up and keep the water level in his water tray very low. He cannot see out of his enclosure either. He is acting as though he has forgotten how to use his body (no coordination at all now) and is unable to even get his head out of his shell now (gets egg-tooth caught and can't go out). He has a 75w infrared lamp at one end and the uvb lamp in the middle (5 level bulb)
He has never once eaten vigorously as they are always described and we now think he just was sickly from the get-go.

Anybody who would "sell" a hatchling with an eggtooth IMO obviously doesn't care much about the tortoise, the new owner OR their own reputation and credibility.

My hatchlings usually " grow out of " their eggtooth within 4-6 WEEKS.

Your baby didn't have much of a chance.. wasn't "started" right - no eating habits were established.. way too young.

Sorry...
 

WolfgangGullich

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Thanks for the input guys, but little Emmet passed away in the night. :( We definitely want to try again and I will be contacting the breeder today at some point, was out of So Cal.
Do you guys know of any good breeders in the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area?
Thanks
 

Redfoot NERD

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WolfgangGullich said:
Thanks for the input guys, but little Emmet passed away in the night. :( We definitely want to try again and I will be contacting the breeder today at some point, was out of So Cal.
Do you guys know of any good breeders in the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area?
Thanks

Sorry to hear about your little one Wolfgang.

See what they say in my Guestbook.. and then email me.. http://www.turtletary.com/
 

jlyoncc1

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Sorry to hear about your little one. I am glad you still want to be involved in the tort world. Let us know how you make out.
 

JustAnja

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So sorry to hear about the baby, I was afraid he was pretty far gone already. :(


Terry has excellent Redfoots, as well as excellent Customer Care before, during and after the sale. I would highly recommend him.
 

Jacqui

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:( What a sad story to read. So sorry for what you and your wife are going through. *hugs*
 

JustAnja

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WolfgangGullich said:
Terry,
do you ship your RFs?

He wont ship now with the temps so low, but you can pick your baby and put a deposit down and he will ship it out when the temps are OK for shipping again. :)
 

WolfgangGullich

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Got a pair of healthy babies from Terry this weekend! Very cute and almost hyperactive, they are all over the place exploring and when it's time to eat they scurry right over. The smaller one my wife named in honor of our little one who passed away, Emmet and the larger one got a manly Turkish name, Altay. I'll be posting pics at some point and prolly a vid of Altay on YouTube. When we gave them some collards today, he was in the hide snoozing, then suddenly, he comes out with is head held high in the air sniffing, then ran over tot he food dish. Guess they have a really good sense of smell...Emmet was already eating so maybe he heard munching.
 

JustAnja

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Congrats! Cant wait to see pics of the new babies!
 

Redfoot NERD

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WolfgangGullich said:
Got a pair of healthy babies from Terry this weekend! Very cute and almost hyperactive, they are all over the place exploring and when it's time to eat they scurry right over. The smaller one my wife named in honor of our little one who passed away, Emmet and the larger one got a manly Turkish name, Altay. I'll be posting pics at some point and prolly a vid of Altay on YouTube. When we gave them some collards today, he was in the hide snoozing, then suddenly, he comes out with is head held high in the air sniffing, then ran over tot he food dish. Guess they have a really good sense of smell...Emmet was already eating so maybe he heard munching.

Thanks Wolf..

When they are set-up right.. [ like you have done ].. when they get to their permanent home.. this is the way they should act. Getting them started right helps of course.

Although it's hard to refrain from watching them eat.. be sure and keep them on their 'fit-&-trim' diet regime!

Looking forward to the pics and link to the vid!

Glad I could help..

SeasonsGreetings.gif
.. EVERYBODY!!!

Terry
 

Crazy1

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Sorry to read about your recent loss, but so glad you now have two new HEALTHY little ones.
So Welcome Emmet and Altay to the WolfgangGullich family.
Eagerly awaiting pictures.

Happy Holidays,
from Crazy and her gang
 

jlyoncc1

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Congrats - What wonderful news. I am glad that you were able to get some from Terry! Looking forward to pics.
 
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