New RF, new questions

[Nay]

View attachment 543Hi all, I just picked up a new member of our family. She's a 14 yr old RF named Petey(but I have a Pinkly and may not be able to keep her name) Anyway, her history, I am owner #3.
Owner #1 had her in an aquarium(of course) and fed her cat food. That certainly accounts for her pyramiding. They gave her up after 7 yrs, and owner # 2 fed her soft gel and also kept her in a aquarium, only larger Not much moisture to speak of and oh well now I have her. She's about 7 in.(Is it CPL?) and feels so light to me, she also has a facial abnormality. Owner #2 had no idea how it came about. She says after soaking(which they did monthly, whoopie) she would blow bubbles. Her back legs do seem to carry her but they seem to always splay out. My questions.
Has anyone seen a face like this?
How much is safe to feed her right away? I soaked her when I got her home than drained the tub and left her in the sunlight and offered her some mustard greens, she attacked them. I am not sure how much chomping she can do on say carrots or peppers., which may account for the soft gel. But she has been munching on the greens non stop. She seems to have a smile on her face.
And the spayed legs, possibly just poor body condition?
Just any thoughts please.
I hated to hand these people any money, but once I saw her, I couldn't walk away. I hope the pics are clear enough to see her face. Thanks Na

 

[cvalda]

Oh poooor baby I am soooo glad she is finally in good hands!

I don't know what the experts will say, but I'd say feed her a normal healthy diet and see what she can eat! Maybe it's like that from NOT having proper foods to nibble rip and tear?!

 

[JustAnja]

I would think severe Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) would be the cause of the jaw deformity. A visit to a qualified Tortoise Vet is in order Nadine. They will probably have to do some work on her jaws. Do not let them assume Vit A deficiency and do injections without doing any bloodwork on her. Good luck with the girl. (She is also fairly stunted at 14 years and just 7")

 

[Tatooineboy]

Thank the maker that you got her. She clearly needs someone who can devote attention and care to her.

I'm not expert, but I would think she needs to get on a normal/regular diet for the Redfoot. When preparing the greens/veggies, I would dice them or tear the leafs into small portions so she can consume them as easily as possible.

Best of luck and please keep us updated!

 

[Nay]

I know, I have a Russian that's 7 in!!! Yes vet appt on Monday. But even if I was told to do some reconstructive surgery, I think I would leave things be for awhile. Thanks

 

[Tatooineboy]

I know, I have a Russian that's 7 in!!! Yes vet appt on Monday. But even if I was told to do some reconstructive surgery, I think I would leave things be for awhile. Thanks

Not to de-rail your thread from the topic at hand, but how do vets perform reconstructive surgery on a tortoises mouth?

 

[cvalda]

yes i would too, probably, see what a healthy diet (even if you have to mash it) with vitamins and proper humidity, will do for her!

 

[Nay]

Tatooineboy, I have no idea, but I watched an earlier Croc hunter and Steve was at a hospital where they actually pinned the leg of a toad!!! The ability to do just about anything is out there!!

 

[Crazy1]

Na, she almost looks like she may have a cleft palate. (Someone in here has a tort with a cleft palate) I'd suggest small diced greens or if you have to, grind them in the blender for now. MBD for sure by now which is probebly the cause of the splay in her leggs. Is her shell soft at all? Did the 2nd owner say her jaw was always like that? Good luck with her and keep us informed. How Much to feed her? I'm not sure on that one. I would think like you would feed any tort just give her a longer time to consume things.

 

[Jentortmom]

Poor Baby!!!, The food processor does a great job at chopping the food into small pieces. The splayed legs could also be from a poor substrate maybe? My new boxie that I rescued has splayed legs, he swims around the dirt instead of walking. It is amazing what people do to there torts.

 

[jlyoncc1]

Poor baby....glad she is with you now!

 

[Itort]

You say she was chomping away on the greens. That is good this being about 4/7 of her diet. If she can handle greens then soft fruits such as berries, peaches, and fruits should be no problem (this 2/7 of the diet). As for protein go with small pieces or soft. Keep her humid and give her a wading pool. Do get her to a herp vet and have the problems looked at, Torts are amazing in their adaptibilty when given decent care.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

Hi all, I just picked up a new member of our family. She's a 14 yr old RF named Petey(but I have a Pinkly and may not be able to keep her name) Anyway, her history, I am owner #3.
Owner #1 had her in an aquarium(of course) and fed her cat food. That certainly accounts for her pyramiding. They gave her up after 7 yrs, and owner # 2 fed her soft gel and also kept her in a aquarium, only larger Not much moisture to speak of and oh well now I have her. She's about 7 in.(Is it CPL?) and feels so light to me, she also has a facial abnormality. Owner #2 had no idea how it came about. She says after soaking(which they did monthly, whoopie) she would blow bubbles. Her back legs do seem to carry her but they seem to always splay out. My questions.
Has anyone seen a face like this?
How much is safe to feed her right away? I soaked her when I got her home than drained the tub and left her in the sunlight and offered her some mustard greens, she attacked them. I am not sure how much chomping she can do on say carrots or peppers., which may account for the soft gel. But she has been munching on the greens non stop. She seems to have a smile on her face.
And the spayed legs, possibly just poor body condition?
Just any thoughts please.
I hated to hand these people any money, but once I saw her, I couldn't walk away. I hope the pics are clear enough to see her face. Thanks Na

Let him eat as much as he will for a week or 2. Go to the redfoots.com link in my signature and follow the Housing and Diet topics. Carrots and peppers are not in their diet needs.

The bubbles were probly from the fact that they 'inhale' the water thru their nose.

The 'splayed' legs are from the inability to move around and no doubt a lack of calcium in their diet!

Also what is soft gel? And what is CPL?

I wouldn't even take him to the vet. as long as he's eating and moving around o.k.

Keep us posted...

Terry