not eating as much

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tortoise.tot

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i brought my tortoises inside cause of a hurricane watch a few months ago. now, it's getting real cool. so i've kept them inside cause it's getting too cold for them. since then, they haven't been eating as much as they normally would. & near as much as they should be eating.
& my leopard's eyes were swollen shut. we soaked him & he was fine.

what should i do to get them to eat more? i've tried changing food, but nothing seems appetizing to them.
 

purpod

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Without more details, it would be hard to give advice, but, as is my usual, I would suggest more heat. In addition, you may need more room..? Anytime I've had a tortie slow down in eating was due to insufficient heat.

What kinds of torts do you have? How old are they? What's the temp thru-out your enclosure? What kind of indoor home do you have them in? Have you housed them indoors during the winter months in previous years?

Also, eyeballs swollen shut is not a good thing; you should 'prolly keep a close watch on him; if he gets a runny nose, he may have a cold, and respiratory infections in torts are sometimes unnoticed initially, and by the time they are finally noticed, it may be late in getting them healthy again.

Hopefully you'll get some more replies. Sending blessings you way!
Purpod
 

egyptiandan

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No need yet :p You already asked the questions I would have. :D

But, she has a Leopard and a Redfoot tortoise.

Danny
 

purpod

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egyptiandan said:
No need yet :p You already asked the questions I would have. :D

But, she has a Leopard and a Redfoot tortoise.

Danny

Well, if that's the case, they should not be housed together anyways, right? That could bring up health issues of internal buglies being passed from one to another, no?

You're much more knowledgeable than I, Danny, so whatever you might suggest would 'prolly be best ~
:shy:
Purpod
 

egyptiandan

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We need to know if they are together first. :) Need lots of back ground before we can give any advice.

Danny
 

tortoise.tot

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purpod said:
Without more details, it would be hard to give advice, but, as is my usual, I would suggest more heat. In addition, you may need more room..? Anytime I've had a tortie slow down in eating was due to insufficient heat.

What kinds of torts do you have? How old are they? What's the temp thru-out your enclosure? What kind of indoor home do you have them in? Have you housed them indoors during the winter months in previous years?

Also, eyeballs swollen shut is not a good thing; you should 'prolly keep a close watch on him; if he gets a runny nose, he may have a cold, and respiratory infections in torts are sometimes unnoticed initially, and by the time they are finally noticed, it may be late in getting them healthy again.

Hopefully you'll get some more replies. Sending blessings you way!
Purpod


yes, they are housed together. we had them in a rather large enclosure outside so they rarely crossed paths, now it's a little tighter.

i have a (i'm guessing on age) 3 year old red foot & a 10 month old leopard. we're not sure of the temperature in the enclosure cause it's our first winter with them & we've had them outside since we've had them so we haven't gotten a thermometer yet. we just have them in a closed off area with bed a beast bedding & we've been changing their food. we've used celery, colard greens, carrots & tortoise fruit loops. :) they seem to eat the fruit loops best. & for their size, i feel they have plenty of room. they're still rather tiny.
 

egyptiandan

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Where to start. :D

Yes they both need to be housed seperately, as the 2 species need totally different enviroments to do well.

Here is a great caresheet for your redfoot. http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm
and one for your Leopard
http://www.africantortoise.com/

You need thermometers to check your temperatures.

If you have any questions after reading up on your 2 tortoises, just post away :)

Danny
 

Jentortmom

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Question?? I thought celery was not good for torts?? As for the swollen eyes... What type of substrate do you have him/her on?? It could be numerous things. 1. lack of vitamins, 2. infection, 3. To dry. You really need to seperate them as Danny has said, they both require different environments. Redfoot needs a moist and humid home, where the leo needs a drier home with some humidity. For not eating.. 1. sick (If there sick they don't eat) 2. To cold ( they don't eat if they are cold)
I would read through the caresheets Danny gave you and get there homes set up properly with a heat lamp and a uvb lamp in both setups, then get them some good foods to eat.. Spring mix, dandelion, collard greens, etc.. plus the additional foods your redfoot needs. Also the tort fruit loops, I don't know the nutrional info on them, but I would give them only as a rare treat. You don't want them hook on desserts as they get favorite foods and then they won't eat the good stuff. Good Luck!!
 

tortoise.tot

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jenrell23 said:
Question?? I thought celery was not good for torts?? As for the swollen eyes... What type of substrate do you have him/her on?? It could be numerous things. 1. lack of vitamins, 2. infection, 3. To dry. You really need to seperate them as Danny has said, they both require different environments. Redfoot needs a moist and humid home, where the leo needs a drier home with some humidity. For not eating.. 1. sick (If there sick they don't eat) 2. To cold ( they don't eat if they are cold)
I would read through the caresheets Danny gave you and get there homes set up properly with a heat lamp and a uvb lamp in both setups, then get them some good foods to eat.. Spring mix, dandelion, collard greens, etc.. plus the additional foods your redfoot needs. Also the tort fruit loops, I don't know the nutrional info on them, but I would give them only as a rare treat. You don't want them hook on desserts as they get favorite foods and then they won't eat the good stuff. Good Luck!!

we haven't been keeping our environment too moist cause before we got her, our redfoot had developed shell rot from bedding that was too moist. she couldn't walk in result of too long without sunlight. she had grown really weak. she's still recovering from that so we don't want to moisen it too much. we also give her apples & cantalope occasionally. i'm not sure on the celery, i haven't heard that it wasn't good for them. if it isn't, that is.
we have both of our tortoises on bed a beast. & we do believe it's cause they're too cold. we have a heat lamp on them though. we took it out for a few days, but it's back in there.

here's info on the fruit loops.
http://www.repcal.com/Tort.htm
that's what we were recommended by the exotic pet store that we got our leo from.

egyptiandan said:
Where to start. :D

Yes they both need to be housed seperately, as the 2 species need totally different enviroments to do well.

Here is a great caresheet for your redfoot. http://www.turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm
and one for your Leopard
http://www.africantortoise.com/

You need thermometers to check your temperatures.

If you have any questions after reading up on your 2 tortoises, just post away :)

Danny

one of the reasons that they're together now, is space. we have limited space now cause we just moved a few months ago. & we're about to move again in 6 months. so we don't want to build this extensive home for them outside to tear it down.
 

Jentortmom

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A cheap way to house them is to get a 55 gal rubbermaid tote for each one, and set them up with there lights at one end and a hide at each end. Depending on there size you might be able to use sweater boxes which have lower sides. It is very important that you either take them outside a few times a week for 15-30 mins or everyday for 5-10 for real sun. (weather permiting). You could also try moisting some moss and putting it in there for humidity, or run a humidifier in the room, until his shell rot is cured. Lack of humidity can cause problems as well, I have a boxie that I rescued that never got humidity, he lost his tail and his shell didn't grow properly. Without heat they get cold I keep mine on them for 12 hours a day, If they are not warm they won't eat. If your house gets cooler then 70 at night you should put a red or blue light or a ceramic heat light on at night to keep them warm. Variety is very important as different foods have different levels of vitamins. I buy a bunch of food feed it that week then the following week I switch to something else that way they have a variety and sometimes I will switch it up in the same week, depending on whats in the refer. I do believe redfoots like strawberries as well and require animal protein. I didn't see any food precentages on the website so when I pick up mice at the store I will look at it, but if it was me I would use it as a treat. Hope they start eating soon!!
 
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