Hi all,
As a few of you know, I recently purchased a new redfoot during Petco's 50% off. Looking back, I probably should've passed, but he was just too cute. He had a few issues when I first got him... they included eyes that were sorta glued closed, some very minor shell rot, and after we left, we noticed his stool was light brown in color and pellet shaped (my first Tortoise Darwin is known for his nice dark greenish poops, the "good poop" or so I'm told).
It's been almost 4 days now and I can happily report that with some increased heat, humidity, and twice a day warm soaks, he can now mostly open his eyes by himself (I'm assuming he was dehydrated). Furthermore, his shell rot is being treated with povidone iodine and should heal quickly.
But I'm worried about his stool. During his soaks, he often defecates and the stools are loose and have undigested bits in them. Today, it was slightly more "together" but still pretty loose. I've switched to feeding him some high fiber food (mazuri, mushrooms, squash, etc). When should my slight panic from stress issues switch to real panic from issues that require vet action?
As a few of you know, I recently purchased a new redfoot during Petco's 50% off. Looking back, I probably should've passed, but he was just too cute. He had a few issues when I first got him... they included eyes that were sorta glued closed, some very minor shell rot, and after we left, we noticed his stool was light brown in color and pellet shaped (my first Tortoise Darwin is known for his nice dark greenish poops, the "good poop" or so I'm told).
It's been almost 4 days now and I can happily report that with some increased heat, humidity, and twice a day warm soaks, he can now mostly open his eyes by himself (I'm assuming he was dehydrated). Furthermore, his shell rot is being treated with povidone iodine and should heal quickly.
But I'm worried about his stool. During his soaks, he often defecates and the stools are loose and have undigested bits in them. Today, it was slightly more "together" but still pretty loose. I've switched to feeding him some high fiber food (mazuri, mushrooms, squash, etc). When should my slight panic from stress issues switch to real panic from issues that require vet action?