Redfoot having weird poos, negative for parasites

[cooky_luvs]

Hello,

I acquired a Cherryhead right before Christmas. He ate right out of the box without issue. Then suddenly about a week ago he stopped eating. I noticed some very odd poos. I’ve just received his fecal results back and he is negative for parasites. Any idea of what to look for next? I am baffled as to what’s going on with this guy. He seems alert but is basking a lot and I’ve only gotten him to eat well once this whole week. He ate cactus and mango, everything else offered has been rejected. Pictures of the poos attached.

Luckily the new guy is quarantined and hasn’t been exposed to any of my other redfoots. I’m hoping I can get him healthy.

 

[zovick]

Hello,

I acquired a Cherryhead right before Christmas. He ate right out of the box without issue. Then suddenly about a week ago he stopped eating. I noticed some very odd poos. I’ve just received his fecal results back and he is negative for parasites. Any idea of what to look for next? I am baffled as to what’s going on with this guy. He seems alert but is basking a lot and I’ve only gotten him to eat well once this whole week. He ate cactus and mango, everything else offered has been rejected. Pictures of the poos attached.

Luckily the new guy is quarantined and hasn’t been exposed to any of my other redfoots. I’m hoping I can get him healthy.

The fecal matter definitely looks very strange. The gut flora may have been compromised somehow. If the tortoise will eat anything, I would get some Bene-Bac Powder (the avian/reptile formula) and sprinkle it on whatever you can get the tortoise to eat. Hopefully that will help get the tortoise on the right track again.

Here is a link to the product: https://www.chewy.com/petag-bene-ba...HdX0TtD7o-RE7vntlp40jauj7QkepvKMaAm8REALw_wcB

 

[cooky_luvs]

The fecal matter definitely looks very strange. The gut flora may have been compromised somehow. If the tortoise will eat anything, I would get some Bene-Bac Powder (the avian/reptile formula) and sprinkle it on whatever you can get the tortoise to eat. Hopefully that will help get the tortoise on the right track again.

Here is a link to the product: https://www.chewy.com/petag-bene-ba...HdX0TtD7o-RE7vntlp40jauj7QkepvKMaAm8REALw_wcB

Yes actually i’ve been doing exactly that with the benebac. No changes yet. But he has only eaten a bit.

 

[cooky_luvs]

I’ve also been giving him food soaks with critical care and adding in benebac. I hope it’s helping.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Heres a guess:
Has his enclosure temperature been constant?
Or has it been cooler?
It looks like partially digested food. That would happen if he isn't kept warm enough for full digestion to take place. Around 80°f
That would also make him eat less. If at all.

 

[cooky_luvs]

Heres a guess:
Has his enclosure temperature been constant?
Or has it been cooler?
It looks like partially digested food. That would happen if he isn't kept warm enough for full digestion to take place. Around 80°f
That would also make him eat less. If at all.

He lives in a closed chamber with a top mounted radiant heat panel on a thermostat set to 84°. There are no signs of respiratory infection.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

He lives in a closed chamber with a top mounted radiant heat panel on a thermostat set to 84°. There are no signs of respiratory infection.

It was a theory only.

 

[cooky_luvs]

Well the vet is stumped too. We’re trying a course of antibiotics although they don’t know the issue. I would rather know we’re treating the right thing but at a loss on what else to do. The antibiotics could further mess up his gut flora but it’s already messed up. I hope he starts eating more and gets those probiotics in his system.

 

[cooky_luvs]

His poo frequency has improved so I hope he is getting better but the poops just look awful. ? Sorry for the grossness. I hope he’s getting better but it’s hard to say. He’s also lost some more weight ?

 

[TammyJ]

How's he doing now? Is he active? Can we see his enclosure?

 

[cooky_luvs]

How's he doing now? Is he active? Can we see his enclosure?

I never got a notification, sorry I never responded. He actually seems to be improving finally, the round of antibiotics only seemed to provide moderate improvement. Toward the end of the antibiotics his poos went right back to being mucosy. The vet and I decided to try the parasite medicine Metronidazole even with his negative fecal since some flagellates can be hard to detect. I think with his poos being all mucous and very little actual fecal matter didn’t help either.

He’s been on the Metronidazole for about a week now and i’ve seen him eat more this past week than I have in over a month! I really hope he’s finally improving. I am still waiting for a nice big poo so I can see if it’s any less mucous filled now. He’s also regained the weight he has lost.

Here’s a pic of his enclosure. It’s heated with a radiant heat panel, Arcadia t5 6% and misted daily to stay at 80% humidity. I’d get a better pic if it wasn’t night time right now lol If he gets better he’ll eventually move in to the much larger enclosures with other redfoots.

 

[cooky_luvs]

He’s all better now and has gained 30g and eats and poos regularly now ❤️ Looks like it was the initial suspect after all, protozoa parasites.