Redfoot hydration issues?

Kamerus88

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Hey everyone,

I've had my Redfoot Tortoise for over a year now. She is a subadult I rescued from a poor situation. She has always been very healthy and a great eater.

Recently we have moved to a condo with an outside porch with plenty of room for her enclosure. It is a second story condo so it is much higher in elevation.

We live in South Florida so the temps even in the winter time are rather mild and it rarely goes below 55 at night. She has a heated hide house and we have given her eucalyptus mulch and peat moss as a substrate for humidity purposes. She gets the typical varied diet of greens and veggies/fruits and minimal protein treats.

Recently she has been showing signs of dehydration with some slightly sunken eyes, small bubbles in the corners, and having issues opening them in the mornings when she wakes up. This mostly appears to be after nights of colder and drier weather.

Anytips on keeping our baby hydrated? She gets soaked regularly but maybe increasing the amount of soakings during the week would help?

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks in Advance!
 

kathyth

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Can we see a clear, close up picture of her face and her enclosure?
What is her humidity in the enclosure and temps of the enclosure?
She may need to go to a vet who specializes in Tortoises.
 

Kamerus88

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kathyth said:
Can we see a clear, close up picture of her face and her enclosure?
What is her humidity in the enclosure and temps of the enclosure?
She may need to go to a vet who specializes in Tortoises.



I can get some photos later on. Fairly confident it is not an Upper Respiratory issue given the lack of nasal discharge and it mostly seems to be a hydration problems. She sees the vet regularly and has had a clean bill of health as of her last check up :)
 

Kamerus88

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kathyth said:
Can we see a clear, close up picture of her face and her enclosure?
What is her humidity in the enclosure and temps of the enclosure?
She may need to go to a vet who specializes in Tortoises.

As for humidity it usually sits around 80% but during the evening i'm sure it fluctuates lower when we are sleeping, especially on said cold dry nights.

We recently purchased some humidifiers to remedy the problem. It's not a constant thing she has to deal with its usually on these cold days. Last week the weather was in 70s and 80s with rain so the humidity was perfect.
 

Redstrike

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How humid is the heated hide? If she is going in there on cold nights and it's warm and dry it may be exacerbating the cold, dry climate on the chilly nights.

The humidifier is good, pipe it into the heated hide portion or use waterproof heat ropes (Big Apple Herp or Hydrokable) - see my signatures at the bottom of this thread.
 

turtletortoisefarmer

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I have a question? I was told eucalyptus was bad, I know it bothers me.I read this in a bird magazine so I don't no if it is the same for torts.
 

nearpass

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turtletortoisefarmer said:
I have a question? I was told eucalyptus was bad, I know it bothers me.I read this in a bird magazine so I don't no if it is the same for torts.

Agree. Eucalyptus has some very strong oils. I believe it actually drugs koalas, hence their slow and lethargic movements. It's bound to affect a tortoise.
 
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