Short Bus Tortoise aka: Ol' One Eye

[Neohippy]

Poor Woodrow. He just doesn't seem right.

With having Cordelia as comparison, I wonder more and more about Woodrow. Cordelia has caught up to and surpassed Woodrow in growth, her shell looks like a normal redfoot and she acts like a normal redfoot.

Woodrow still looks like he has baby tortoise shell, his other eye still will not open, he doesn't hide, isn't afraid of people... or anything for that matter. His shell has a center line groove running along the length of it, and he appears to have a hunch back, as strange as that may sound. Also, I find out today, he is outright missing a toe on his back left foot.

Woodrow is still my fave due to his personality, but I wonder if he is the 'special' kid in the class, riding the short bus to school. Maybe he was dropped as an egg.

So the question remains: Should I get him a little helmet and some tiny water wings so he doesn't hurt himself?

Woodrow has added 7g of weight since April.
Cordelia has added 21g of weight since April.

Anyone else have a short bus tortoise? Or is Woodrow indeed 'special'...

 

[tortoisenerd]

Awww poor tortie. Some hatchlings just don't thrive as much. As long as Wooddrow is eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, and at least slowly gaining weight, I wouldn't worry. You can't really compare one torts growth to another as they are so unique. You can however compare weight and SCL for one tort vs. another. They will grow at different rates, but there is a healthy weight range for each SCL. I don't know about a growth chart for a redfoot but maybe someone else can help you with that.

I think i had heard about his eye issue in the past. Had you treated it and he has never recovered? That is sad, but I think he can still live a good life. Hopefully he is not in pain. He must be eating well enough if he's still gaining weight. No weight gain would be bad. Sounds like he's not doing bad though! You just really can't compare him to Cordelia. Females also grow larger than males too, but I think they are too young for that still?

If you are worried about his shell growth (hunchback) you can take a picture and we all can give our opinions.

All of us have our peculiarities. Best wishes.

 

[Neohippy]

It's not like I'm very 'concerned' per se. I mean, he is a healthy little guy, very adventuresome, but no matter how many lemons he's been thrown so far, he seems to be making lemonade.
Just thought I'd share how he seems to be from the shallow end of the gene pool, but altogether happy.

SCL has been as follows:

April 25 - Woodrow = 64mm (55.2g)
Cordelia = 55mm (35.3g)

June 26 - Woodrow = 65mm (60.0g)
Cordelia = 66.5mm (56.6g)

As far as genders, preliminary guesses put Woodrow as the female and Cordelia as the male.

Woodrow is gonna be a year old at the end of August, and I peg Cordelia as being 2-3 months younger, so I figure she's just been hitting a growth spurt that Woodrow may have undergone before I got him, either way, Cordelia seems to be a poster boy representation of red foots, and poor little Woodrow seems like the poster boy's inbred cousin or something.

I figure the vast majority of his physical problems (eye, toe, etc...) are due to the months spent in a dry lonely enclosure in a pet store. Whereas Cordelia was bought straight from the breeder. Like a rescue versus adoption scenario.

 

[galvinkaos]

I love it. Helmet and water wings. LOL. My husband always jokes he drives the short bus around our house and requests we try not to lick the windows. We all have those occasional special moments and personality traits. People, dogs, cats, torts, etc.

Dawna

 

[Yvonne G]

Please buy some Terramycin Opthalmic Ointment for Woodrow's eye. When they can't see out of both eyes together, it causes them to have distorted vision. You may have noticed him biting at the air instead of the food.

It is available at feed stores and vet offices. Or you can buy it online. It truly is a miracle ointment. Just apply it to his eyelid three times a day and in just a couple days his eye will begin to open. Its less than $10 a tube and lasts a long time.

Yvonne

 

[Neohippy]

Please buy some Terramycin Opthalmic Ointment for Woodrow's eye. When they can't see out of both eyes together, it causes them to have distorted vision. You may have noticed him biting at the air instead of the food.


It is available at feed stores and vet offices. Or you can buy it online. It truly is a miracle ointment. Just apply it to his eyelid three times a day and in just a couple days his eye will begin to open. Its less than $10 a tube and lasts a long time.

Yvonne

I've got some coming in. Stuff is not so easy to find in Canuckville, and U.S. suppliers charge $20-$50 shipping for some reason! But Europe on the other hand, hooks us northern hosers up real nice. Only draw back is shipping times really, but it's coming.

He used to bite at air, but has since adapted. A regular Toucan Sam, he just follows his nose.
At least I don't find him trying to eat the thermometer like Cordelia does sometimes.