Sunday Surprise

Csquared87

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
USA
Hi, I would like to start off with saying I am still new to the Tortoise World and have so far had a sad, educational adventure. My mom and I got two Leopard Tortoises last July. One died within a month :( The other, Earl, passed away 2 weeks ago. He was my mom's but came to live with me to see if I could get him to grow. From July 2013 to January 2014 he weighed between 25 and 30g. He was active and eating but not growing. His temps and humidity were good and his diet was varied and supplemented. He got to go outside for sun through late fall. Still never growing. After several months he stopped eating, got weaker by the day until finally passing on. He was such a fun personalble little guy. We miss him and hate he didn't get to grow up and stay with us.
Ok I'll stop with that and get to today. I could go on about my Earl Experience for days!

This afternoon I went by my mom's house to pick up some mail and came home with a little Redfoot. I had sent her a link from Craigslist a week ago for a Redfoot Tortoise for $100. She contacted the lady and ended up getting her for $40. I was not aware of this until today. She didn't know if she wanted to keep her or let me take her since I was the one with all the tortoise stuff and no tortoise.

I asked if I could take her home and get her set up in a humid enclosure. Mom has had her for a week and she has not eaten or drank.
She came in a wire rabbit cage with a plastic bottom on black calci-sand. They said they got her from a pet store for $225 a few months ago. She looks kinda rough but not unhealthy. She's a bit pale and has some pyramiding. She is quite heavy though.

I soaked her for 20 minutes as soon as I got home. She drank some and seemed to enjoy the soak while the water was warm. After the soak I offered her chopped zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, and strawberry. She sniffed all of it for a few mintues and almost took a bite. I'm sure after a few days of settling in and destressing she will eat....I hope!
I have her set up in a 50gal tub for now. It was late in the evening, she explored every inch of the tub before finding a spot to dig a bit and go to sleep.

She is right at 5"
 

Cycere

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2014
Messages
30
I'm sorry about your two babies, and I wish you the best of luck with this redfoot!
 

bouaboua

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Dec 7, 2013
Messages
11,809
Location (City and/or State)
San Jose CA
It sounds like you know what to do with the red foot so good luck with this one and enjoy.
 

BrandyBacklash

New Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
Pennsylvania, US
Shes a cutie!! Hopefully you will have better luck with her, I recommend the tortoise library. I am a relatively new tort mommy myself and i wish i had known about it when i first picked up Paco. it puts a lot of things in plain terms and even tells you what weird things are normal (such as tail wagging, and beak snapping for redfoots)
Im glad she drank, Paco took 2 weeks to drink for me. Try spring mix, its my Rf's favorite. and maybe a little Cantelope if you can find it. Good luck!!
 

Laura Currado

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5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
58
Location (City and/or State)
Oakland County, MI
Sorry too about your Leos; we had a baby Leopard we lost though we also had done everything right. I think sometimes baby reptiles just fail. In fact, my husband and I woke up to a very expensive but dead Bearded Dragon this a.m. He was a German-import Witblit who, though he ate hornworms daily, never put on weight. We did everything right since late summer for him but for some reason (I'm thinking genetic as Wits are very new and not stable), he wasn't a healthy animal and he literally wasted away. Not a good candidate for breeding we knew but we would have kept him as a pet if he had just turned around!
Sorry...this is about you. Keep us posted on your Russian.
 

Csquared87

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Messages
10
Location (City and/or State)
USA
Laura Currado said:
Sorry too about your Leos; we had a baby Leopard we lost though we also had done everything right. I think sometimes baby reptiles just fail. In fact, my husband and I woke up to a very expensive but dead Bearded Dragon this a.m. He was a German-import Witblit who, though he ate hornworms daily, never put on weight. We did everything right since late summer for him but for some reason (I'm thinking genetic as Wits are very new and not stable), he wasn't a healthy animal and he literally wasted away. Not a good candidate for breeding we knew but we would have kept him as a pet if he had just turned around!
Sorry...this is about you. Keep us posted on your Russian.

I'm sorry about your Bearded Dragon!!! :( I agree sometimes I think they just fail. Our one Leo tried so hard to live but his little body just wouldn't grow.


Thanks Everyone!!! I believe this is going to be a better experience than with the little Leos.

I soaked her again this morning, then offered her some breakfast. She is currently eating! Zucchini, squash, bell pepper, strawberry and banana. She took a few bites of everything :)
 

immayo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
986
Location (City and/or State)
Mesa, AZ
She looks to be in good shape. Hopefully everything will work out for this one.
 
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