Swollen or fat?

[Cleopatra 2020]

I just noticed lately in the last week that my female leopard tortoise Rosie which is almost 6 months old has had swollen looking feet or maybe she's just getting fat she has gained a lot of weight since I've gotten her she doubled her weight in 3 months she now weighs 130 G also her head looked a little swollen and lately her eyes are starting to look puffy again all she has for substrate is the paper towels I switched over to to try and see if her eyes corrected and they did look less puffy over time she has the high output T5 24-inch for UV a che for overnight Heat and a 65 watt incandescent flood light on a dimmer I feed her grass mostly with some clover and some romaine lettuce and occasionally a Squash Blossom or grape leaf and occasionally lettuce flowers and occasionally some spring mix added also gets Mazuri a couple times a week she gets her calcium powder reptocal twice a week and her humidity is always between the low 80s and mid-90s most of the time in the high eighties.. just wish I knew why she look puffy I'll send some better pictures tonight

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

if you zoom in on the very first picture where her feet are sticking out the back of her shell on the left side of the picture her left rear heal looks like it's a big swollen ball....?

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

here's a better picture of her back feet sticking out

 

[KarenSoCal]

That back left foot does look strange. But I have no idea what's wrong. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

That back left foot does look strange. But I have no idea what's wrong. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion.

when I hold her up by her shell and she sticks all her legs hanging down it doesn't look that bad but when she's laying there with her feet sticking out it looks like her heal is swollen a little bit I just figured maybe she's getting fat she has been growing pretty fast I usually offer her one and a half times her shell size and she usually eats most of it the breeder mentioned I could feed her every other day he says he feeds his everyday but a lot less quantity than I do she'll be 6 months old in a week and has been moving right along with 20 to 25 G a month increase in weight which I'm assuming is decent?

 

[KarenSoCal]

I'm no good on knowing good weight gain rates.

I do think she should be fed all she wants every day. She's growing, that takes lots of energy. But if she's getting lots of fattening treats, those could be cut back.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

I'm no good on knowing good weight gain rates.

I do think she should be fed all she wants every day. She's growing, that takes lots of energy. But if she's getting lots of fattening treats, those could be cut back.

Well I normally feed her one and a half times her Shell size which she eats most of and then I also feed her mazuri a couple times a week on top of that plus I used to feed her Cactus pad in the afternoon everyday on top of that so now I'm going to cut back on the mazuri and Cactus pad and her Daily Greens back to just her she'll size and see if that doesn't get results even though I read here on the Forum to feed them as much as they'll eat I also read somewhere online to feed them 5 days a week and also somewhere else I read it's better for them to grow at a slow and steady Pace rather than bulk up and fatten up from overeating so I'm confused but it definitely won't hurt her to back off a little She's a pig and eats everything... LOL

 

[KarenSoCal]

Other than that one foot, her other legs certainly don't look fat. Personally, I would not cut back her food. She's young and actively growing...not the time to be dieting.

Let's see if anyone else has input.

@Tom
@Yvonne G
@Markw84

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise isn't fat, and it isn't growing too fast. The only thing I see wrong with hat you are doing is the lack of substrate. Time to put some damp substrate back in.

As long as they are eating the right foods (yours is) and getting lots of exercise in large enclosures, then obesity is really not a problem for tortoises. Starving them and making them grow at unusually slow rates due to nutrient deprivation is not good for tortoises or any animal.

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

Your tortoise isn't fat, and it isn't growing too fast. The only thing I see wrong with hat you are doing is the lack of substrate. Time to put some damp substrate back in.

As long as they are eating the right foods (yours is) and getting lots of exercise in large enclosures, then obesity is really not a problem for tortoises. Starving them and making them grow at unusually slow rates due to nutrient deprivation is not good for tortoises or any animal.

I have purchased some cypress mulch I just been leery because I didn't want her to eat it and get an impaction she loves to eat everything and the paper towel is sanitary tee humidity stays between the upper 80 percent and low 90 percent at a constant her basking tile is in the low 90s
Well the rest of her enclosure is in the mid-to-upper 80s overnight I keep her in the mid-80s Temps with low 90s for humidity

 

[KarenSoCal]

@Cleopatra 2020
I say this in love...
You need to calm down and relax a bit. I know you adore Rosie and are terribly afraid of losing her. I understand that. But you have yourself so worked up into panic that you will worry yourself and Rosie into illness. You seem so stressed that you can't take in what we're telling you to do. You are creating the confusion and pandemonium by overthinking all of our advice.

Rosie is 6 months old. She is doing great under your care. There's nothing wrong with her.

Stop analyzing every word. Stop reading anything that we didn't give you to read. We have Rosie's welfare uppermost in our efforts to give you info you can act on with confidence. For us, your welfare comes second, but we do care about you too. Please...stop and breathe.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Enjoy ur lil baby. Pets are not suppose to bring you stress.. thats what children are for lol

 

[Cleopatra 2020]

I'm just a very observant person and I didn't want to assume she's getting fat and just let it ride until something bad happens that's why I made the post it's not over worrying I think it's just worrying just enough... so I asked a question so somebody with experience could say yeah man you feed her a lot and she is getting fat and that will happen that's all I'm looking for 4 sometimes when they get fat looking it could mean too much protein and their diet so on and so on... and I'm not taking it personal Karen I don't take anything personal I just care for my tort and being that she's doing awesome I just don't want her to end up like the last one because it's something simple that I overlooked or didn't ask about so I'm asking and I do realize that there is the over worrying Factor which I've learned to tone down but her little toes look pudgy as well so just didn't know plus she starting to Pyramid a little and I didn't know if maybe that could have something to do with her getting fat I just wouldn't know unless I asked I suppose but I do appreciate any advice you have all the time and hold it with the utmost respect