Weird behavior

[tangale]

My redfoot has been biting his or her own leg lately. Makes a fairly strange noise. Has anyone experience the same thing?

Also, how do I know if the tortoise is healthy and doing well?
He eats and poos and roams around it's tub. I'm just paranoid now after losing a yearling not too long ago.

 

[Whinhill]

Check for mites and ticks they can irritate the skin.

 

[Madkins007]

My redfoot has been biting his or her own leg lately. Makes a fairly strange noise. Has anyone experience the same thing?

Also, how do I know if the tortoise is healthy and doing well?
He eats and poos and roams around it's tub. I'm just paranoid now after losing a yearling not too long ago.

Healthiness?
- Weigh him and measure the shell length every 2 weeks or monthly as a baby. Are the numbers moving in the right direction?
- Carefully examine him when doing the weigh-in.
------ Is the shell firming up?
------ Any sign of shell damage, rot, thick growth lines or gaps?
------ Are the eyes, nose (nares), and mouth clear? No tears around the eyes, no deposits or erosion around the nares?
------ Check the skin, especially between scales and the soft areas for injuries, visible ticks or mites, etc.
------ Is it struggling or hiding when you hold it (normal), or walking on your hand, curious (habituated), or limp? (bad sign)
------ Does it use its legs and neck normally?
- Does it have a normal appetite, eating a reasonable amount of food every day or so?
- Are there occasional poos, that are green/brown, well-shaped, fibrous and somewhat wet?

You ALSO need to check temps, humidity, lighting, substrate dampness/temp, and so on periodically to make sure those are OK as well.

 

[tangale]

As of today...
- He/she is 6" at 557 grams (I'll get pictures of the underside to determine sex)
- Upon examination, nothing really peculiar with him / her, just slightly less active. Shell is firm with no rotting. Nothing on skin.
- Nothing on nose or mouth, but eyes due get watery every once in awhile. I heard this may be due to humidity, which I'm working on to keep up as best as I can (especially during cooler times in NYC).
- When I hold him/her up, legs are flailing so should be normal.
- Legs look normal, but a little less active than normal. Use to climb all over the place.
- Appetite is still there. Never refused / refuses food.
- Poo is well shaped when I see it. It tends to eat it when I'm not around =(