# Help! Redfoots eyes are shut



## Janelle Green (Nov 11, 2016)

hi I just ordered 2 red foot yearlings from Az Sulcata and when I received them one of the tortoises eyes were shut and bothering it. I named her/him Wendy. Wendy rubs her eyes and on is little puffy they look very dry , I'll soak her and she'll open them for a bit , looks like one of her eye lids got cut on the bottom a little. I contacted the breeder right away and they said Wendy could of scratched it's eye in shipment . I got Wendy Tuesday morning it's now Friday and when I wake her up her eyes are closed I'll give her a nice warm long soak put her under her lamps to warm up and she opens them for a bit but their still bothering her. I am located in Loveland Colorado and would like to take her to a vet ASAP but don't of any around that know about tortoises . Need help . Thank u


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## leigti (Nov 11, 2016)

Call Colorado state vet school in Fort Collins. You could take it there or they could probably tell you where in exotic vet is. I know there used to be one in Fort Collins and I would bet there's one pretty close. Do you have pictures of the tortoise? What kind of bulb are you using? Read foots don't really basketball so they don't need a mercury vapor bulb. They do better with a long fluorescent bulb and lots of plants to hide under. 
I know there are some eyedrops you can use, hopefully some other people will chime in soon with the names of them. But meanwhile a good close-up picture would help. Good luck with your little baby.


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## Janelle Green (Nov 11, 2016)

leigti said:


> Call Colorado state vet school in Fort Collins. You could take it there or they could probably tell you where in exotic vet is. I know there used to be one in Fort Collins and I would bet there's one pretty close. Do you have pictures of the tortoise? What kind of bulb are you using? Read foots don't really basketball so they don't need a mercury vapor bulb. They do better with a long fluorescent bulb and lots of plants to hide under.
> I know there are some eyedrops you can use, hopefully some other people will chime in soon with the names of them. But meanwhile a good close-up picture would help. Good luck with your little baby.


Her eyes are doing so good today! You can see where she scratched her eye while in shipment. She was also on her side when I opened the box. She's eating and drinking fine ,I don't have basking I use heat emitters, I have 2 Uvb bulbs one on each side cuz the enclosure is big . I have 7 live plants in the enclosure and grass being grown. Temp is 83 72 at night and humidity is at 64 right now. Her sibling I named Casper is doing amazing all over exploring and he's a pig. I worked very hard on this enclosure I had to insulate my screened in porch for the winter it has 300lbs of substrate , theirs the forest moss in their hide. Any tips to better my enclosure is appreciated ! I changed out the red basking bulb to heat emitter so that's an older picture also have another heat emitter in the mail cuz their much cheaper online. I read that redfoots don't bask and don't need the basking bulbs so switched to the emitter to help with my temps in the winter


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## lismar79 (Nov 11, 2016)

I do not have reds but I know humidity levels need to be high for them, especially young ones. Humidity levels that are too low affect the eyes as well. A nice humid hide full of moss would be great if you don't have already. More plants help too. Hostas are a good one to dig out of your landscape if you already have them.


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## Janelle Green (Nov 11, 2016)

Should


lismar79 said:


> I do not have reds but I know humidity levels need to be high for them, especially young ones. Humidity levels that are too low affect the eyes as well. A nice humid hide full of moss would be great if you don't have already. More plants help too. Hostas are a good one to dig out of your landscape if you already have them.


i have the humidity high . I got the redfoot tortoise like this in the mail . She is getting better , I'm deff thinking she scratched her eye while shipping


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## Janelle Green (Nov 11, 2016)

I also use the moss for their hide and keep it tiny damp , my other red foots are doing great. If she doesn't get 100% better she's going to see a vet, now I'm too scared to order tortoises from the mail again


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## Janelle Green (Nov 12, 2016)

She's doing slightly better but I'm still worried I found a vet that does tortoises earliest I can get in is this Wednesday at 12pm. Casper the other tortoise I got on Tuesday is doing amazing out exploring his enclosure all day eats drinks and goes to his hide to sleep at night very active healthy nothing wrong with his eyes . I'm praying their just scratched from being shipped and nothing bad is wrong with her I've grown such an attachment these few days I've had her I just want my baby healthy


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## dmmj (Nov 12, 2016)

Are they being housed together? What is their diet like?


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## Janelle Green (Nov 12, 2016)

dmmj said:


> Are they being housed together? What is their diet like?


They were housed together with their other siblings I just received them Tuesday morning I have Wendy separated don't want her getting Casper sick if it's an eye infection . I have another red foot foxy she's doing amazing and so is Casper the sibling of Wendy's clutch they are all separated right now . I have them on organic only greens veggies fruits and I gave them some meal worms for protein today . Temps at 83 during day and 74 at night it's winter here in Colorado. The enclosure is 7ftX6ft I did have Wendy and Casper together at first but noticed she wasnt getting better so she's in quarinte I have humidity at 67 right now. Here's Wendy after her bath she looks soo good! This is the best she's looked since I got her on Tuesday . Tuesday when I opened the package up she was on her side eyes closed dry and scratched she had pieces of skin where she scratched them  her vet apt is on wed at 12


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## SarahChelonoidis (Nov 13, 2016)

74 is too cool overnight for a redfoot, especially a sick one. Get that temperature up to 80.


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## Janelle Green (Nov 13, 2016)

SarahChelonoidis said:


> 74 is too cool overnight for a redfoot, especially a sick one. Get that temperature up to 80.


Got another heat lamp and got the temp to 79 at night I'll try to get it higher . I was thinking maybe she got to cold while being shipped ? Thanx for the tips  want to make the best life possible for them


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## dmmj (Nov 13, 2016)

Was she shipped with a heat pack?


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## Janelle Green (Nov 13, 2016)

dmmj said:


> Was she shipped with a heat pack?


No she was not ... I got this sick mini heater today soo toasty warm now . She came out of her hide on her own today and came and ate and her eyes we're open I can't wait for wed so she can see the vet


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## Janelle Green (Nov 13, 2016)

i got the night heat at 85 right now is that ok? Every time I come out to their enclosure Wendy comes out to see me she's the sweetest redfoot I have I want my baby healthy


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## TammyJ (Nov 14, 2016)

All the best for her complete recovery!


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## Janelle Green (Nov 15, 2016)

TammyJ said:


> All the best for her complete recovery!


Wendy passed away with pneumonia it's been very hard for me and my family we had her just a few days but fell in love. The vet said their was nothing we could of done she had it so bad and was caused from her environment before or shipment. Casper is doing fine but I am taking him in tomorrow at 12 to make sure. They are refunding us our money. It's been a very hard week lots of crying , we have buried Wendy under the apple tree with a rose plant on top. She blessed our life just a short amount of time we had her I fell in love. Maybe it's my fault I ordered them when it's November in Colorado but weather has been great 79 today , for now I am so scared to order online not saying this happens a lot but I've had a lot of loss this year with my brother passing away in June I can't lose anything more right now so I'm going to be safe and get Casper checked up I won't be ready to add another tortoise for awhile my heart is broken. I know 2 red foots don't do good together so they'll be separated. Foxys been separated from them and always will be from Casper unless I got another but don't see it happening for a long time. Thank u everyone for ur prayers and help means a lot to me


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## Janelle Green (Nov 15, 2016)

My vet said he can send one of his students out to my house and check my enclosures make sure everything is perfect and help me clean and re do it all for no previous bacteria from Wendy. That's very nice of them to help me. I got the night temp at 87 is that to high ? I have to refill my humidifier 2x a day but humidity is staying in the 70s my husband is wondering if humidity was 90 and above does that cause problems? ( we couldn't get it that high ) he's just curious. Also we live in Colorado super dry no humidity how do I add more humidity to their outdoor enclosure? I can add humidity to their indoor but how do I work with the outdoor temps? Today our humidity outside is 21%


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## Janelle Green (Nov 15, 2016)

Here's a picture of Foxy in her outdoor enclosure today she caught herself a worm and is chowing it down! I love seeing tortoises outside in a natural habitat doing what a wild tortoise would do makes me so happy . My husband and I are going to do a small worm farm so we have worms in the winter and he needs their poop for his soil for his vegetable garden next year . Any tips on worm farm?


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## dmmj (Nov 15, 2016)

high humidity does not cause pneumonia by itself it's only when it's cold and wet is when pneumonia sets in. please accept my condolences


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## TammyJ (Nov 16, 2016)

Janelle Green said:


> Wendy passed away with pneumonia it's been very hard for me and my family we had her just a few days but fell in love. The vet said their was nothing we could of done she had it so bad and was caused from her environment before or shipment. Casper is doing fine but I am taking him in tomorrow at 12 to make sure. They are refunding us our money. It's been a very hard week lots of crying , we have buried Wendy under the apple tree with a rose plant on top. She blessed our life just a short amount of time we had her I fell in love. Maybe it's my fault I ordered them when it's November in Colorado but weather has been great 79 today , for now I am so scared to order online not saying this happens a lot but I've had a lot of loss this year with my brother passing away in June I can't lose anything more right now so I'm going to be safe and get Casper checked up I won't be ready to add another tortoise for awhile my heart is broken. I know 2 red foots don't do good together so they'll be separated. Foxys been separated from them and always will be from Casper unless I got another but don't see it happening for a long time. Thank u everyone for ur prayers and help means a lot to me


I am so very sorry Wendy did not make it. Definitely not your fault and at least she had that time with you and I am sure she sensed that she was well cared for and loved for that short time before she left this world. Thank you for caring for her!


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## leigti (Nov 17, 2016)

I'm sorry your tortoise passed away. I lost a tortoise once also. And as I was told by many members on this forum, it was sick long before I got it. There was nothing I could have done but it still broke my heart.
Are the temperature still that nice out there right now? Don't forget your temperature gun so you make sure your tortoise stays warm enough. Very soon you won't have to worry about the outdoor enclosure for a few months. But for next spring and summer add a bunch of plants, make sure that there is sun, dappled sun, and shade available in the enclosure. Nice deep soil, you can hose down the enclosure a couple times a day or set a little sprinkler or mister on a timer. If the walls of the enclosure are higher that also helps, a couple feet high maybe. 
Because the nighttime temps still get chilly at night there in the summer you'll probably have to bring your tortoise in every night or provide a heated enclosure outdoors.
I'm glad you found a vet.


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## Janelle Green (Nov 18, 2016)

TammyJ said:


> I am so very sorry Wendy did not make it. Definitely not your fault and at least she had that time with you and I am sure she sensed that she was well cared for and loved for that short time before she left this world. Thank you for caring for her!


Thank u all I still miss her . I think with no heating pack and the damp towel with her in shipment she got it . Caspers doing great we'll have to add another one one day since 2 is not good together but right now my hearts broken so we're going to wait


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