health

[Spencerdt]

Red Footed Tortoise

Hello, I noticed a few days back that my Red footed tortoise hasn't been as active as usual or eating as much, when i picked him up i noticed his head had been cut so only there is flesh remaining on his beak I don't know how this happened and I'm very nervous! To add on to that he is very slow and when he poops its a clear mushy liquid. If you have any ideas how to fix any of these problems please post.

 

[Spencerdt]

Hello, Recently I have noticed that my Red foot Tortoise hasn't been as active as usual I examined his shell and it looks fine but when i looked closely to his head I noticed that there is no flesh around the nose also when he goes to the bathroom there is a clear liquid that is sticky.I have no clue what to do. If anybody knows what would help please post, if this helps.... Once in a while I will let him roam around a enclosed pen I made him this year when it is very warm out around 75 degrees or up. But when it isn't I put him in a plastic bin in my room with a lamp, food, water etc.
please help me!

 

[ascott]

Are you able to post a pic of his nose area? And is the clear stuff like clear snot or more like mucus?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Spencerdt:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Did you check around his habitat to see if there is a spot where he may have injured himself?

What types of food are you offering. Animals are able to tune pain out, and I doubt having a skinned nose is going to put him off his feed.

Please tell us a bit more about how you care for the tortoise so we can offer you better advice.

How warm is the enclosure? What kind of substrate? What kind of lighting? How big is the enclosure? And anything else you can think of that will help us.

Is your name Spencer?

 

[Spencerdt]

Hi Spencerdt:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Did you check around his habitat to see if there is a spot where he may have injured himself?

What types of food are you offering. Animals are able to tune pain out, and I doubt having a skinned nose is going to put him off his feed.

Please tell us a bit more about how you care for the tortoise so we can offer you better advice.

How warm is the enclosure? What kind of substrate? What kind of lighting? How big is the enclosure? And anything else you can think of that will help us.

Is your name Spencer?

Yes my name is Spencer
I usually feed him strawberrys, romain lettuce, broccoli, or a banana added with tortoise sticks I bought from the store. I looked around both his habitats and it looks like he couldn't injure himself on anything, he is still eating very slowly and keeps the food in his mouth for several minutes without chewing, all though his nose is looking somewhat better. When he goes to the bathroom it is more of mucus and sticks to the bottom of his shell around his tail.. In his inside bin it is around 80 degrees with a UV light on all day and turned off at night, outside it depends on the weather but it is shady in the morning and sunny in the afternoon, I've never kept him out there overnight outside because I'm afraid he will be eaten by predators even though it is caged in Both of the enclosures are decently big, the outdoor enclosure is 4x4 and the indoor one is 3x2. So to me seems like a lot of space for him since he can fit in the palm of your hand. I will try to post pictures on this forum once I get the hang of this website, I'm still new to it so it may take some time thank you for the feed back!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Spencer:

SOMETIMES mucousy discharge from the tail end signifies protozoa-type parasites. I'm not saying that's what's wrong with your tortoise, but have you ever had a stool sample checked for parasites?