HELP! (upside down in the water)

[Randi]

Thank you. There's so much to try with her, food wise! I look forward to it

Yes, she looks quite young. I'd say under a year or so. The store said she rarely ate there so I assume she may also be smaller then others her age. I used the zoo med and exo terra Forrest tortoise pellet a few times a week when I first got her but she quickly lost interest in them with all the greens around. I've heard good things about Mazuri and was considering ordering some for her as a christmas present I will have to check out that herbal tortoise hay. would a multivitamin powder dusted on her food once a week be beneficial as well?

I think I will slowly start to decrease her feedings to once a day.

Have you ever tried worms for yours? I have mealworms and waxworms and what not around for the geckos and my Reeves turtle. I haven't offered them to her yet. Wondering if anyone has had success? Did yours like the snail and the shrimp? I have those from my turtle tank as well as a culture in a separate tub. I have small ones that would be perfect.

As yours is older, is she more interested in you and exploring? Mine eats, poops, sleeps and repeats. I assume this is because she's so young. She has a pen that I've set up (which she doesn't really care for) and this week I will be setting up her grazing tub inside that pen.

I think I am going to set up a tortoise cam for her tank to spy on her. I can also see what food item she goes for first when I'm not around hahaha

 

[crimson_lotus]

Hahah if you set up a tortoise cam, I bet you would notice him/her going around in circles. Mine is super curious and loves to poke her nose into anything interesting going on around her, like me changing her water (which she ALWAYS immediately makes sure to dirty when I pour clean water in there) or when I mix her dirt with water every week to keep the humidity up.

I didn't raise my redfoot, she's actually a rescue that dealt with a lot of neglect and lack of care, so she's not very interested in humans. Her old owners also only fed her kale...why kale, I don't really know. It's too high in a lot of things and not a great tortoise food to feed all the time. She doesn't really interact with me unless I'm providing her food or if she's curious about something, like the nail polish on my finger and if it's food for her. But as for exploring, she does love finding new hiding places around my room, and she loves looking at herself in my bedroom mirror. It's actually kind of funny, she will sit there for 10 minutes or so just staring at herself. But yeah, eating, sleeping, and pooping is basically the life of a tortoise. I wouldn't worry.

She loved all of the protein I gave her, especially the shrimp. I have not tried worms but I would like to. I'm afraid she won't eat it all and there will be a half dead worm left for me to deal with. I know it's dumb.

 

[Randi]

Aw, it's always awesome to rescue!

Hahaha yes, ditto on the clean water that's only clean until noticed.

It's good to know that your tortoise liked the shrimp and snails. I'll have to try it for mine this weekend.

You can use tweezers to drop it down the toilet! I use worms often but still don't like them touching me hehehe.

Does yours allow you to pet her at all? and thanks for reassuring me of her habits. What a life - eat, poop, sleep and repeat. And sometimes eat your own poop. Ahahaha. Oh boy. And I need to stop calling my tortoise a her because knowing my luck, it'll be flashing me soon! Haha

 

[crimson_lotus]

I try to pet her on the head but she doesn't really like it and will often try to get away from me. Sometimes she will let me pet her back legs, and she always welcomes a butt scratch and does a little dance. Most female tortoises do.

Tortoises are solitary animals so they don't really need much interaction with us, although I'd hope that she thinks of me as more of a food provider.

I forgot to mention that she does enjoy when I move things around in her enclosure, it gets her out to explore and makes her less bored. I do this every week or two.

And as for the poop, daily soaks stop my tortoise from pooping in her enclosure. I know it's a natural behavior, but with fresh food every day, come on!

 

[kdub]

You seem like a really awesome tort mama she's lucky to have you!

 

[Randi]

Good to know. I won't bother her with trying to pet her. I rub her shell. I'll have to try a butt scratch and hope for a cute little dance. Ahaha aw. I'm not sure of the sex but I hope for female as all of my reptiles have been males, except for two geckos. Will the tortoise be larger if female and a little smaller if male?

Mine is shy. It's good that she doesn't need much interaction with me one on one. I'll let her live her life and do her thing.

I guess moving things around would keep it fresh! I'll have to start doing that.

Mine gets soaked numerous times a day and has started pooping in her bath almost constantly again but I know that when I'm not home and she poops, she more then likely is eating it. I try to spot clean every time I am near her tank but I know there's that odd time where I can't be there.

 

[Randi]

You seem like a really awesome tort mama she's lucky to have you!

Thank you I have all you awesome people to look up to, and I only hope to be as knowledgeable and as good of an owner as you guys are.

 

[crimson_lotus]

I believe I read somewhere that females can grow up to 16 inches long, and I THINK males were a tiny bit smaller.

Although I'm not positive, so if anyone has the answer let us know!

 

[Ciri]

You asked about how often to feed her. When I get rescues that have been neglected so have not gotten adequate nutrition for some time, I let them tell me when they're ready to slow down on the feedings. Since she's just a baby, and finally with you is getting good nutrition, it may be some months before her body can really absorb all the nutrients that it needs to make up for inadequate nutrition. With my rescues, I feed them a couple of times per day until they lose interest in eating so often. Then I can back off a little bit. Eventually she can eat once a day, but right now being so young, and having been neglected, I would suggest waiting a while before slowing down her meals.

I would also suggest sticking with the fresh greens, and other fresh foods, as opposed to tortoise foods from the pet stores. Even the best prepackaged foods can't deliver quite all the nutrition that a tortoise needs. Keeping her diet as close to what her natural diet would have been in the wild, will be the healthiest.

It's wonderful that you rescued her from such a dire situation. And she is doing so well! All thanks to your careful, loving care.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My first thought was that she flipped over on one of those two awefull half logs....And wound up in the water. No one else thinks those logs are a bad idea? I had one in my baby redfoots tank and had to bury it about 80% until she stopped flipping over/ falling off. I read every post and no one seems to make that connection. Redfooteds love MAZURI. You can wet it and mix in ANYTHING and it will be instantly eaten. I'm very happy that your baby should recover. I'm just concerned that you're going to find that it will happen again.

 

[stinax182]

She is young so naturally anything bigger than them is going to eat them. It takes awhile for them to warm up to you. I rescued a 2 year old leopard and it took him a year to actually let me scratch his neck and legs. Start by just putting your hand in there, on the ground at their level. Talk softly, wiggle your fingers. They may come to you and let them but don't move. Don't make any sudden movements. You could lure them in with food and when they're eating slowly touch their feet.... Work up to the head. I did this a couple times a day. At first, nothing. But slowly he came to me..... Ate from my hands... Let me touch him. But each time i did it for at least an hour.

 

[Randi]

Thank you all for the advice - I will continue her twice a day (and sometimes it's three times a day) feeding ritual. I will probably do this until she reaches 100 grams or when she tells me she's had enough.

The log was mentioned - I am not sure that she used it to wind up in the water dish. I do know that in July when I first got her, she flipped over once and that was only for a few minutes. She was trying to get to the top. I believe this near drowning experience was due to the lip on her water dish being too "steep" and too "straight down" for her to get a decent grasp. I've added pebbles into the water dish - she now can almost literally step in and out of the water dish. And if she falls again, there is no way for her head to be submerged.

And thank you very much for the handling tips! I will start introducing her to me. One thing that worked to get her over to me freely, was having the greens container beside me. She saw food and forgot about me. I just want her to understand that I don't want to eat her, and that these hands will always be loving. They will never love being handled but hopefully she will become more tolerant of me. I was once able to hand feed her with fruit. It was awesome. I haven't attempted it since. Thanks for the tips

 

[Randi]

And size wise.. since she's a Cherry Head, she's a smaller subspecies, right? What do they tend to max out at? I've been reading about ten inches in length. If it's male, will it be smaller in size then a female?

 

[Carol S]

You have done a fantastic job with her. Her shell looks like a different tortoise when comparing the picture from the day you got her and the current picture. She is lucky you saved her. You are a great tort mom!

 

[Randi]

Thank you so much

I'm new to tortoises and I generally just question myself a lot. This gives me some confidence that I'm doing things properly. I want to give her the best life possible, as with my critters. This forum has helped me a tremendous amount already, I have learned and am learning so much. The more knowledge I have about my tortoise, the better her life will be. Thanks for everyone to making that happen and for all the well wishes.

My baby seems to be fine, she's showing no symptoms of anything since this incident. I know it is still early but I'm hopeful that this won't be a hinderance. I'm glad I went to the vet. It's better to be safe then sorry. I just wish this never happened.

I also moved things around in her tank. The water dish is in the far corner. I will attach a picture. I think I'm going to get cork bark for reptiles, and will prop the cork bark on the two rocks to create a place to hide under. Not sure about the logs.

 

[Randi]

Went to give the bed time bath and this is what I find. How silly.

 

[leigti]

If you are worried about the logs being a falling hazard, just build up the substrate so that there is more of a ramp leading up to the top of the log. Climbing is good for them, builds their little tiny muscles, gives them confidence, general exercise. They were out in the wild they would be climbing things. But you can make it a little safer. And as they get bigger you don't have to build up the ramp as much. I watched my Russian tortoise climb to the top look both ways, up-and-down, and purposely jumped off the end and did a face plant. Then she got up and did it again. it was freaking hilarious!

 

[Jodie]

Glad to see things turned out well for you.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I'm so glad to hear that your baby is doing so much better!
I would strongly recommend that you put some flat rocks into the water dish. There can be SOME deeper water there for her, but placing some pebbles in there will help her walk into there without flipping, and IF she flips, she will be able to get a foothold. Also, if you submerge the logs a little more in the substrate, you could put moss or other things up over the top, creating more of a hill/cave situation, which would lessen the danger of baby climbing up and flipping.
Below is a pic of one of the outdoor baby bins... with rocks in the water dish, and little underground burrows made from flower pots.