(New red footed tortoise) Shell rot??? help please :)

raven44

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Hello everyone :)

We just got a new 10ye old red footed tortoise. After watching him for a few days we've noticed a few things about him thay are concerning.

Looking for any input to get us on the right track

We plan to build him a better environment asap. Input appreciated there also. Currently he is in a 4x4 area. With coco coir subtrate. We applied the coir dampened. We will not re hydrate it.

When we build his new enclosure it will be made to hold humidity. Right now he is only getting ambient room humidty of 30-35 percent.

His eyes are watery also. This morning his eyes seem not so watery right when I woke up??

He whistles when he is active a good bit. Quites down tho and doesn't barely whistle at all when resting or not being active. We haven't noticed any odd gasping breathing at all.

He was kept in a 2'x3' box in a pet shop that was 102 degrees at times. And low rh. For we dunno how long. An older lady owned him, passed away, her sister brought him to the pet store awhile ago.. he was fed iceberg lettuce and cucumber a lot :(

We have been feeding him arugula, home grown oyster mushrooms, and once gave him a steamed sweet potato. Also cantelope..

Any input is appreciated :) I will post pics of his eyes soon

20160411_160448.jpg 20160411_160434.jpg
 

JoesMum

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With regard to the eyes that sounds a lot like damage being dine by a coil (compact) UVB bulb. Are you using one if these? They are not safe with tortoises.

If you are, switch it off now. Replace it with a tube UVB lamp or a Mercury Vapor Bulb that also provides basking heat

How big is the new enclosure going to be? What you have now is nowhere near big enough for a big redfoot like that
 

raven44

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Well, the light bulb is not and has not been cool uvb. It's a long tube style bulb.

However, at the pet shop they left his light on 24/7 :(

The new enclosure will be the same size. 4'x4'

There is no space for a bigger enclosure at this house currently.

However, we let him out to roam every day. He walks around the house, and seems to like to sit under the kitchen table when he is done exploring. We have had him for 5 days max

We will hopefully be moving into a bigger house asap. Maybe we can provide a bigger enclosure then... we live in Washington state. Kinda in between zone 5 and 6. We get cold winters and lots of snow often

Ty for the input :)

U can see in the pics above his shell is sunken in a good bit. Along w having some peeling in the center of the shell.. :/
 

Yvonne G

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RF tortoises need a more humid environment. In my opinion, you should block off the front of that area, change out the cardboard hides to something that can withstand moisture, and moisten the substrate. But since he may have shell rot, not too moist. He also needs a waterer he can climb into - maybe a paint roller tray? And the feeding dish should be flat, not a dish with high sides. Your ceramic heat emitter is too high.

I think it's great that you've taken in this tortoise and are trying to give him a better life. We have some good reading material on RF tortoises at the Tortoise Library
 

JoesMum

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U can see in the pics above his shell is sunken in a good bit. Along w having some peeling in the center of the shell.. :/
I can't see any shell rot? A male's plastron is concave and that's so he can mount the female. I can't see anything more
 

raven44

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We do block off the front of the enclosure, it's open so he can excersize if he would like to when I am home. Sometimes he comes out lol. Atm he's happy in his box

I have read that u want the ambient air humid and NOT the substrate??

we plan to build an enclosure that will hold humid air. So he can have high rh yet lower substrate moisture levels?? The humidity is at 60-65 percent at substrate level when coir is damp. What is ideal ambient rh for redfoots?? This is my gf tortoise she fell in love w him now here he is. I'm helping her out as she jumped in head first and mr. Einstein and my gf need a hand it seems :) I've always loved animals, had lots of amphibians and reptiles as a kid

Good to know a males plastron is concave. I had considered it was possibly normal that is good to hear. What about the peeling/flaking in the center of his shell in pics?

We plan to change his food tray, and will now give him a water bath. We noticed the food tray is not ideal at all

His enclosure bottom is a watering tray to a grow tent. So it can withstand moisture. The cardboard boxes are entirely temporary and are lined w tape so they don't draw moisture for the time being
 
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JoesMum

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I really don't see anything abnormal there. A close up of the bit you're worried about would help, but I suspect normal wear and tear
 

raven44

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That's great to hear. We will provide a close up when we get the chance to take a better photo. On turtle time here lol

The heat emitter we didn't want to put directly over him like the light is... we figured if he wants to warm up he will seek the heat and go under the heat emitter??

I'm thinking a water bath under the heat emitter would be good? We will toss the smaller box in replacement for a large water tray he can bathe in
 

raven44

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If u zoom in and look closely at the pics of his plastron.. there is a small white line.. the line is at the point where the peeling is occurring. If u look close u can see the peeling. Kinda looks like a layer of skin peeling back. Looks fairly thin... it's right where the fingers are holding his shell.. follow that line to the center of his shell... more pics sooner than later.

Ty for all the input so far, Def appreciated and all things will he considered

Open to any additional or new input please :)
 

JoesMum

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I still don't see a problem, but if you're concerned rub a little athlete's foot cram on it for a few days.
 

JoesMum

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That's great to hear. We will provide a close up when we get the chance to take a better photo. On turtle time here lol

The heat emitter we didn't want to put directly over him like the light is... we figured if he wants to warm up he will seek the heat and go under the heat emitter??
A basking lamp provides the heat necessary for basking - a tort must bask at this temperature to digest its food. It should hang vertically downwards and have a temperature of 95F directly under it.

I'm thinking a water bath under the heat emitter would be good? We will toss the smaller box in replacement for a large water tray he can bathe in

I'd keep the water away from the basking lamp. However, I haven't got experience of redfoots. I do know they need a high humidity as well as warmth.
 

raven44

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It seems, only his left eye is watery. This is the first we have noticed this...?
 

crimson_lotus

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It's already been said but I'd increase the humidity, you can see the eyes watering in the last picture.

My tortoise got too big for pet shop hides, and now I use recycling bins instead. Cardboard can be eaten or gets destroyed very easily, I assume its just a temporary set up though.

Try wetting the substrate and mixing. should help a bit.Damp, not wet. It helps a lot with humidity. make sure its warm enough and get some temp readers.

I use this water dish:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/OutdoorDish

good for larger tortoises.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Redoot need UVB but dislike bright lights. I use a 5.0 UVB florescent tube and they like it warm, but not hot. 80-90 degrees. Maybe 93ish in one area, but provide shade elsewhere.
Provide water 24/7 and keep humidity up over 70%. They are omnivores so provide occasional meat protein. They are also a species that eat fruit. Up to 25% fruit and flowers. The rest should be high quality green leaves and such.
 

raven44

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20160412_155759.jpghere is a pic of his right eye. The left eye pictured above is the watery one. It gets more watery than u can tell in the pic sometimes. We will see if he gets better at all soon :)

My gf us concerned about his ashy skin? And the crack on the top of his shell pictured above??

Ty again everyone :)
 

raven44

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Any reccomendations on a good plant to grow perpetually for the red foots indoors?

Something fast growing that's good for them??
 

crimson_lotus

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The best I've managed are spider plants, but just the other day my tortoise knocked the planter over, ate the entire thing down to the roots, and then dug a hole into the pot to sleep.

The ashy skin looks like he's a bit dry. Have you soaked him? Every 2-3 days I put Charlotte in warm water up to the bottom of her shell and leave her there til she poops. Keeps her hydrated as they can take water up through their cloaca, and it keeps the enclosure clean when they poop in the water..I use a dish bin and just dump the poop down the toilet.

I can't really see a crack, but white lines between the scutes are usually just growth lines. Or maybe hard water buildup. If it is a crack, clean and put neosporin on it.
 

raven44

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The crack is hard to see.. it's where all three plates join together...

Spider plants noted :) lmao maybe cacti? ??

We gave Einstein a bath yesterday in Epsom salts. He pooped pretty quickly and then took a few sips of water so we took him out immediately... :/ replaced the water and bathed him for another 15 min then he pooped again
And we took him out immediately

Would letting him roam and hang out in the house be bad? It's low humidty prob 35 percent humidty. He comes out of his enclosure and hangs out under the table for some reason he will stay happily under the table all day. So we put him back into his enclosure

He has a beat rock under the table lol he takes advantage of that when he sees fit
 
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