New Redfoot tortoise ill?

[sbyogi]

My husband and I purchased an approximately 1 year old Redfoot tortoise last week and are a little concerned she is showing RI symptoms.

She is rather quiet compared to our yearling sulcata who is always active and ravenous. She's eating a tiny bit but doesn't show much interest in food. Today she was very slow to open her eyes and the eyes looked a little goopy.

She's only pooped once since we got her, urinating OK so far.

Basking spot is 95 degrees and the ambient temp is 75. We have her on coconut coir bedding with a humid spot and a hide that she seems to like.

I believe were offering a good variety of food. Would love any thoughts or advice....thanks in advance fellow tortoise people

 

[Bee62]

My husband and I purchased an approximately 1 year old Redfoot tortoise last week and are a little concerned she is showing RI symptoms.

She is rather quiet compared to our yearling sulcata who is always active and ravenous. She's eating a tiny bit but doesn't show much interest in food. Today she was very slow to open her eyes and the eyes looked a little goopy.

She's only pooped once since we got her, urinating OK so far.

Basking spot is 95 degrees and the ambient temp is 75. We have her on coconut coir bedding with a humid spot and a hide that she seems to like.

I believe were offering a good variety of food. Would love any thoughts or advice....thanks in advance fellow tortoise people

View attachment 229848

Hello, and welcome to the forum.
At first, your RF looks very good and healthy. She or he is a beauty !
From that pic I can see not RI problems.
But:
Redfoots are not as active as Sulcatas. I own both species, so I can compare them.
RF like to hide a lot, and they like no bright light, that means that you should change her basking light into a ceramic heat emitter and another UVB producing bulb.
RF live in rain forests. Because of that they don`t like bright lights but need high humidity. To keep your tort healthy you have to create a high humidity in her enclosure. 95 % is not too much.
How high is your humidity ?
Do you soak your tort ?
What do you feed ?
How are your night temps ? RF need night temps not lower then 80 F. That`s what they like and what they need to be active in the morning. Run a che at night when the enclosure is too cold.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings and Welcome.

Here is a link to a lot ... a LOT of great info. Good luck

• https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/redfoot-and-yellowfoot-tortoises.79/

 

[sbyogi]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.
At first, your RF looks very good and healthy. She or he is a beauty !
From that pic I can see not RI problems.
But:
Redfoots are not as active as Sulcatas. I own both species, so I can compare them.
RF like to hide a lot, and they like no bright light, that means that you should change her basking light into a ceramic heat emitter and another UVB producing bulb.
RF live in rain forests. Because of that they don`t like bright lights but need high humidity. To keep your tort healthy you have to create a high humidity in her enclosure. 95 % is not too much.
How high is your humidity ?
Do you soak your tort ?
What do you feed ?

Thank you for the info! That's all really helpful [emoji1] sounds like the RF personality is going to be different than what we're used to with the sulcata.
Currently the humidity is at 80% in her enclosure. We do have a ceramic heating element for her basking spot the light in the photo is coming from the UVB bulb - I'm now wondering if it's too bright for her/him?

They get soaked just about daily.

Currently feeding a variety of greens, fruit and mazuri tortoise diet. This week has been kale, baby bok choy, apple and tomatoes. (Would love to hear your input on diet if you have the time)

 

[Bee62]

-----------+++++++++++++++++++

Thank you for the info! That's all really helpful [emoji1] sounds like the RF personality is going to be different than what we're used to with the sulcata.
Currently the humidity is at 80% in her enclosure. We do have a ceramic heating element for her basking spot the light in the photo is coming from the UVB bulb - I'm now wondering if it's too bright for her/him?

They get soaked just about daily.

Currently feeding a variety of greens, fruit and mazuri tortoise diet. This week has been kale, baby bok choy, apple and tomatoes. (Would love to hear your input on diet if you have the time)

Yes, sulcatas and RF are really different in behavior. Humidity at 80 % is fine.
A UVB bulb is not too bright and your tort need it. Soaking every day is good too.
That all sounds fine.
I don`t feed much fruits to my RF because fruits can cause diarrheah and to many bad bacterias in the intestine. Tomatoes are not good for tortoises.
Please read here what you can feed and what better not to feed:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

 

[sbyogi]

-----------+++++++++++++++++++

Yes, sulcatas and RF are really different in behavior. Humidity at 80 % is fine.
A UVB bulb is not too bright and your tort need it. Soaking every day is good too.
That all sounds fine.
I don`t feed much fruits to my RF because fruits can cause diarrheah and to many bad bacterias in the intestine. Tomatoes are not good for tortoises.
Please read here what you can feed and what better not to feed:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

I will check that website now - thank you for letting me know about the tomato. I've read a lot of different things about the RF diet so far and am still trying to piece it together.

 

[Bee62]

I will check that website now - thank you for letting me know about the tomato. I've read a lot of different things about the RF diet so far and am still trying to piece it together.

When the "tortoise table" tells that tomatoes are not good for tortoises I think it is meant for all species.
Btw: My RF love mushrooms! And a cooked egg, dryed mealworms or a tiny bit of beef or fish from time to time.
I feed rarely a piece of banana, or a strawberry, or a piece of mango. Pumpkin is a good tortoise food too.
Ambs lettuce is high in vitamins and minerals. Belgium endive too.
Do you feed calcium ?

 

[sbyogi]

When the "tortoise table" tells that tomatoes are not good for tortoises I think it is meant for all species.
Btw: My RF love mushrooms! And a cooked egg, dryed mealworms or a tiny bit of beef or fish from time to time.
I feed rarely a piece of banana, or a strawberry, or a piece of mango. Pumpkin is a good tortoise food too.
Ambs lettuce is high in vitamins and minerals. Belgium endive too.
Do you feed calcium ?

Thanks for the input and diet tips! [emoji1] I do feed calcium and there's access to cuttlefish bone too.

 

[Bee62]

Thanks for the input and diet tips! [emoji1] I do feed calcium and there's access to cuttlefish bone too.

Great !
Please feel free to post more pics of your beautiful tortoise.
Where do you get her or him from ?

 

[sbyogi]

Great !
Please feel free to post more pics of your beautiful tortoise.
Where do you get her or him from ?

Thanks again! We picked up Dolores from the Philadelphia reptile expo.

 

[Bee62]

Thanks again! We picked up Dolores from the Philadelphia reptile expo.

Dolores is a nice name. She must have been kept by a good owner before because her shell is so smooth.