Potential Future Tortoise Parent

RosieTortoise

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Jan 22, 2017
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Hello! I live in Maryland and I work at a pet store. We got in a very sick red foot tortoise. I've been caring for her and I call her Rosie. She has shell rot on her belly, swollen eyes from dehydration and she is severely underweight. She also has some pretty bad pyramiding from her previous owners improper care. Now that I've got UVB on her and started her off on Critical Care, she's eating solid food now and is gaining weight. She's been getting daily baths to help her combat dehydration. I've been cleaning her belly with iodine and putting silver sulfadiazine on after I dry her off. I have seen an improvement in the last two weeks.

My boss basically offered to give her to me and I'm really considering it. I had always planned on getting a tortoise in the future, it would be earlier in life than I'd planned, but I'm kind of in love. She is beautiful and sweet. My husband is thinking about it.

I have almost everything I need for her, except for a heat bulb, substrate and better stuff to treat her shell rot.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I have a million questions and I can't wait to hear from you all! Also, do you have any good book recommendations about red foots or forest tortoises?
 

Tom

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I'm not a RF guy, but I wanted to say hello and welcome to the forum.
 

Yvonne G

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Mike Pingleton's RF book is a good one. You can also trust the information on turtletary.com.

For the shell rot, plain old athlete foot cream works.

Welcome to the Forum!
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. Another good RF place is the tortoiselibrary.com. It's one of our members site. Besides of course the great info we have here.
If you decide to keep her, this forum and its members will help you in any way we can.
 

GingerLove

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Welcome to the forum! I hope you take Rosie home! It sounds like you are taking marvelous care of her. I've heard that Athlete's foot works great for shell rot. I've used it as a preventative measure only, however.
I would also recommend getting coconut coir for a substrate. Works great and doesn't smell too bad! It's also relatively inexpensive when it's sold in solid bricks. As for the heat bulb, I use a Power-sun bulb. It's heat and UV combined and they guarantee it for a year so if it burns out you can get another one. It's a bit expensive but it's ultimately cheaper than replacing burnt bulbs.
Anyways, welcome again and I think we would all love to see pictures of the little rescue, Rosie!
 

RosieTortoise

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Jan 22, 2017
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Mike Pingleton's RF book is a good one. You can also trust the information on turtletary.com.

For the shell rot, plain old athlete foot cream works.

Welcome to the Forum!
Athlete's foot cream huh? So it's usually a fungal issue? I assumed it was bacterial because I didn't see anything that looked like fungal growth. Good info, thanks!

Also, a website I haven't found yet! YAY!
 

RosieTortoise

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Jan 22, 2017
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Welcome to the forum! I hope you take Rosie home! It sounds like you are taking marvelous care of her. I've heard that Athlete's foot works great for shell rot. I've used it as a preventative measure only, however.
I would also recommend getting coconut coir for a substrate. Works great and doesn't smell too bad! It's also relatively inexpensive when it's sold in solid bricks. As for the heat bulb, I use a Power-sun bulb. It's heat and UV combined and they guarantee it for a year so if it burns out you can get another one. It's a bit expensive but it's ultimately cheaper than replacing burnt bulbs.
Anyways, welcome again and I think we would all love to see pictures of the little rescue, Rosie!
I was planning on doing coconut coir, I've used it for other critters and I think it would be the closest thing to a forest floor that I can get. I use a Powersun for my uromastyx. I love it for him. I also have a UVB fixture that could light the whole enclosure so I might do that and a heat bulb for now. When that bulb isn't good anymore I'd probably just get a Powersun for her. Thanks for the welcome and the advice!
 

RosieTortoise

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Jan 22, 2017
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Hello and Welcome. Another good RF place is the tortoiselibrary.com. It's one of our members site. Besides of course the great info we have here.
If you decide to keep her, this forum and its members will help you in any way we can.
Thanks! I've already learned a lot here and I love that the members give sources for their information. I've found a lot of reptile forums to have a lot of heresay and not solid info. This is a refreshing change!
 

ZEROPILOT

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Hello.
No spiral, compact florescent tube/bulbs.
Parameters of 80-88 degrees during the day and as low as 70 at night.
No bright lights.
Places to get out of the light.
At least 75% humidity.
I use orchid bark with another layer of potting/garden soil on top of it. Bu pouring water into the corners, the bark absorbs the liquid and gives off humidity as it evaporates, leaving the upper layer dry so that the tortoise isn't sitting in water all day long.
This species is omnivorous. Also one of the few that can eat fruit regularly. Just avoid watery foods and fruits until he is stronger.
Welcome! You've stumbled upon a great "family" of enthusiasts here!
 

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
Hello.
No spiral, compact florescent tube/bulbs.
Parameters of 80-88 degrees during the day and as low as 70 at night.
No bright lights.
Places to get out of the light.
At least 75% humidity.
I use orchid bark with another layer of potting/garden soil on top of it. Bu pouring water into the corners, the bark absorbs the liquid and gives off humidity as it evaporates, leaving the upper layer dry so that the tortoise isn't sitting in water all day long.
This species is omnivorous. Also one of the few that can eat fruit regularly. Just avoid watery foods and fruits until he is stronger.
Welcome! You've stumbled upon a great "family" of enthusiasts here!

Great advice! Thanks!
 

Dionne

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Dec 28, 2011
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Welcome! My RF is 5 yrs old. He is 8 lb's. Rout on the underside?? Man thats sadly sad and a result of neglect. RF are super hearty so true that Rosie will overcome this.
The atheletic cream will help to create a barrier and should stop it from get worse. Apply a thin layer. And clean it all off before reapplying everyday. I would do that for about 2 weeks. If you see significant progress drop that back to ever other day. Its just like a fungus on your foot. So uses you judgment. Also, soaking in clean water daily and the letting her dry for a bit before you put the cream on is my suggestion.
 

RosieTortoise

Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
47
Welcome! My RF is 5 yrs old. He is 8 lb's. Rout on the underside?? Man thats sadly sad and a result of neglect. RF are super hearty so true that Rosie will overcome this.
The atheletic cream will help to create a barrier and should stop it from get worse. Apply a thin layer. And clean it all off before reapplying everyday. I would do that for about 2 weeks. If you see significant progress drop that back to ever other day. Its just like a fungus on your foot. So uses you judgment. Also, soaking in clean water daily and the letting her dry for a bit before you put the cream on is my suggestion.
It is really sad. I believe the people that had her were keeping her like a desert tortoise. I am still awaiting approval by the hubby. I think he's coming around and I'll be able to bring her home soon!
 

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