Red foot

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antoniocormier

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red footed tortoise

hi, I've just received my tortoise about 4-5 days ago and im kinda curious, his eyes are really watery… I've been soaking him 3 times a day for about 10 min each thinking he might be dehydrated but i never see him DRINK the water. Is there any way to get him to drink? He is really active and has a nice shell, just watery eyes. He also had runny poop when i got him but thats passed.

Also, if i wanted to get him like vet checkups, how often would i need to go? Yearly... monthly?
 

Yvonne G

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RE: red footed tortoise

Hi Antonio:

When a redfooted tortoises' eyes water it usually means they are being kept too dry. Do you moisten the substrate?

I don't take my tortoises to the vet unless they are sick.
 

antoniocormier

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RE: red footed tortoise

emysemys said:
Hi Antonio:

When a redfooted tortoises' eyes water it usually means they are being kept too dry. Do you moisten the substrate?

I don't take my tortoises to the vet unless they are sick.

Thank you and yes, I usually moist the cool side of his terrarium every night and morning.
 

mike taylor

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RE: red footed tortoise

If his poop is runny he may have a parasite.when I got my tortoise he had runny poop.I took him to the vet he had giardia.But he also had a runny nose .I scared him he pulled his head in his shell and he puffed out some snot . That's why I took him to the vet.they ran a fecal test and found giardia.And if you or the person you got him from was feeding him to much foods that where to wet that will make him have runny poop like tomatos and water melon .so you can do a fecal test at home if you have a microscope .Just take some pop and put it on a slid . what you are looking for is anything that looks like worms or shoots across the sample.and if you see these things take it to the vet.they will fix him up
 

Watsonpartyof4

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RE: red footed tortoise

antonio_cormier said:
Thank you and yes, I usually moist the cool side of his terrarium every night and morning.

You should be moistening the warm side instead. Cold wet substrate is not good ... You want humid warm temps. Like your bathroom gets after a hot shower.

What is your set up like? A good way to get more humidity is to cover part of the enclosure.

Tortoises drink thru their nose, look closely when you soak him, if he dunks his head under water he is probably drinking. You may see him swallow. Sometimes you will see them squirt water back out of their nose!
 

Michael in MO

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RE: red footed tortoise

antonio_cormier said:
hi, I've just received my tortoise about 4-5 days ago and im kinda curious, his eyes are really watery… I've been soaking him 3 times a day for about 10 min each thinking he might be dehydrated but i never see him DRINK the water. Is there any way to get him to drink? He is really active and has a nice shell, just watery eyes. He also had runny poop when i got him but thats passed.

Also, if i wanted to get him like vet checkups, how often would i need to go? Yearly... monthly?

1) Where did you get "him"? breeder/petstore
2) How old/big is he? (if you don't know the age you can tell us his size and well get a general idea)
3) are you soaking him b/c you don't have a water dish in his enclosure? (if you do have a water dish he's probably drinking when you aren't watching) you seem to be soaking a bit more than necessary
4) don't mist the enclosure when your tort is inactive (night time) it will cool down him and enclosure unnecessarily, work on increasing the humidity long-term
5) keep a log book DAILY for the first 6 mos of everything you feed him/he eats and bowel movements. This should help you from feeding him an UN-varied diet and you'll be able to see if you have some husbandry practices you need to fine tune
6) find a herbicide/pesticide free area for your guy to graze outside and bask a bit in the sun (if temps are over 70f) and search this forum for housing threads to make sure you've got the best RF set-up for his requirements...
7) last question: do you have experience with turtles/tortoises
 

Madkins007

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RE: red footed tortoise

You can find some care info that might help overall at the Library, linked below.
 

antoniocormier

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RE: red footed tortoise

Michael in MO said:
antonio_cormier said:
hi, I've just received my tortoise about 4-5 days ago and im kinda curious, his eyes are really watery… I've been soaking him 3 times a day for about 10 min each thinking he might be dehydrated but i never see him DRINK the water. Is there any way to get him to drink? He is really active and has a nice shell, just watery eyes. He also had runny poop when i got him but thats passed.

Also, if i wanted to get him like vet checkups, how often would i need to go? Yearly... monthly?

1) Where did you get "him"? breeder/petstore
2) How old/big is he? (if you don't know the age you can tell us his size and well get a general idea)
3) are you soaking him b/c you don't have a water dish in his enclosure? (if you do have a water dish he's probably drinking when you aren't watching) you seem to be soaking a bit more than necessary
4) don't mist the enclosure when your tort is inactive (night time) it will cool down him and enclosure unnecessarily, work on increasing the humidity long-term
5) keep a log book DAILY for the first 6 mos of everything you feed him/he eats and bowel movements. This should help you from feeding him an UN-varied diet and you'll be able to see if you have some husbandry practices you need to fine tune
6) find a herbicide/pesticide free area for your guy to graze outside and bask a bit in the sun (if temps are over 70f) and search this forum for housing threads to make sure you've got the best RF set-up for his requirements...
7) last question: do you have experience with turtles/tortoises


1) i got him from SSS Exotics. it was at a reptile rally.
2) Hes the size of the palm of my hand
3)No, he has a dish that he goes into but i am soaking him more bc he seems dehydrated (watery eyes)
4) Thank you
5) Thank you
6) I let him outside everyday for over an hour, weekends longer. and ok thank you.
7) Yes I've owned a leapord tortoise but unfortunately he died 2 years after i had them. I also own 5 turtles. 2 of them over 2 years old and 3 over 2+ months old.
 

antoniocormier

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How often should i soak my baby red foot in water? And for how many minutes should he be soaked?

Also how often should he be given a bath?(soak in water and brush his shell)
 

ascott

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I would do daily for a baby--- warm water for about 20 -30 minutes...I would not brush the tort every time---well, unless they show you they are enjoying it :D
 

Michael in MO

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RE: red footed tortoise

1) i got him from SSS Exotics. it was at a reptile rally.
2) Hes the size of the palm of my hand
3)No, he has a dish that he goes into but i am soaking him more bc he seems dehydrated (watery eyes)
4) Thank you
5) Thank you
6) I let him outside everyday for over an hour, weekends longer. and ok thank you.
7) Yes I've owned a leapord tortoise but unfortunately he died 2 years after i had them. I also own 5 turtles. 2 of them over 2 years old and 3 over 2+ months old.
[/quote]

just a note on the "other 5 turtles" you have. If you are housing your redfoot with your turtles you probably have 3 years MAX before it will dwarf them and a) walk all over (over as on top of) them b) eat the majority of their food b/4 they can get to it..c) hog any basking light/heat source ... I think your physical location is much more compimentary to a redfoot than a leapord seems like a great match..
 

Michael in MO

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I use a kitchen timer when I soak mine and set it for 10 minutes, that way ever 10 I can add warm water if necessary or see if turtle is ready to get out. The last thing I want is the benefits of a soak to be off-set by the turtle needing 30 minutes to warm back up..
 

antoniocormier

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RE: red footed tortoise

Michael in MO said:
1) i got him from SSS Exotics. it was at a reptile rally.
2) Hes the size of the palm of my hand
3)No, he has a dish that he goes into but i am soaking him more bc he seems dehydrated (watery eyes)
4) Thank you
5) Thank you
6) I let him outside everyday for over an hour, weekends longer. and ok thank you.
7) Yes I've owned a leapord tortoise but unfortunately he died 2 years after i had them. I also own 5 turtles. 2 of them over 2 years old and 3 over 2+ months old.

just a note on the "other 5 turtles" you have. If you are housing your redfoot with your turtles you probably have 3 years MAX before it will dwarf them and a) walk all over (over as on top of) them b) eat the majority of their food b/4 they can get to it..c) hog any basking light/heat source ... I think your physical location is much more compimentary to a redfoot than a leapord seems like a great match..
[/quote]

Thank you and no no no i have my turtles in a 100 gallon aquarium and we are building an outdoor pond for them this summer. I have my tortoise separate
 
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