Redfoot breathing problems.

[Jenn]

I recently got a 7 year old redfoot who eats well and is very active. When in the enclosure she is fine. When I let her out to wander around the house after about an hour she has heavy breathing and sometimes some foam around her mouth. When I put her back in enclosure she's fine again. Is this normal?

 

[Wartortle]

Your tortoise is probably.reacting to.something she injested or breathed in. I'd stop the house excursions from now on. The only time she should be out of the enclosure is a supervised visit outside. The floor is too cold and dangerous for a tort.

 

[abclements]

No, that's not normal. Long story short, you shouldn't let your tort wander around in your house. There isn't a lot of benefit for them to just wander the house. If you're worried about it not getting enough exercise, you need to build a larger enclosure or make a large outdoor enclosure with hides and weeds and stuff That he can romp around in and only be brought inside to sleep.

 

[Jenn]

It would be ideal to have her outside but I live in Ontario. It's -25 outside. The enclosure is huge and I keep my house at 80 inside. She gets very restless when in the enclosure for more then 2 days without some wandering. She is a rescue and I'm not sure what her living conditions were like before I received her. Thanks for any advice.

 

[abclements]

Ok well something's happening when you let her out. What does her heavy breathing look like? I have absolutely no idea what the foaming means but if I had to guess, she probably ingested something she shouldn't have. If you're going to let her out, you need to create a 100% tort proof area that she can be safe in. It needs to be swept or vacuumed every time you let her out and if the heavy breathing and foaming keep happening, I would not let her out.