Redfoot - her legs seem weak

[Layla]

I tried searching for an answer to this but didn't find one specific to what my tortoise is experiencing. It seems like her legs are too small or weak for her shell. She had a clean bill of health last time I took her to the Vet (about 6 months ago) but he did say her front legs could be "beefed up" and to give her more protein. She won't eat eggs but will have a few bites of boiled chicken. I tried buying a can of worms but she didn't like them.

She can walk but doesn't seem to lift her shell as high. Should I be concerned? Her shell is hard, she eats well, gets some sun every day (we live in California).

She does have a habit of eating dog poop in the yard if I miss cleaning some up, is that harmful?

When she is outside in her large pen (on grass) she chooses to hide under her log most of the day. Is that normal? We also let her run around on the grass but have to supervise her or she'll get lost (its happened before and she was out all night). When running around she also heads for the plants to be in shade after she's checked out the lawn for a while.

This pic is from a few weeks ago and she walks a bit "lower" the last few days.

Thank you....I'm probably just a worried mom.

 

[Yvonne G]

She does look a bit thin to me. The weak legs would be from calcium deficiency. Feed the tortoise calcium-rich foods and sprinkle a pinch of calcium powder over the food a couple times a week. Calcium-rich greens include collards, kale, turnip & mustard greens, arugula, broccoli rabe, okra and opuntia cactus. If you can get the tortoise to eat Mazuri Tortoise Diet, this will add some weight to her.

And, remember that all the calcium in the world won't help unless you also give UVB from either the real sun or from a good UVB light.

If you give your dog heart worm medication, eating the poop could kill your tortoise.

 

[kathyth]

Please tell us about her diet. Everything.
Medication taken by dogs for heart-worm prevention are poisonous to tortoises who eat the poop. Otherwise the poop eating is gross but it happens.

 

[Layla]

Kathyth and Yvonne, thank you so much for your words of wisdom.
She eats mostly greens (kale is her favorite) and I also give her grapes or banana a few times a week, tomatoes, boiled chicken, hibiscus leaves from the yard, carrots, that's about it. She sometimes gets in the dog food bowl and eats their food (sweet potato based).

I do give her calcium on her food several times a week.

What is considered a "good" UVB lamp?

THANK YOU!