Tonks_the_Tornado
Member
Hi all,
I’ve been wanting to post for a while. New-ish tortoise owner, got her from Petsmart in September. I’ve been reading this forum since I got her, trying to take the best care of her and give her everything she needs for a healthy upbringing! She is a a redfoot, not sure how old, about 6.5 inches in diameter.
I’ve been been home from work for a couple of weeks with an injury, which has granted me the opportunity to observe her with regularity. It seems like she’s not very active. She comes out of her dark space and eats then goes back in and chills for an hour at a time before coming back out again. My husband disagrees and thinks her level of activity is normal for a tort. I guess I am not really sure what normal looks like as far as amount of activity for a redfoot.
Also she is uninterested in her greens lately, and even more recently has been leaving behind her mushrooms and strawberries, which both seemed to be her favorites. She HAS been eating her pellets, pretty much exclusively. The pellets are Repcal tortoise pellets. I think she is just more into these than her fresh veggies and fruits. Based on advice from another post I read, I took the pellets out of her enclosure today, so hopefully that will make her hungry enough to eat her veggies/fruits.
In addition, she has had a whistle when she breathes, which has been present for months. Ive read that this is a potential sign of a RI, but really no other symptoms that I’m awareness of and it’s been going on for a while already.
She has really seemed like nothing but a happy tort, but I’m in a constant state of worry with her, I think mostly because Im not sure what things are supposed to be. Maybe I’m just overthinking things because I’m home and observing her so much more.
As a side note, we live in Northern Vermont, where I don’t think there’re any local reptile vets. (Anyone in Vermont aware of a vet within a few hours?). It’s challenging to create the proper temp/environment for her in a cold climate but I think we’ve done a decent job of it.
Sorry for the long post and such.. I guess I’m still not really sure what normal looks like and I’m just looking for some advice/encouragement that she’s fine and all is well!!
I will post pics of her & her enclosure.
I’ve been wanting to post for a while. New-ish tortoise owner, got her from Petsmart in September. I’ve been reading this forum since I got her, trying to take the best care of her and give her everything she needs for a healthy upbringing! She is a a redfoot, not sure how old, about 6.5 inches in diameter.
I’ve been been home from work for a couple of weeks with an injury, which has granted me the opportunity to observe her with regularity. It seems like she’s not very active. She comes out of her dark space and eats then goes back in and chills for an hour at a time before coming back out again. My husband disagrees and thinks her level of activity is normal for a tort. I guess I am not really sure what normal looks like as far as amount of activity for a redfoot.
Also she is uninterested in her greens lately, and even more recently has been leaving behind her mushrooms and strawberries, which both seemed to be her favorites. She HAS been eating her pellets, pretty much exclusively. The pellets are Repcal tortoise pellets. I think she is just more into these than her fresh veggies and fruits. Based on advice from another post I read, I took the pellets out of her enclosure today, so hopefully that will make her hungry enough to eat her veggies/fruits.
In addition, she has had a whistle when she breathes, which has been present for months. Ive read that this is a potential sign of a RI, but really no other symptoms that I’m awareness of and it’s been going on for a while already.
She has really seemed like nothing but a happy tort, but I’m in a constant state of worry with her, I think mostly because Im not sure what things are supposed to be. Maybe I’m just overthinking things because I’m home and observing her so much more.
As a side note, we live in Northern Vermont, where I don’t think there’re any local reptile vets. (Anyone in Vermont aware of a vet within a few hours?). It’s challenging to create the proper temp/environment for her in a cold climate but I think we’ve done a decent job of it.
Sorry for the long post and such.. I guess I’m still not really sure what normal looks like and I’m just looking for some advice/encouragement that she’s fine and all is well!!
I will post pics of her & her enclosure.