RFT really need help with eye problem, and diet problems

[Klaus’s reptiles]

Hello everyone,
I had my RFT baby since August 11, from 10 gallon tank move to 2x2x4 big close chamber enclosure.
He/she been not active, afraid of light, does not eat much, close eyes most time.
He/she is been not active for 2 months, he/she sleep in corner, water bowl, even under UVB. He/she wake only when I soak him/her with warm water.
I felt like he/she afraid light, but might not. He/she some time run away from the UVB light, but some time direct sleep under the UVB light, even I put him/her outside in shade he/she fall sleep all the time.
He/she been eats so little, Mango is his/her favorite, then will be other type of fruit, then will be green leaf, I think he/she only eats those two type of food. The dry Dandelion flower and tortoise pellet and animals protein, he/she did not eat at all, even I mix with Mango. He/she will only eat so small amount then find some where dark to sleep. Also, the poop is very bad because he/she eat fruit most time.
Also, his/her eyes have some problems, he/she been using his/her front leg to touch the eyes all the time since I got him/her. His/her eyes only open when I soak in warm water.

The big enclosure right now is 86F on left side, 82F on right side. The air humidity is above 70% all day long. I soak him/her everyday with 88-95F warm water at least 30 miuntes. I feed him/her everyday, I tried to feed different, but he does not eat much or just not eat at all. The substrate inside the tank is kind dry. Right now is Zoo med 5.0 UVB, I will get my tube UVB at end of next week.

I took him/her to see the animals vet twice, charged me $171 total, the first time is just let me keep observing, the second time give me the Critical Care powder, let me feed my RFT by holding him/her on the air and use some type medicine needle, mix the critical care with warm water to drop in through his/her mouth. I only done once then I stopped because I felt my RFT was very stress with that.

Does anyone can provide some options for me get my RFT better?

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

Here are some pictures.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

What kind of lights are you using?
Can you photograph them?
Some lights cause eye issues and have symptoms like you've described

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

What kind of lights are you using?
Can you photograph them?
Some lights cause eye issues and have symptoms like you've described

The one I'm holding is the one I been use so far, I forgot that was tropical or desert, but what I'm sure is 5.0 with safe distance. Would that be the case hurting my RFT eye? Thank you!

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

The one I'm holding is the one I been use so far, I forgot that was tropical or desert, but what I'm sure is 5.0 with safe distance. Would that be the case hurting my RFT eye? Thank you!

I had 5.0 desert before, the 10.0 desert inside still have the light bulb. That's why I'm not sure is the light bulb tropical or desert...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The one I'm holding is the one I been use so far, I forgot that was tropical or desert, but what I'm sure is 5.0 with safe distance. Would that be the case hurting my RFT eye? Thank you!

Those are considered "coiled compact florescent" bulbs. And YES. Those are the type that have blinded many members tortoises and have made many others act the way you have described.
You can do two things:
Replace that bulb with a strip florescent lamp. These have florescent tubes in them. I use a 5.0 tube.
Or you can just leave the UV bulb out of the equation by allowing the tortoise to get actual sunshine a few times a week.
If you are providing heat with another type of bulb, make sure that it is not super bright. Redfoot feel more comfortable when it's not really bright. A ceramic heat emitter (CHE) Is best for heat.
Both the coiled bulb and too much light look like issues.
I'm reccomending that you ditch that coiled bulb now.
If you have a moment, do a search of compact florescent bulbs on this forum. You'll see it's been a serious issue for a while.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I had the same exact problem with the same exact light.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/coil-bulbs.166917/

Change it out for a tube florescent.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I had the same exact problem with the same exact light.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/coil-bulbs.166917/

Change it out for a tube florescent.

There you go...
FIRST hand experience.
The good news is that you can often stop the eyes from being permanently damaged if you catch the problem and stop it in time.

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

Those are considered "coiled compact florescent" bulbs. And YES. Those are the type that have blinded many members tortoises and have made many others act the way you have described.
You can do two things:
Replace that bulb with a strip florescent lamp. These have florescent tubes in them. I use a 5.0 tube.
Or you can just leave the UV bulb out of the equation by allowing the tortoise to get actual sunshine a few times a week.
If you are providing heat with another type of bulb, make sure that it is not super bright. Redfoot feel more comfortable when it's not really bright. A ceramic heat emitter (CHE) Is best for heat.
Both the coiled bulb and too much light look like issues.
I'm reccomending that you ditch that coiled bulb now.
If you have a moment, do a search of compact florescent bulbs on this forum. You'll see it's been a serious issue for a while.

Thank you very much, for your advice and information. I checked the forum by typing coil light bulb, saw many case like me. I believe that my tortoise is harm by the light already. I have take out the coil light already and let him stay dark. Also, everyday I will take him out for soak 30 minutes and eat 30 minutes under the sun with shade. Just wait for my tube UVB delivery on end of this week so my RFT’s house could back to the correct light again. Ones again, thank you for your help![emoji2][emoji2]

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

I had the same exact problem with the same exact light.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/coil-bulbs.166917/

Change it out for a tube florescent.

Great, what brand of tube uvb are you using now? Is that good?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Great, what brand of tube uvb are you using now? Is that good?

I'll have to defer that question to another member. I personally do not use artificial UVB for my torts anymore so I have no experience with them. I take mine out weekly for natural sunlight when possible. @ZEROPILOT and @jsheffield both keep Redfoots and can maybe give you some better advice on that.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I use a Reptisun 5.0 18" tube.
However, none of my Redfoot are in a closed chamber right now.
4 live outdoors and 1 lives in quarantine as he recovers from sickness

 

[aqualungs]

I use Reptisun 5.0 also in the 22” T5HO tube size.

10.0 is for dessert species

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

I use a Reptisun 5.0 18" tube.
However, none of my Redfoot are in a closed chamber right now.
4 live outdoors and 1 lives in quarantine as he recovers from sickness

Thanks for sharing that, I probably keep him most time in closed chamber before next summer, but I will still take him out when is warm and sunny[emoji16]

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

I use Reptisun 5.0 also in the 22” T5HO tube size.

10.0 is for dessert species

Oh great, thanks for sharing the information [emoji16]

 

[jsheffield]

I'll have to defer that question to another member. I personally do not use artificial UVB for my torts anymore so I have no experience with them. I take mine out weekly for natural sunlight when possible. @ZEROPILOT and @jsheffield both keep Redfoots and can maybe give you some better advice on that.

I'm perhaps not a great exemplar, I use MVBs in my enclosures... 50w in summer and 75w in the cooler seasons.

I like the idea of multi-purpose lights, and keep a close eye on heat/humidity at tort-level in the initial weeks after setup, and via Bluetooth in the long run.

Jamie

 

[sinutnoved]

I think you are right and the lights do probably scare the little guy. I could be wrong but my guess is the bright lights cause him to go to the corners of the enclosure where it would naturally be a little cooler. I would definitely ditch that coil and get a reptisun 5.0 t5 bulb. My favorite setup is a 2 bulb fixture with a t5 5.0 uvb bulb in one slot and a 6500k full spectrum grow bulb in the other slot. The uvb bulbs provide uvb obliviously, and the grow bulbs provide uva for the tortoises and quality light for the plants. My tortoises can feast under these lights for hours and it doesn't seem to bother them one bit, nor do the lights dry out their shells like a mvb. I do have it heavily planted though and it diffuses some of the light. When thinking about lights think uvb for bones, and uva for appetite. You could of course forego the uvb lights and just get it real sun. Thats your best option but if not possible year round lights are your next best option.

If he's not eating it could be many things but most likely it's cold. Because so his metabolism has slowed down and appetite is suppressed. Or lack of uva which in some reptiles will cause a lack of appetite. Probably body temps though if I were to guess. Do you have a temp gun you can do temp checks on the little guy? It's important to take body temps regularly because body temps and the temps your enclosure's temperature gauge read can be very different. Your issues could be caused by many different things but I would start with trying to warm him up a little more first and see if that helps before moving onto different options.

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

I think you are right and the lights do probably scare the little guy. I could be wrong but my guess is the bright lights cause him to go to the corners of the enclosure where it would naturally be a little cooler. I would definitely ditch that coil and get a reptisun 5.0 t5 bulb. My favorite setup is a 2 bulb fixture with a t5 5.0 uvb bulb in one slot and a 6500k full spectrum grow bulb in the other slot. The uvb bulbs provide uvb obliviously, and the grow bulbs provide uva for the tortoises and quality light for the plants. My tortoises can feast under these lights for hours and it doesn't seem to bother them one bit, nor do the lights dry out their shells like a mvb. I do have it heavily planted though and it diffuses some of the light. When thinking about lights think uvb for bones, and uva for appetite. You could of course forego the uvb lights and just get it real sun. Thats your best option but if not possible year round lights are your next best option.

If he's not eating it could be many things but most likely it's cold. Because so his metabolism has slowed down and appetite is suppressed. Or lack of uva which in some reptiles will cause a lack of appetite. Probably body temps though if I were to guess. Do you have a temp gun you can do temp checks on the little guy? It's important to take body temps regularly because body temps and the temps your enclosure's temperature gauge read can be very different. Your issues could be caused by many different things but I would start with trying to warm him up a little more first and see if that helps before moving onto different options.

Thanka for sharing the information, this is really helpful for me. I have the temperature gun, I usually test the air temp without the red point, and use the red point to test my RFT body temperature. The air is about 87F which I sit for 88-86, the body temperature is usually 85-88F. I keep the substrate dry, and on other side there is humidifier working to keep the whole tank humidity above 70%. I do not know how to get him to eat except the fruits, when I place fruits like mango, papaya he eat a lot, but when I place green leaf he only eat little, and the pellets, animals protein he doesn’t eat at all. I’m still try to get him to eat except fruit, I tried mix them, but still not change.
Again, thanks for you sharing your information.

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

My tube UVB has just arrived today, have anyone used this brand before? I got this from my enclosure package, but they delivered separate. Also here is the inside of the tank there are two light fixture already those can not move, should I place my t5 UVB in centre of the tank or on a side would be good? Also, I have a picture showing how I feed him that’s mustard green, kale, dandelion green, pellets, some baby carrots puree, squash purée and some treat food mix together. Also, I felts he is getting better because his poop is more soiled than before.

 

[Klaus’s reptiles]

My tube UVB has just arrived today, have anyone used this brand before? I got this from my enclosure package, but they delivered separate. Also here is the inside of the tank there are two light fixture already those can not move, should I place my t5 UVB in centre of the tank or on a side would be good? Also, I have a picture showing how I feed him that’s mustard green, kale, dandelion green, pellets, some baby carrots puree, squash purée and some treat food mix together. Also, I felts he is getting better because his poop is more soiled than before.

Forgot to add the pictures[emoji28]