Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Steady gains/staying the same is the goal but there can be fluctuations so I wouldn’t worry too much just yet but definitely keep an eye on that
RT Sleeping more
- Thread starter sunny_27
- Start date
sunny_27
Member
Will do! I think I'm going to buy the "herbal hay" from tortoise supply and add that to his food. Do you think that will help him eat more? He just seems generally less interested in his food now that it's gotten bigger. He went straight for the sprouts again when I'm put him outside. So I know he is hungry but he is being picky 🤔
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
I’ve not tried that product before but it might be worth trying, sometimes they prefer when you soak the dried stuff first🙂
sunny_27
Member
Oh that's a great tip! I think I'll try it just to see if he likes it and definitely will try the soaked method. Thank you so much
sunny_27
Member
Hello everyone! Another update. Sunny seems to be more himself, but today when i soaked him, there was a stone in his water I'm assuming it's a bladder stone. I know hydration and good diet are essential for preventing these. Should I just soak him more? He gets one soak per day for 30 minutes. Please help me, help my little guy ♥️
I'm assuming it's a bladder stone. I know hydration and good diet are essential for preventing these. Should I just soak him more? He gets one soak per day for 30 minutes. Please help me, help my little guy ♥️
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
I’m glad he’s more himself! It could’ve actually been the stone throwing him off, I bet he’s feeling better for passing it! One soak per day should be more than enough to keep him nice and hydrated, but seeing as you’ve noticed a stone, instead of upping the soaks, up the time he’s in there, you could go up to an hour for now and monitor if he passes any more. I know it probably scared you to see, but at least he was able to pass it! Keep focused on hydration and hopefully it won’t happen again🙂Hello everyone! Another update. Sunny seems to be more himself, but today when i soaked him, there was a stone in his water
sunny_27
Member
That's what I'm thinking too about his off behavior. It definitely was scary! When I rinsed out his little tub I heard the "clunk" of the stone and I thought, "that's weird" so I picked it up to see if it was squishy and nope it was hard, a literal stone 😭 I'll increase the length of time he soaks for and hopefully that helps prevent anymore from happening. I also read on here that exercise helps prevent them too. Sunny is a lazy boy. He LOVES to sleep and chill on his basking rock! How do I encourage him to move around more?
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Lol I can sympathise there because we have a VERY lazy red foot! I do everything possible to encourage her and for the most part she’s like ‘nah I’m good chilling in my hut’🥲luckily they aren’t prone to stones like yours😣
Some things you can try to encourage him to explore is breaking up his line of sight within his enclosure, usually gets them thinking “ooo I wonder what’s round this corner” instead of being able to see everything from one viewpoint. You could also try setting up a few different feeding spots to encourage him to walk to those different areas to eat🙂
sunny_27
Member
Oh goodness! Yeah he has always been like this since we adopted him 😵 Just doesn't roam around, just likes to bury himself and sleep. He sounds a lot like your lazy red foot 😌 I was thinking of getting one of those tortoise wheels to see if he would try it, but honestly I don't think he would.
I'll try breaking up his sight lines, thanks for the suggestion. We have a pretty big mound of cypress mulch in the middle of his enclosure but I think he can still see over it. I'll try to make it bigger and set up the different feeding spots
thanks for your advice!
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
Hello!
Stones usually don't form in a week, so what has passed is probably an old days legacy. Proper diet high in fiber and low in protein, good hydration and exercise are important to prevent stones from forming.
I remember, you planned a wonderful outdoor enclosure for him, has he had a chance to try it out? Staying a lot under the basking lamp means he tries to warm up - you can use temp gun to check his plastron temperature.
