Taking care of a wild caught Red Foot, need advice on everything

Mary McTague

New Member
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
3
Hey Everyone,

I am an american, currently living in Brazil, studying to become a veterinarian . I have always worked with birds and hope to one day specialize in Exotics, but I am very new to Reptiles. I could really use the advice and help but please keep it civil, perhaps I am doing nothing right but I am trying my best.

A client of my aunt recently had a client who brought in a ill baby red foot. Although see doesn't treat reptiles, the owner would only bring the animal to a veterinarian she knew due to the fact that this animal was illegally captured and has no documentation. The baby redfoot was having diarrhea with very little fecal matter (like a tspn of water), no appetite, closed eyes but without swelling and very lethargic. The owners had only had him for two weeks, but he had really gone downhill quickly. His diet was fine but he had no source of heating or UVB. After the owners realized that he was not going to be a cheap pet, they decided to relinquish the animal to me! YAY

First of all, I ran some fecal exams that said that he had Entamoeba sp (+) so I treated him with the recommended levels of metraindazole for a tortoise weighting 53 grams. Then I put him in warm water to re hydrate and he started to perk up and open his eyes. I suspected that he was mostly suffering from the cold temperatures.It is winter here in Brazil and the city I live in is the mountains (871meters) with highs in the mid 70's during the day and in the lows 50's at night with very high humidity. It is completely different than the climate where he originates. The professor of exotics examined him and came to the conclusion that he was simply suffering form the cold weather and I just needed to put in a incandescent lamp of 40 watts to 60 watts, put him in the sun and he would be just fine....

For the first two weeks, I unfortunately had him housed in a cardboard box with just moistened towels with a 40watt light bulb during the day. Later I purchased a Medzoo infrad light 100watts that I have been using at night. Luckily it was always in the high 70's low 80's with clear skies so I was able to put in outside for his uvb. Although during this time, his eyes never opened without his daily soaks, he was pretty active and had an enormous appetite. He even grew and and gained some weight.

However, just as I have started trying to improve his living conditions, the weather, and his health have taken a turn for the worst. Since last Monday, his eyes only open for short periods of time even after 3 daily soaks. He has eaten very little since last Friday and he has been very lethargic.

On Friday I finally found and bought a plastic bin which is roughly W16x H18X L 24. He is now on a substrate of a mixture of unspecified bonsai moss (only moss I could find, please look at pic!), wood chips and organic soil, which I am keeping rather moist. I currently still have no hydrometer!
I finally found and bought the zoomed digital thermometer that read that under his 40 watt it read 73 and under the Infrared right now it is 82.

Okay so now you know the backstory so here come all the questions. Please keep in mind that Brazil is still a third world country. Products for reptiles are imported,very expensive, and hard to find!!!!! For instance there is a nationwide shortage of UVB lights and I just paid of $50USD on a zoomed digital thermometer.

1. I need a UVB desperately, especially because the weather is not cooperating. However I can only find locally the exo terra professional series 125 watts and the Reptile sun 10 watts. Aren't these too strong for the size of my enclosure? What should I do? Can I just put the 10 watts further away from this bin or should I put him outside with reinforced heating sources. Put on your MacGyver hats on.

2. I would obviously would love to have a ceramic heater but it is completely out of my budget right now (for stand+lamp=$R400). With a incandescent bulb and a UVB, wouldn't that be too much light? What should I buy to reinforce my heating sources, because I am not getting 90 degrees basking temp out of 40 watt light bulb. I will post below some of my options. *Also stronger incandescent light bulbs are very hard to find because they are illegal.

3. I can not find a regular hydrometer for reptiles in this country. (photo below) Would this one for chicken egg incubation would work? Until I purchase one, are there any tricks or hints to deterime the humidity?

4. Has anyone had a reptile with Entamoeba sp? The vet said that all redfoot tortoises have it and I didn't need to treat him.

5. Can't find reptile bowls, what is a good replacement.

6. Does anyone know what type of moss this is?

7. What should I do to improve his habitat in general? Anything glaringly wrong?

8. If I can get the parameters right, how long does it take for a baby red foot to recover from dehydration?

9. My redfoot has produced very little feces (4)in the time I have had him. Despite the fact that I give plenty of juicy fruits and vegetable along with the other appropriate foods, how often should this little guy be defecating. What does a normal stool look like?

Thank you everyone for looking at this post. Fredrick and I really appreciate it! One day, I want to put him in wildlife release project, so I really need him to grow healthy and strong.
 

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pfara

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Oh boy! First, welcome to the redfoot group. I'm sure you'll find lots of people here that will help you out more than I can; having a sick tortoise is a very stressful period. That being said, the only information I can give you is:

1) To combat strong lighting, an option is heavily planting the enclosure to diffuse the lighting. Use appropriate lighting that hasn't been reported to cause eye injury (compact fluorescents) since your tortoise already has puffy eyes.

2) Fruits cause runny, loose stools. You mentioned that you feed a lot. Maybe try cutting fruit out and feeding dark leafy greens, weeds.. stuff high in calcium and fiber. Also, if you haven't been finding much feces, perhaps the little guy is eating it (perfectly normal).

3) Anything can be used as a reptile bowl as long as it's shallow and flush with the top of the substrate. I've seen people use plant saucers and tupperware lids. As long as the guy can get in and out without difficulties, you should be fine.

I wish I could help with your other questions. Good luck and keep us posted.
 

Mary McTague

New Member
Joined
May 29, 2015
Messages
3
Thank you for your reply!

I will try to find some plants, that is a good idea. So do you don't recommend the reptil sun 10 then? My options are so limited already, I feel like I need to do an "no rain and no cloud dance."

I don't think his eyes are puffy, but I could be wrong! I will include another photo.IMG_20150602_233120.jpg

What I meant fruits and veggies is that he eats plenty of food with moisture but of course, a majority of his diet is fresh dark greens. He especially enjoys collarad greens. I am so glad to hear that it is common not to find the stools. I didn't know he could be consuming them, very interesting!
 

pfara

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10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
1,252
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If the Reptisun 10.0 that you're referring to is a fluorescent tube, then I definitely recommend that. Unfortunately, it won't provide much heat, which I think you mentioned is needed. I'm at a loss for your night heat dilemma without a CHE. The only silly thought I had was to use hand warmers which only lasts for a few hours and is a very, very temporary fix.

The eyes, I'm not quite sure on. I know that some people recommend "baby food soaks" to help with tortoises with closed eyes.
 

ascott

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Apple Valley, California
Hey Everyone,

I am an american, currently living in Brazil, studying to become a veterinarian . I have always worked with birds and hope to one day specialize in Exotics, but I am very new to Reptiles. I could really use the advice and help but please keep it civil, perhaps I am doing nothing right but I am trying my best.

A client of my aunt recently had a client who brought in a ill baby red foot. Although see doesn't treat reptiles, the owner would only bring the animal to a veterinarian she knew due to the fact that this animal was illegally captured and has no documentation. The baby redfoot was having diarrhea with very little fecal matter (like a tspn of water), no appetite, closed eyes but without swelling and very lethargic. The owners had only had him for two weeks, but he had really gone downhill quickly. His diet was fine but he had no source of heating or UVB. After the owners realized that he was not going to be a cheap pet, they decided to relinquish the animal to me! YAY

First of all, I ran some fecal exams that said that he had Entamoeba sp (+) so I treated him with the recommended levels of metraindazole for a tortoise weighting 53 grams. Then I put him in warm water to re hydrate and he started to perk up and open his eyes. I suspected that he was mostly suffering from the cold temperatures.It is winter here in Brazil and the city I live in is the mountains (871meters) with highs in the mid 70's during the day and in the lows 50's at night with very high humidity. It is completely different than the climate where he originates. The professor of exotics examined him and came to the conclusion that he was simply suffering form the cold weather and I just needed to put in a incandescent lamp of 40 watts to 60 watts, put him in the sun and he would be just fine....

For the first two weeks, I unfortunately had him housed in a cardboard box with just moistened towels with a 40watt light bulb during the day. Later I purchased a Medzoo infrad light 100watts that I have been using at night. Luckily it was always in the high 70's low 80's with clear skies so I was able to put in outside for his uvb. Although during this time, his eyes never opened without his daily soaks, he was pretty active and had an enormous appetite. He even grew and and gained some weight.

However, just as I have started trying to improve his living conditions, the weather, and his health have taken a turn for the worst. Since last Monday, his eyes only open for short periods of time even after 3 daily soaks. He has eaten very little since last Friday and he has been very lethargic.

On Friday I finally found and bought a plastic bin which is roughly W16x H18X L 24. He is now on a substrate of a mixture of unspecified bonsai moss (only moss I could find, please look at pic!), wood chips and organic soil, which I am keeping rather moist. I currently still have no hydrometer!
I finally found and bought the zoomed digital thermometer that read that under his 40 watt it read 73 and under the Infrared right now it is 82.

Okay so now you know the backstory so here come all the questions. Please keep in mind that Brazil is still a third world country. Products for reptiles are imported,very expensive, and hard to find!!!!! For instance there is a nationwide shortage of UVB lights and I just paid of $50USD on a zoomed digital thermometer.

1. I need a UVB desperately, especially because the weather is not cooperating. However I can only find locally the exo terra professional series 125 watts and the Reptile sun 10 watts. Aren't these too strong for the size of my enclosure? What should I do? Can I just put the 10 watts further away from this bin or should I put him outside with reinforced heating sources. Put on your MacGyver hats on.

2. I would obviously would love to have a ceramic heater but it is completely out of my budget right now (for stand+lamp=$R400). With a incandescent bulb and a UVB, wouldn't that be too much light? What should I buy to reinforce my heating sources, because I am not getting 90 degrees basking temp out of 40 watt light bulb. I will post below some of my options. *Also stronger incandescent light bulbs are very hard to find because they are illegal.

3. I can not find a regular hydrometer for reptiles in this country. (photo below) Would this one for chicken egg incubation would work? Until I purchase one, are there any tricks or hints to deterime the humidity?

4. Has anyone had a reptile with Entamoeba sp? The vet said that all redfoot tortoises have it and I didn't need to treat him.

5. Can't find reptile bowls, what is a good replacement.

6. Does anyone know what type of moss this is?

7. What should I do to improve his habitat in general? Anything glaringly wrong?

8. If I can get the parameters right, how long does it take for a baby red foot to recover from dehydration?

9. My redfoot has produced very little feces (4)in the time I have had him. Despite the fact that I give plenty of juicy fruits and vegetable along with the other appropriate foods, how often should this little guy be defecating. What does a normal stool look like?

Thank you everyone for looking at this post. Fredrick and I really appreciate it! One day, I want to put him in wildlife release project, so I really need him to grow healthy and strong.


I would say that if you can acquire chicken night warmth bulbs/red night heat bulbs then you will help this tortoise out alot....instead of using only one 40 watt bulb--use two or three until you get an overall warmth of at least 80-85....I also would go outside and dig up some good clean natural dirt and use that as the substrate in the enclosure...that moss stuff does not look productive for a growing ailing tortoise....I would also try to cover all of the top ---right around each light fixture ---you can use aluminum cooking foil torn into the appropriate lengths to cover the entire top of the enclosure..this will help to keep in some moisture and level out the temps....
 

Octavious22

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Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
229
Location (City and/or State)
California
Thank you for your reply!

I will try to find some plants, that is a good idea. So do you don't recommend the reptil sun 10 then? My options are so limited already, I feel like I need to do an "no rain and no cloud dance."

I don't think his eyes are puffy, but I could be wrong! I will include another photo.View attachment 132455

What I meant fruits and veggies is that he eats plenty of food with moisture but of course, a majority of his diet is fresh dark greens. He especially enjoys collarad greens. I am so glad to hear that it is common not to find the stools. I didn't know he could be consuming them, very interesting!


Feed greens greens greens but no just any kind of greens, some of them are high in oxalic acid. Feed, dandelion, hibiscus leaves and flowers, add some chopped up turnip greens and organic spring mix and a sprinkle some timothy hay grind it up in the food processor and sprinkle it heavily on their food add your calcium . twice a week a little bit of fruit. for protein feed the slugs from your garden and once a week a supplement their salads with exo terra forest tortoise food so they can get their minerals. I sprinkle that on their salads. once you feed this as a stable their poop will be solid, long and fibrous and less smelly. I don't give my redfoots a lot of fruit because they eat all the hibiscus flowers in my yard on the days that I don't feed; that's their treat. I feed my torts and sometimes they go two days without eating, try not to overfeed you want your torts to grow slow and steady just like they do in the wild. Their diet in the wild is actually more like that of a Mediterranean tortoise some people just feed produce. The best thing to do is to grow some seed mix and let them eat everything in it.. I think many torts are pyramided because of what they eat in captivity not just the lack of humidity. oh and cactus pads should also be a staple in the redfoots diet.
 
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