watery eyes (sometimes?)

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i just got a redfoot and she is in great health but her eyes get watery sometimes. they seem to clear up after she has been out roaming the house for a bit. other times they seem fine. even when she is in her table for a couple of days. she soaks in her water alot and i keep the huminidy in the moderate area in most of the table and a little drier in the shady area.............is this a problem or is it normall for her eyes to get a little watery somtimes. her nose is perfectly clear and not runny.

any info on this will be helpfull and greatly apreitiated. thanks
 

terryo

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I have been told that watery eyes comes from the humidity being too low. The temperature in my vivarium stays between 85 - 90 through out the whole enclosure. The humidity is always in the 80's or high 70's.... this is for a hatchling. My older one who is three, has about the same temp. I don't have a cool side or a hot side....I keep my house really cool....I hate the heat....so they both have a cover on the vivariums to keep in the heat and humidity. Low light, and high warm humidity is what I was told for mine. Did I say Welcome to the forum.............
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PeanutbuttER

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I agree with TerryO, you should bump up the humidity.

You said you keep the humidity at "moderate". I know that a lot of pet stores sell these little button hygrometers that measure on a scale of desert, moderate, rainforest (those might not be the exact names) and don't really give percentage values. I'd recommend getting a digital hygrometer or an analog hygrometer that can give you a numerical reading. You don't have to buy it at a petstore either, but you can get it at walmart or lowes or wherever which makes it cheaper. Remember as well that most non-lab quality equipment like this can be pretty inaccurate so even this is still just gives you a pretty close approximation of humidity.
 

Balboa

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Everything they said. :)

Redfoots need humidity, which is the tricky part about keeping them, and why I hate seeing them on the shelves of pet stores. It can be very challenging in most temperate households to keep a red foot healthy, and that doesn't get stressed enough by the sales people.

Here's a thread where we discussed hygrometers and how to calibrate the mechanical ones for better accuracy.

http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-A-Word-on-Humidity-Gauges-for-my-fellow-Newbs
 

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thats exactly what i keep reading on all the websites i go to and is what i plan to do but i am still cunfused on why it only happens some times and why her eyes clear up when she is out of her table for a while. i keep my house at a steady 80 degrees to help with my python and salt water tank but there is no humididty. she really seems to like it out with me (and likes to nible on my toes lol). thank you guys for the input. im tring to get you guys some pics but i am haveing some trouble. agian thanks and any other help would be great. this is my first tortoise and i want her to have a happy and long life.
please reply
 

PeanutbuttER

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Just a thought about why it only happens sometimes and mostly while she's in the enclosure

Some substrates are "spongy". These are usually preferred with redfoots as they absorb and then release a lot of water as humidity. The substrate will constantly be working to keep itself ideally wet (however wet it likes to be). If you add extra water it will shed it as humidity. However, if it dries out then it will try to wick moisture away from anything nearby ie your tort. The humidity may be at moderate, but perhaps the substrate wants to be wetter than it is and is sucking moisture away. Plus, maybe she's just spending too much time on the dry side. Just an idea, not saying that's for sure it.

Where do you live? What's the relative humidity in your area?

If she's sitting in the water, be careful that she's not sitting in it all day. I have a feeling that redfoots sometimes do this to try to hydrate themselves and avoid the dryness around them. My RF Kiwi came to me from the petstore with really bad shell rot even though the enclosure was bone dry. The workers told me that she spent all day sitting in the water.
 

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PeanutbuttER said:
Just a thought about why it only happens sometimes and mostly while she's in the enclosure

Some substrates are "spongy". These are usually preferred with redfoots as they absorb and then release a lot of water as humidity. The substrate will constantly be working to keep itself ideally wet (however wet it likes to be). If you add extra water it will shed it as humidity. However, if it dries out then it will try to wick moisture away from anything nearby ie your tort. The humidity may be at moderate, but perhaps the substrate wants to be wetter than it is and is sucking moisture away. Plus, maybe she's just spending too much time on the dry side. Just an idea, not saying that's for sure it.

Where do you live? What's the relative humidity in your area?

If she's sitting in the water, be careful that she's not sitting in it all day. I have a feeling that redfoots sometimes do this to try to hydrate themselves and avoid the dryness around them. My RF Kiwi came to me from the petstore with really bad shell rot even though the enclosure was bone dry. The workers told me that she spent all day sitting in the water.

she spends about an hour a day in the water. not all at one time though
 

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If your table is open topped with heat lamps shining on it, it can very likely be drier than the rest of the house. Resting in the water alot does sound like she's trying to hydrate. Mine will take occasional quick dips, but seldom for extended periods.
Another possibility would be if she spends excessive time under the heat lamp. This can quickly dry out a tort. If she spends alot of time there it could mean she either needs more heat or more UVB.
Some more info on how you have her set up would likely be helpful.
 

PeanutbuttER

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PeanutbuttER said:
Just a thought about why it only happens sometimes and mostly while she's in the enclosure

Some substrates are "spongy". These are usually preferred with redfoots as they absorb and then release a lot of water as humidity. The substrate will constantly be working to keep itself ideally wet (however wet it likes to be). If you add extra water it will shed it as humidity. However, if it dries out then it will try to wick moisture away from anything nearby ie your tort. The humidity may be at moderate, but perhaps the substrate wants to be wetter than it is and is sucking moisture away. Plus, maybe she's just spending too much time on the dry side. Just an idea, not saying that's for sure it.

Where do you live? What's the relative humidity in your area?

If she's sitting in the water, be careful that she's not sitting in it all day. I have a feeling that redfoots sometimes do this to try to hydrate themselves and avoid the dryness around them. My RF Kiwi came to me from the petstore with really bad shell rot even though the enclosure was bone dry. The workers told me that she spent all day sitting in the water.

she spends about an hour a day in the water. not all at one time though

From what I was told mine would spend much of if not most of the day sitting in the water. One broken-up hour a day will likely not be too bad.

I also think Balboa's idea is a good possibility too. I didn't consider that your tort could be sitting under the heat lamp warming up and inadvertently drying itself out. What temperature is your table (best if you can take readings from both sides of the enclosure so we can get an idea what your heat gradient looks like.)
 

Balboa

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and I should add, depending on the nature and size of your home, a fish tank goes a long ways towards humidifying your home, and at 80 the air in your home can hold alot of moisture. (wow that's hot dude, great for the pets but wow, do you walk around in shorts all the time at home?)
 

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I have a Tempgun. I love this little thing. You just hold it anywhere you want to check the temp. and press a button. I also keep those cheap little round thingies in the viv's just to spot check. This little gun is the best thing I ever got.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009O1G5K/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
Now I need to get one that tells the humidity too.
I never mist the substrate, only the plants and the tort. I just water the plants (they are just stuck in the substrate in their little pots) and mist my torts when they come out to eat...and also mist the plants. The more plants you have the higher the humidity. When inside, for what reason..I can't say.....mine never sat in the water. They usually just take a drink. When outside the big one (Pio) will sit in the stream for a long time while the sun is out. Inside the hide is a lot of moss (my favorite is from Carolina Pet Supply) http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68&products_id=421
It's so soft, with no junk in it, and I love it for hatchlings (my boxies have it too) My torts have to dig their way into the moss. I wet it with hot water, and squeeze it out and then fluff it up.
The moss is inside the cave....outside I sprinkle Forest Floor, by Zoo med all around. This is just what works for me, and everyone does things differently....doesn't mean it's right or wrong.
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you guys are all beign very helpfull my fish tank is 55 gallons and i love the heat. i live i grand junction colorado and it is kinda dry here it is classified as a high dessert. my pets love it. my ball python dose great here so i thought a tropical tortoise would do good to(with the proper care of course). my table is open top with a uva and uvb light.she spends some time under the heat lamp but not alot. the substrate is a fir and sphangnum moss blend and i keep really wet excepted a small area where she sleeeps and is shady.right now she gets all my attention. she spends about 15 min at a time in her water but dose it several times a day.
sound good?
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Yvonne G

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Are you sure the substrate is fir and not pine? Pine is harmful to their eyes. But fir is quite ok. The fact that the eyes seem to clear up when outside of the tank makes me wonder if there's something in the tank that she's allergic to.
 

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emysemys said:
Are you sure the substrate is fir and not pine? Pine is harmful to their eyes. But fir is quite ok. The fact that the eyes seem to clear up when outside of the tank makes me wonder if there's something in the tank that she's allergic to.

for the last two days her eyes have been great. i think i fixed that prob. thnx!!
 

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Well don't keep us in suspense, what if anything, did you change? :)
 

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Balboa said:
Well don't keep us in suspense, what if anything, did you change? :)

i added an obsorbed pad to all the walls of her enclosure and moved the some thimgs around it is now about 1/3 covered. sorry if it takes a while for me to get back to you guys i am doing this from work
 
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