Worried about 12 year old Red foot

Joined
Jan 26, 2023
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
England
Hi,

Just wanting some advice. And guidance regarding my 12 year old Red foot Georgie.

Set up: large vivarium with adequate heat source, UV and humidity topped up at multiple times of the day.

For the past 2 weeks Georgie has not eaten or has eaten very little. She appears lethargic opting to stay in her humid hide most of the day.

An initial vet visit and x ray found an obstruction in her bowels and issues regarding her blood count hinting towards anemia.

I visited a specialist which cared for her overnight and gave her fluids to cure her dehydration and they stated she had a little bit of a strawberry and had passed some faeces.

She is now at home and recieving 2 daily soaks with added minerals. The vets said her bloods are no longer a major concern.

She is still reluctant to eat and will only choose to feed on critical care mix, however when she does so she will often regurgitate part of it. Also when drinking water she will regurgitate. Making me worry even more.

I have noticed that when she is eating her bottom jaw gets stuck on her top beak creating a clicking sound. I have asked the vet is she needs a beak trim but they said that the beak is within a normal range.

She is currently having antibiotics every three days administered by a tort vet.

This evening on her second soak I noticed minimal stringy yellow substance in the water.

I am just looking for advice as to what to do next as her health doesn’t seem to be improving despite multiple vet visits
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
First we need to know exact temps. If you followed bad info then your temps could be incorrect.
We need to know the size of her and a pic of the enclosure. Also what type of heat, lighting and substrate you are using.
What is the humidity level at?
What is her normal diet?
What exactly are the antibiotics for?
 
Joined
Jan 26, 2023
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
England
First we need to know exact temps. If you followed bad info then your temps could be incorrect.
We need to know the size of her and a pic of the enclosure. Also what type of heat, lighting and substrate you are using.
What is the humidity level at?
What is her normal diet?
What exactly are the antibiotics for?
22BEEE71-0946-4508-916B-C476321352BE.jpeg
UVB 6%
150w basking lamp
Cool end 23C 85% currently
Warm end 32C 50%
Diet: leafy greens (spinach, rocket, romaine lettuce, greens mix) mango papaya mushroom, carrot, banana usually but offer what is in season and research to see what she can have
Antibiotics for an infection they picked up on bloods
 

Attachments

  • CDB9B556-170A-4A51-A791-9E2C2EDDA6CD.jpeg
    CDB9B556-170A-4A51-A791-9E2C2EDDA6CD.jpeg
    702.3 KB · Views: 2

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,658
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
@ZEROPILOT can help better with food but I don't see any proteins.
Also the adult RF needs a room size enclosure. The size she is in looks to be the minimum size needed for adult Russian which stays a lot smaller then a RF. Without proper space to move around things start to not work right.
 

TammyJ

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
I also think she needs a lot more space. Does she move around a lot or try to climb out?
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
Could your tortoise have eaten any plastic plants or moss? I'd be much more worried about the possible blockage than any blood work.
Did the vet prescribe antibiotics without diagnosing an issue? The antibiotics can interfere with digestion. And I think that's where the issue is. In the G I tract. My first thought was that the temperature is too low for correct digestion. But now im thinking that that x ray found the issue.
That red light bulb could also be the reason. Red bulbs make things ....red. a Redfoot likes to eat red things. And now, the substrate looks like food. He might've eaten some.
I just don't understand why antibiotics would be administered without a diagnosis. I mean, you need to know what you're treating

What you're feeding is fine. But stop feeding anything solid until this is figured out. Just keep him hydrated.
Try fruit like watermelon or some other melons and cucumber. Things that are full of liquid.
 
Last edited:

Grace-Sophia

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
688
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
Hi,

Just wanting some advice. And guidance regarding my 12 year old Red foot Georgie.

Set up: large vivarium with adequate heat source, UV and humidity topped up at multiple times of the day.

For the past 2 weeks Georgie has not eaten or has eaten very little. She appears lethargic opting to stay in her humid hide most of the day.

An initial vet visit and x ray found an obstruction in her bowels and issues regarding her blood count hinting towards anemia.

I visited a specialist which cared for her overnight and gave her fluids to cure her dehydration and they stated she had a little bit of a strawberry and had passed some faeces.

She is now at home and recieving 2 daily soaks with added minerals. The vets said her bloods are no longer a major concern.

She is still reluctant to eat and will only choose to feed on critical care mix, however when she does so she will often regurgitate part of it. Also when drinking water she will regurgitate. Making me worry even more.

I have noticed that when she is eating her bottom jaw gets stuck on her top beak creating a clicking sound. I have asked the vet is she needs a beak trim but they said that the beak is within a normal range.

She is currently having antibiotics every three days administered by a tort vet.

This evening on her second soak I noticed minimal stringy yellow substance in the water.

I am just looking for advice as to what to do next as her health doesn’t seem to be improving despite multiple vet visits
I am so sorry to hear about your baby- I too have a red foot tortoise and I have had tortoises before who are in critical care. Here is what I would do.

Raise the humitity by about 10%
Make sure that the temps are around 92 ambient
Soak more than 2 times daily (probably 3 or 4)
One being a carrot baby food and water mixture (this helps give extra minerals and nutrients to torts who are not getting any from food)
Make sure she is getting plenty of rest and make sure her humid hide is… HUMID!
Feed her foods that are extremely PUNGENT to get her to be enticed. I would recommend tuna, pineapple, boiled chicken and papaya- along with other appetizing colors like strawberries and red bell pepper.
Make sure she is staying hydrated- plenty of water= healthy tort! Make sure she has 1-2 FULL water dishes in her enclosure daily.
Also, if it is warm enough (80ish degrees) take that babe out to get some vitamin D! If not outside, set her by a sunny window during her soaks.
Try mazuri tortoise diet along with the critical care mixture, my torts go nuts for it.
Once she latches onto the mushed pellet diet, try and mix some high fiber and high water veggies and fruits in there- arugula, Romaine and Rasberry is what I would recommend.

Please let me know if you have any other questions- other than that, positive mind and positive prayers to get this tortie feeling all better! 🙏 😀
 

Maggie3fan

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
8,046
Location (City and/or State)
PacificNorthWest
Did they tell you exactly what antibiotics were administered? Certain antibiotics will cause nausea so the tort won't eat, and watch those injection sites, sometimes the skin will slough off there
 

Grace-Sophia

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
688
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
I am so sorry to hear about your baby- I too have a red foot tortoise and I have had tortoises before who are in critical care. Here is what I would do.

Raise the humitity by about 10%
Make sure that the temps are around 92 ambient
Soak more than 2 times daily (probably 3 or 4)
One being a carrot baby food and water mixture (this helps give extra minerals and nutrients to torts who are not getting any from food)
Make sure she is getting plenty of rest and make sure her humid hide is… HUMID!
Feed her foods that are extremely PUNGENT to get her to be enticed. I would recommend tuna, pineapple, boiled chicken and papaya- along with other appetizing colors like strawberries and red bell pepper.
Make sure she is staying hydrated- plenty of water= healthy tort! Make sure she has 1-2 FULL water dishes in her enclosure daily.
Also, if it is warm enough (80ish degrees) take that babe out to get some vitamin D! If not outside, set her by a sunny window during her soaks.
Try mazuri tortoise diet along with the critical care mixture, my torts go nuts for it.
Once she latches onto the mushed pellet diet, try and mix some high fiber and high water veggies and fruits in there- arugula, Romaine and Rasberry is what I would recommend.

Please let me know if you have any other questions- other than that, positive mind and positive prayers to get this tortie feeling all better! 🙏 😀
Another thing I wanted to add-

High Fiber foods to get everything… moving. 💩 💩

Cucumber, spring mix, collards, flowers and their leafs- like hibiscus and the green leafs!

Leaves are extremely high in fiber!
 

TammyJ

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
I agree with Zeropilot about not feeding any solids. You said X-ray found an obstruction in her bowel. That's serious and needs to be resolved because that's probably why she is vomiting. She shouldn't be eating anything but watermelon or cucumber if at all.
 
Top