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redfoot tortoise

22 16:05:10

Question
hi,think i need some urgent help.my red foot aprox 3years old wont eat,rarely is opening its eyes.ive had it to vet three times.first time was given vitamins injection,and antibiotics to inject it for a week.next time i went down got the same.next time they kept it in for weekend and apparently blasted it (whatever that means think it was with food.poor thing is worse than ever.i keep her in a wooden tank sold for tortoises,it has two lights ,one is a white floresent(uv im told) and other is red for heat.temp in middle of tank reaches 30.tried loads of foods ,dandelion, romain lettuce fuits.person i got it off at christmas was feeding it tomatoes and salad stuff.seems to be really streesed from move and is getting weaker by the day.iv only got one hide in tank.sometimes i think she isnt getting enough air.any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer
Hi Glenn,

I think your problem is how you've got your tortoise set up.  Redfoots need a lot of moisture/humidity, but they also need air circulation.  Those tanks they sell in the UK are pretty inadequate.  Get him out of the viv and into something open--a large plastic bin, an old bookcase on its back, etc.  You do want it to be able to stand up to moisture.  Then get some sphagnum moss (here in the US they call it orchid moss), wet it thoroughly with warm water, and use that for the substrate for now.  Later you can make a base substrate of coir/sand with moss on top, but my guess is your tortoise is dehydrated and the moss will hold a lot of moisture.  Make sure there's a large water dish big enough for him to get in completely to soak.  

You need a basking temperature of about 90 and the cooler area should be in the high 70s (F).  Overnight can drop to about 70.

Don't allow any more vitamin injections, especially vitamin A.  It's easy to overdose and cause serious problems.  In the same vein, giving antibiotics is of little use if there's no apparent infection--it really means the vet didn't have a clue, but felt he had to do something.  Any imbalances can be corrected by diet.  Redfoots are omnivores and need a varied diet of leafy greens, fruit (no citrus), and animal protein.  Try offering things like boiled chicken/shrimp/egg, worms, pinky mice, slugs, etc.  If your tortoise has not been fed protein in some time that may also be some of the problem.  

So try a new enclosure, increased moisture and humidity, and some animal protein and see if he perks up.  Please post back and let me know how he's doing.

Here's some links that may also help:

http://tortoiseyard.com/
http://redfoottortoise.com/