Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Have recently acquired a 12" female redfoot that wobbles and stumbles when she walks.. shimmies in her back legs while standing eating.. very heavy.. great appetite.. reportedly 5yr. LTC.. doesn't appear to be that old.. pic available.

Any suggestions/experiences appreciated.

Thank you,

Terry

i think i've read that being unstable on their feet (especially their hind feet) can be a symptom of calcium deficiency.

do you know whether the previous owners fed her a good diet with calcium supplements, and if she was provided with either natural sunlight or full-spectrum uva/uvb lighting? are you providing her with these? torts use the uv rays as part of how they process calcium.

if you have a good reptile vet in your area, he or she might have more ideas for what the problem might be, or maybe someone else here with more tort keeping experience might have some more ideas.

Appreciate it,
He claimed he fed and did all the right things.. next step is what is the best calcium "supplement"?? That seems to be the opinion so far. What "natural" food is best? I've raised hatchlings to be 11 inches.. with slight pyramiding being the only concern. Thanks again..
Terry

While feeding too much protein can be associated with too fast growth, pyramiding and kidney problems in redfoots, some animal protein in the diet seems to be beneficial.
Feeding them a completely herbivorous diet has been associated with neurological symptoms like dragging the hindlegs or similar problems with walking.
The Tortoise Trust recommends about 25 g of low-fat dried cat food, soaked in water, for a 9 kg adult, once a week.
If you feed a diet without animal protein,- maybe trying this might help!
Good luck, Gaby

while the TT does offer some good advice... everytime I read the catfood recomendation it makes my skin crawl. Petfoods for dogs and cat usually contain animal fat which is benificial to mammals. This is not good for tortoises. If you are interested in supplementing protein for RFs, I'd suggest a source like pink mice or something along those lines.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Let's say, that the cat food is the alternative for people, who don't enjoy seeing a tortoise tear up a newborn mouse.
To go for the facts though,- I don't think, that mouse meat and chicken meat (which is, what the high-quality, low-fat cat food I am using, is) are very different in terms of amino acid composition (all proteins are made up of the same amino acids, just in slightly different ratios)...
Gaby

Needless to say... I wouldn't recommend catfood for a tortoise when there are so many alternatives designed for tortoises.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thanks Gaby,

That certainly lines up with the progress of the ones I've "grown-up".. and I suspect that the previous keeper of the Female in question fed little, if any, protein for the five years he had her.

I do appreciate your reply.

Terry

they both look really nice! i'll add to the concensus, too, and say that i don't think they look too old. really old torts look more worn and such on their shells... "timmy" the tortoise (check the link below for timmy info) comes to mind; i saw him not long ago on a pbs show about turtles and tort that had clips from when he was alive, and he really did look the part of the geezer... his shell was battered-looking, and his head even did that kind of shaky thing like old people do.

what i mainly feed my redfoot is spring salad mix (it's a good mix of greens, i think) with an added fruit or some such (i rotate between things like strawberries, blueberries, mango, plum, kiwi, etc.). i've not given him cat food or pinkies, but i sometimes give him a little bit of boiled egg, tofu, or cooked meat as a treat for protein. for supplementation, i go with the recommendation of the breeder i purchased him from, and i sprinkle a pinch of herptivite vitamins and rep-cal calcium on every third meal or so.

good luck with your lovely ladies, and keep us posted if you get any eggs/hatchlings!
timmy the tortoise obituary (with pic and downloadable little video clip)

Thanks to Carly.. we have pics!

Wanted to include a couple of pics to see if she looks too old to anyone.

We need to get her strong so she can dig her nest.. she has already bred with my 10+" male. She is a full 12"

Thanks to all,

Terry

Doesn't look at all old to me.
Looks like a typical Surinam/Guyana female too.

That is a beautiful tortoise & her shell looks great.

How does she look? Does she look like an antique to anyone??
Thanks.. Terry

Based on her coloration/skin condition and shell wear, she appears to be a young tort. Her shell has no wear at all.

Paul

While it may not be the case here, another cause of these symptoms is obesity. I have seen redfoots that were very long termers that were fed dry dog food all the time. They became so obese that they literally had to drag themselves around! When the dog food was removed from their diet, in time they recovered.

Thanks to all.. for your insight, experiences, knowledge and common sense wisdom. In time "Wobbly" will be strong and able to dig a nest to lay her eggs!

She has a "sister" that came to join the family which is now 2.5! We should be able to share offspring in the near future.

WATTAYA THINK??? Terry

Let's try this again.

I would say almost certainly a Surinam/Guyana import. They are very uniform with yellow scaled heads and red legs.
The Colombian animals have more of a mixture of colored scales on the head (can be orange, yellow, red, white and even greenish)and likewise can have legs scales the same color(s) as the head.
The Surinam/Guyana redfoots often have those very large yellow carapace blotches too.
Regardless of where it is from, it's pretty.

...today?