Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a baby red foot that ive had for about 6 months. it hasnt grown but maybe a millimeter!i was told to feed it mustard and collard greens. i dont think that is right but havent found a reliable care sheet. ALSO... i think it has shell rot. the shell is soft, and kinda perminently dirty on the bottom. ive raised torts from babies before and it seems way too squisy for it to be right. she also dosent open her eyes much. please help, i dont know what to do, and cant take it to a vet around here cause they dont know anything about torts. im not incompatant, i have a sulcata and a russian, both doing great, i just dont know what to do, and i think its time i asked for help.

PLEASE HELP!!!

Keep looking for a vet, and in the mean time keep it warm - warmer than usual, and keep it hydrated -soak it in luke warm water every day. But you should find a vet even if you have to travel to do so. Have you been supplementing it's diet with powdered calcium and vitamins? If it is still eating at all it won't hurt to start doing this as well.

thanks for the quick response... ive been giving it vits and calcium since day one. how much does the vet change to treat shell rot?

Collard and mustard greens, while both high in calcium, are also high in oxalic acid, which is an anti-nutrient, meaning, that it inhibits calcium uptake, even when appropriate calcium intake is present.
Try to feed chiccory, endive, dandelion and escarole instead, and supplement with a calcium / vitamin D3 supplement, like the one from Repcal. Vitamin D3 is the other component necessary for successful calcium uptake. Do you have a source of UVB in your enclosure (which is necessary to synthesize vitamin D3)?
The soft shell should be the result of low calcium uptake.

Also, your baby should have grown and put on wheight. Try to put a dish in its enclosure (so it stays warm), and sit the hatchling right in the middle of a pile of food to encourage feeding (a plastic dish, that it cannot get out of) for a maybe one or two hours feeding session.
Also,- add soft aromatic fruit like papaya, mango or black figs to the diet. Redfoots love fruits!

The closed eyes might mean, that the humidity is too low. Supply at minimum a humid hide filled with moist spaghnum moss and a low level water dish (not more than 5 mm, very low edge).

These are just emergency guidelines, but you should try to find a good vet ASAP
1
Sorry for the short style, but I am in a rush!
Good luck,
Gaby

I have the same dirty spot on the bottom of my tortoise and brought it to the vet. Its not actually shell rot, shell rot is white and bloody. It’s the area on the shell where it was attached to its yoke sac in the shell and will eventually disappear.

Mustard and collard tends to bind calcium. Try turnip greens, and dandelion greens instead and defiantly add fruit to the diet and a SMALL amount of vegetable protein (Soy, Beans). I have a redfoot about the same age and usually feed:

1 part dandelion/turnip leaves
1/2 part mango or other non-watery fruit
1/4 part of zucchini or squash
1/8 part bean sprouts
1/8 part tomato flesh (no pulp)
liquid spray calcium supplement

A UV blub over 5.0 is needed if they don't live outdoors.

Try using a digital gram scale to judge growth its usually more accurate then overall size.
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thanks. how much would a vet tisit cost? any idea?

This 'link' should help.. just keep lookin' thru-out.. you know I love those redfoot torts!

Terry
RF care