Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am concerned about my little redfoot. I have had him probably about a month, and he is less than 2 months old. There was a little brown around where the egg sack would have been when I first got him, but it seems to be spreading, and I am worried.

He is eating well and pooping. We feed him mustard and dandelion greens, sometimes collards, as well as a little squash. He gets protein once or twice a week. He has a shallow water bowl in his enclosure and gets a short soak every morning before feeding. He also gets calcium supplement 3 days a week and vitamin 2 days. His temps are in the 70’s on the cool side and 90’s on the warm side, and his humidity has been kept between 80 and 90%. He has a uvb bulb inside the enclose, and a regular light bulb for the basking spot and heat source. (I like in CA, so the bulb keeps the temps just fine.)

I am trying to be as honest about everything as I can so that anyone who sees a prob with this setup that might cause these spots on his shell can give me advice. If I get no suggestions and/or it doesn’t improve this week I will be taking him to the vet. Thanks in advance!

What type of substrata is it kept on? I'd keep it on news print until you find out what's going on. Rub some triple antibiotic ointment on that spot while your waiting to go to the VET.
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Tim Madsen

Nobody cares how much you know,
Until they know how much you care.

He is on coconut husk (which I baked at 350 in the oven to kill bugs or mites). We tried paper at first, but could not keep the humidity up. We will switch him back immediately, but how do I keep the humidity high enough? There is his shallow pool and a deep cup (he can't get into) in his enclosure, 3/4 of the top is covered already, and we mist several times a day... what else can we do, as the humidity quickly drops back to 60-65% when he is on paper?

If this is fungal and not bacterial, won't the ointment actually feed its growth (this happens in humans, I'm not sure about tortoises). I guess these are questions for the vet. I appreciate your response and any others are welcome. I called Wilshire Animal Hospital (recommended to me by someone who deals with a lot of rescues) and was able to get an appointment for Sunday at 9am. I'll let you know how it goes.

to keep the humidity up you can place the wotter bowl partialy under the light, im not sure if you where trying to say that in ur post.
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Knowing this forum I'll probably catch some flack for this but I'll say it anyway. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the humidity. Redfoots are very hardy tortoises that live in varied climates with rainy and dry seasons. If you give your tortoise a good soaking every day or two it should be fine. I would be more concerned about diet and temperature. If you have concerns about the antibiotic ointment I wouldn't use it. If it is a fungal infection a highly humid environment is just the place for it to grow. If your going to the vet on Sunday I'd keep it dry and hydrated until then. JMO I'm not a vet.
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Tim Madsen

Nobody cares how much you know,
Until they know how much you care.

Thank you so much for your help.

I get concerned about humidity because his little eyes seem to get stuck shut when it isn't high enough. Until the vet visit on Sunday, I guess the morning soaks will have to be enough. My poor boyfriend is very freaked out now that I (the one who has kept reptiles most of my life and introduced him to the wonderful world of scaley friends) think there is a problem. Our reptiles are like children to us, and we appreciate your suggestions.

P.S.- Shep (the red foot) is very upset that I took away his ability to dig. He flipped himself over within 5 minutes of his new paper substrate. We are keeping our eye on him as best we can, and hope the vet can help.

Wish us luck!

Hi,I have a now 19 month old redfoot 'Sgae'...when I first got him he was 8 wks old, an inch and a three quarters long, and I worried about keeping the humidity up at 80%...I did not realize this was not a crucial factor..I kept his flooring to wet and his enclosure to humid and he started to get what you showed in your pics, not as severve, just very small brown spots..I asked for advice at my redfoot group and found out that if you give them a moist humid hide with spagnum moss that their whole enviroment does not have to be kept at 80% humidity and that a humide hide will help to keep their shell smooth, Actually I was keeping his enviroment to moist which foster fungal growth... I immediately swithed sage to dyer enviroment,and I have kept sage in about a 50% humidity enviroment with a humid hide for the last 15 months...His shell is extremely smooth and healthy, his skin is hydrated and not dry...I must tell you that I do soak sage 'every day for 10 mins' or so, sometimes twice to keep him hydrated..I do not leave a bowl of water in his enclosure...I keep his flooring on the dry side( coconut husk with a layer of spagnum moss on top, but I mist the top several times daily...Sage is a very happy, health 4inch bundle of fun now...I love him...There is a 'Redfoot group' at yahoo.com they have been very helpful and answered many questions for me..check it out...Shawne1

here's the link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/redfoot/

Thank you!

I knew someone out there must have experienced this! I really hope the vet we're going to knows what she's talking about and can give us the right info and treatment. I'm afraid to use coconut fiber again, because that may be what caused this. I remember someone out there recommended eco-earth a while back, and I did find it finally at one of my stores, so maybe I'll try that dry and the moist moss. I'm going to leave him on just the paper till we see the vet tomorrow and get her opinion. I think he'll be ok a little dry for one day, and I don't want to make anything worse!

I'll check out the forum too. Thanks!

Went to the vet today, and it seems my concerns were warranted. The vet thinks the infection is fairly severe as it has spread from it's origin into the little seperate spots toward his head and tail. She does not think the infection is internal, as the lesions are not too deep and his skin seems healthy, but suggested we have cultures done to be sure and to find out what the actual origin is. Blood work could not be done because he is too small.

The cultures and his improvement in the meantime will determine the severity and any further treatments that may be needed. We were given Betadine solution and Silvadene creme which we must apply twice a day, and he must remain on paper until he has fully recovered.

I am really struggling right now with how to keep his air humidity up a bit (It drops to 45-50% shortly after a misting) while he must be on DRY paper! There are 2 different bowls of water he can't get into and his drinking/soaking bowl in the cage and it is 3/4 covered on top, but nothing is working.

Thanks for your help and concern.

The substrate in the main or large part of the cage can be kept relatively dry and the humidity can be kept pretty low (not dry just not too high). You should then keep a seperate "hide" box in which you keep the humidity rather high. Use a substrate that facilitates this in the hide (moss, soil ect). I would reccommend topsoil/cypress mix in the rest of the cage after the einfection clears up!

-Ian

As long as you keep it hydrated I wouldn't even think about humidity until the infection is cleared up. Your tortoise is not going to die because the humidity is low. Redfoots don't live in a steam bath in the wild. They do very well during the dry season when humidity can be low. Follow your Vets instructions, keep it dry on paper and hydrated until the infection clears up. Then you can add a humid hide to its pen.
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Tim Madsen

Nobody cares how much you know,
Until they know how much you care.