red foot tortoise question

I have had a red foot for 6 weeks. I keep her warm, and have been soaking her daily in lukewarm water. Her stool spec came back neg for parasites and bacteria. My question is that her stools are runny and seem to have lots of mucus. I feed her mustard greens, veggies and some fruit, usually apple or grape. She had a great appetite when we first got her, but lately her appetite is diminished, altho she eate\s readily after I soak her. Does she sound like she is doing okay ? Thx Claudia

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Feb 10, 2009

Red Foot Illness
by: Krista in BC

Hmmm, mine had runny stools and it was because of the diet. Do not feed any prepared tortoise foods as they are not adequate and will cause deformed shells and other illnesses such as liver problems.

Try giving as much dark vegetation and this can include dandelion leaves, plantain leaves as well as buttercup. Dark green vegetative matter from a grocery store is okay with some spinach. The darker the colour the better. Watercress is excellent. You can go to a plant store and purchase a kind of cactus called Optunia or something like this and cut small bits into its food (this is a natural food in the wild). Keep giving it soaks once or twice weekly. It helps the tortoise expel wastes.

Look into the Tortoise Trust Foundation on the website and look at their information. It is up-to-date and correct. They have an on-line tortoise care course for about $35 and it is well worth it. I refer to them alot.

Nov 24, 2008

poorly tortoise
by: Anonymous

Her stools shouldnt be runny. try limiting her diet to one item for a few days and see if that makes a difference. try watercress. tortoises are just like humans in the respect that some food types can make them ill. my tort cant eat spinach for instance. also too much fruit and lettuce isn't good for them, it should be more of a treat rather than its everyday food. a vet would recommend that you feed it from greenery in the garden, but watercress is very high on the list as well. stick to watercress for about a week or so and see if this makes a difference. if not you might want to take it to a vet just to see.

i hope this helps and that your tortoise is better soon

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