# Egg-Bound Russian Tortoise - Symptoms & Treatment



## kemlab101 (Apr 10, 2015)

This is my first post to a tortoise forum, but I wanted to let everyone know how useful I’ve found this forum and other sites in keeping my tortoises happy & healthy. I recently had a scare and positive outcome that I wanted to pass along in the event some other tortoises could benefit. 

I’ve had Cleo my Russian tortoise for 13 years – she was my first tortoise and came from a pet store (since then I only take in rescues). She had recently been emerging from her hibernation-lite where she spends most of the winter months on the cold side of her indoor pen. Her activity level had been rising with the turning of the season and I’d recently been finding her under back under her lights in the morning. She was eating, and I was excited to get her into her outside pen for spring. 

On Tuesday, I came downstairs to feed her and she was completely tucked into her shell and being harassed by one of the male RT’s –she just wasn’t defending herself. I picked her up and her eyes wouldn’t open. When I put her down she couldn’t lift her shell off of the substrate, and was barely breathing. I was first worried about dehydration and vitamin A deficiency since I hadn’t bathed her in a few weeks and she hadn’t been eating much. I gave her a long warm bath with carrot puree. She perked up a little, pooed in the water and even took a few nibbles of food once I dried her off. I moved her to the “infirmary tub” where temperatures were consistently warmer and where I could monitor her closely.

Wednesday morning she was worse and barely alive. She was breathing through her mouth in shallow breaths – but no bubbles or mucus. Her tongue was whitish – but still had some pink. She could not close her beak. She was completely unresponsive to food or stimuli. Her eyes wouldn’t open – it was terrible. I was starting to suspect some kind of pneumonia due to the difficulty breaking. I was sure she was dying and just hoped it wasn’t my fault. 

I decided to take her to the vet to see if we could save her. First item was to get an x-ray. Cleo had 5 eggs inside her – but no intestinal blockage. She was so unresponsive that both the vet and I were afraid trying to induce egg laying would kill her. We decided to hospitalize to build her strength up and wait for blood work. We’d hydrate by injection, try tube feeding, calcium glubionate and start her on injectable antibiotics just in case it was a bacterial issue. I did not think she would survive the hour – let alone the night.

When I called to check on her Wednesday night, I was sure she’d be dead. The vet told me that once I had left, he had taken blood, given injectable fluids and then decided that the “build-her-up” route would not work and that her only hope would be to lay the eggs. He induced egg laying with oxytocin and she managed to lay three (with help). After half an hour of waiting he administered a second dose of oxytocin and Cleo laid the remaining two eggs.

On Thursday morning I called and she had survived the night, and was actually moving around. On Thursday afternoon they told me she was doing much better and I could pick her up. When I saw her at the on Thursday evening she was her old self again. She was breathing through her nares, responsive to stimuli and grumpy. I got her home and she devoured handfuls of dandelion and green leaf lettuce. 

It’s now Friday and she’s effectively back to 100%. I’ll put her back with her pen mates once she’s had some recovery time, but you could never tell she was near death 2 days ago. 

Hopefully these symptoms/treatments help someone out in the future! In the near term I need to make sure my female tortoises can escape the torment of the males and find enough peace to lay eggs in the spring. I also need to re-commit to making sure they stay hydrated with baths during the winter. These health scares really put things in perspective. Never give up – RT’s are resilient little guys! Good luck!


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## Yvonne G (Apr 10, 2015)

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Those are some pretty big eggs for such a small girl. Who's your doctor? I'd like to add him to our vet list.


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## crimson_lotus (Apr 10, 2015)

Welcome! Glad things worked out  This is sure to help someone in the future, thank you for sharing!


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## Falcon70 (Apr 10, 2015)

Wow, what a case that was, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you have such a knowledgable vet.

It's great that she is back to normal!


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## stojanovski92113 (Apr 10, 2015)

Yes! Good to know that your vet knew how to handle this situation! I'm not sure many would know where to start. Good to hear she's doing great


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## Jodie (Apr 10, 2015)

Glad this turned out so well. Good info, thanks for sharing this with us.


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## kemlab101 (Apr 10, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the welcome! It was a stressful week - but it really motivated me to make some of the tortoise habitat improvements I've been meaning to make. Yvonne - I actually used your list to find my vet when i moved to New Jersey! It was Dr. Weiss from All Creatures Vet Care in Washington Township NJ.


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## Carol S (Apr 10, 2015)

I am glad Cleo is healthy again. How scary and stresseful. Thanks for sharing your experience.


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## Sa Ga (Apr 1, 2020)

I'm so glad Cleo is ok!!! (Those pesky boys! ?)

Thank you, too, for being such an outstanding tortie mom and going the distance with her!!! They're worth every penny! ❤❤❤❤


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