HELP MY RUSSIAN TORTOISE EYES ARE SHUT AND WONT EAT

Vils

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Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do, its been like this for 2 weeks now and it seems to get worse... See the picture for reference.
 

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Cathie G

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@Cathie G @wellington anyone able to help? This looks icky
I'm not an expert. Tom, Yavonne, Wellington would be better qualified to answer that. And many others here. But from being here and reading it could be the lights are the wrong brand or type. I just don't know how to get you to those threads. 🙏
 

wellington

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What are the enclosures temps.
All over temp, basking temp, night temp?
Humidity?
What kind of heat and lighting are you using?
What kind of temp and humidity gauge?
Are you soaking him? If not do so ASAP in warm water for 30 minutes.
Size of enclosure?
Diet?
 

Calculators

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What are the enclosures temps.
All over temp, basking temp, night temp?
Humidity?
What kind of heat and lighting are you using?
What kind of temp and humidity gauge?
Are you soaking him? If not do so ASAP in warm water for 30 minutes.
Size of enclosure?
Diet?
I also agree with the suggestion of soaking him for 30 minutes in a little bit less than chin-deep warm water. I would suggest repeating the 30-minute soaks every 1-2 days for a while until he gets better. But I agree with determining more information with the questions about diet, heat, etc. above.
 

Ink

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I'm not an expert however his beak looks very overgrown...or is it just the angle of the picture?
 

Tom

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Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do, its been like this for 2 weeks now and it seems to get worse... See the picture for reference.
This one appears pretty far gone. We need more info to help. Please answer the questions from @wellington so that we can give help ASAP.

This is a case where the tortoise will benefit from a carrot baby food soak. Get a small jar of Gerber carrot baby food and mix about half the jar in with some warm water. Put this mix in a tall sided opaque plastic tub and soak the tortoise in it for 30-40 minutes. Keep the water warm the whole time, and only make it as deep as about 1/3 the height of the tortoise.
 

wellington

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I agree with Tom and the baby food soak. You can also add Pedialyte to the soak water.
Do these soaks daily even twice a day won't hurt.
 

Vils

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Hi everyone thank you for the answers!
He is getting heat from a 50w heating bulb and lights is a normal LED light bulb. Been soaking him everyday in tepid water since I posted the thread and will continue to do so.
The box that I've got him in is placed in my room so I believe its around 30-50% humidity.
He been fed with carrots, squash, apples, broccoli and dandelion leaves this last couple of months.
So I noticed a couple of weeks ago that he started to be more inactive and I thought he was going to hibernate, but every morning he would get out of his turtle house in his cage and just chill all day and thats where a noticed the things with his eyes.
I soaked him yesterday and his eyes opened so I put him down on my flow to run around for a bit before I tried to feed him some apple slices which he ate a little bit of, but I can definitely tell that he is more weak and tired than he used to be, but ill keep going with the daily soaks!
So do you suggest Tom that I put the Carrot baby food in the soak water ?
please give me all the suggestions you guys have, I really want him to live through this and be stable again :)

Thank you guys so much
 

SinLA

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First: I know this is super long and dense, but please read it ASAP to begin to improve his living conditions. He's this way for a reason, so things need to change ASAP as he looks pretty bad (his legs look withered) . Most people are given or get really bad info off the internet and do a lot of damage without realizing it. Let this be your source: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/

Now, a lot better people will answer than me, but use a temperature gun to figure out heating. I don't think a 50 watt LED would be hot enough. use a temp gun to make sure basking gets above 95 at least and that keeps the other sections as they need to be.

Fruit and Veg is NOT ok for this species (except as noted here in the soak situation). No apples, no squash, etc. Get some mazuri pellets, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, mustard greens, squash blossoms if you can. Assuming he can even eat at this stage.

What substrate are you using? It looks like grass on wood? Can you post pictures of your whole setup? How big is his space?

Do you know if there is a knowledgeable reptile/tortoise vet near you>
 

Vils

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Thank you for the source, looking into that asap.
- Its not a 50 Watt LED light btw its a ceramic heat emitter, the light source is a LED light.
The Substrate is wood mixed with hay (picture attached for reference).
Unfortunately its very hard to find a good vets that handles reptiles/tortoises near my cause I live in Denmark and our vets only deals with dogs and cats, its very uncommon to own reptiles/tortoises here..

Here is the whole set up, build the cage myself:
 

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Tom

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Thank you for the source, looking into that asap.
- Its not a 50 Watt LED light btw its a ceramic heat emitter, the light source is a LED light.
The Substrate is wood mixed with hay (picture attached for reference).
Unfortunately its very hard to find a good vets that handles reptiles/tortoises near my cause I live in Denmark and our vets only deals with dogs and cats, its very uncommon to own reptiles/tortoises here..

Here is the whole set up, build the cage myself:
Your tortoise is slowly dying because its needs are not being met. I'm not saying that to be hurtful or mean. I'm saying that so that you understand what is wrong and how to fix it and save your tortoise.

You need a much larger enclosure, a proper basking lamp, a good HO UV tube, a much better diet with no fruit, and the correct substrate. All of this info and more is explained in the care sheet that @SinLA left for you previously. Here it is again:

Please read this at least twice and make the necessary changes ASAP.
 

Vils

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Okay sounds good and again thank you very much !
What would the first thing you would say that id need to improve in order to save his life ?
And is there any specific basking lamp what you would recommend ?
 

Tom

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Okay sounds good and again thank you very much !
What would the first thing you would say that id need to improve in order to save his life ?
And is there any specific basking lamp what you would recommend ?
You need a flood bulb of some sort. Arcadia makes them, if they don't sell them in your hardware stores anymore there. He needs a basking area to warm up ASAP. Next is and Arcadia ProT5 kit for UVB, and a calcium supplement with D3. Then, if he's still eating, get him the right foods. It will take time for this tortoise to recover.
 

Calculators

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I'm glad to hear that he opened his eyes and ate a bit yesterday! I suggest measuring the temperature (I've used a thermometer before) where his shell is under the heat source to see if it is the proper temperature. It seems like he may want to be warmer since he is sitting under the heat source in the picture. (But I can't be completely sure of this, so perhaps the temperature should be measured).

I'm not an expert on heating lamps and sources, so I'm not sure what the best heat source would be to buy. Meanwhile, perhaps the height of the heat source could be adjusted if the temperature is measured to be too cold under the light. I heard that ceramic heat emitters can get quite hot, so I suggest only adjusting the height of the heat lamp/source by a small amount (1 cm or so) at a time and then measuring the temperature again to make sure it's not too hot for him and the items in his cage. (I've only used reptile heat basking lamp bulbs before, but maybe the instructions for the ceramic heat emitter say what the minimum distance the heat emitter can be safely from the ground.) I suggest the temperature and height of the lamp should be closely monitored until the ground gets to the proper temperature, when a new basking lamp is bought, in case the new lamp is a lot hotter or colder.

I also agree with getting a UVB light to supplement (or maybe replace) the LED light. I'm not sure about the brand, and others may have a better idea. I've used ZooMed light bulbs before in case other brands aren't available. With the heating, I think it's also good to keep him hydrated with water. I hope he feels better!
 

Tom

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Would this be ideal as a heating lightbulb https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071NNCBST/?tag= ?
Generally no, those bulb are not recommended. In your case, I think it might be an okay way to go in the short term. It will instantly get him the warmth and UV that he needs, and since he looks close to full grown, I don't think it will hurt him as far as causing pyramiding. Those bulbs are not good for small growing tortoises.
 

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