Baby horsfield has a bubbly eye please help!

[Hannah84]

Hi all,

My baby horsfield has had a few bubbles around one of his eyes for a few days and it seems to be getting worse. The lids look swollen and sticky and in the mornings he has trouble opening it. I've had him for about 6 months and think he's about ten months old now. He lives in a tortoise table with a mix of herbiflore and soil substrate and has been very happy and healthy until now. His poo has been a little looser than normal lately. I'm having trouble finding decent weeds at the moment so he's getting a combo of living lettuce, kale, rocket and herb salad.

Any tips would be hugely appreciated, I hate seeing him look sad

 

[lismar79]

What kind of uv light are you using????

 

[Hannah84]

What kind of uv light are you using????

It's an Exo terra one with uvb and uv, 75watt type E27.

 

[lismar79]

Not a coil style bulb.. what temps do you?

 

[Yvonne G]

Sometimes bubbles in the corners of the eyes means the tortoise is a bit too warm. Get a thermometer you can trust and test the temperature all over the floor of the habitat. Russian tortoises prefer a bit cooler temps. Baby tortoises need it warm all the time with no drop at night. It also might be that the habitat needs more humidity.

 

[Hannah84]

Sometimes bubbles in the corners of the eyes means the tortoise is a bit too warm. Get a thermometer you can trust and test the temperature all over the floor of the habitat. Russian tortoises prefer a bit cooler temps. Baby tortoises need it warm all the time with no drop at night. It also might be that the habitat needs more humidity.

I'm not sure what exact temp it is. The bulb is 30cms from the substrate floor. It's pretty dry in there because I was worried about him getting a cold and read somewhere that horsfield shouldn't have any humidity - is this wrong? Should I be spraying the soil?

Thanks

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Here is a care sheet for baby Russians. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/ They do need humidity. If your baby is being kept dry that might be the problem you are having,

 

[Jodie]

Warm and humid. You need to know the temps at substrate level. You will need to be sure your minimum temp is 80F in a humid environment to keep him for getting sick. Accurite sells a great digital thermometer that reads humidity as well. Read the care sheet above. A temp gun is also very useful.

 

[Hannah84]

Great, thanks everyone that really helps. Will buy a thermometer today. In terms of adding humidity, if I spray his soil with water will that do the trick? Thanks again!

 

[HotdogKnight]

Great, thanks everyone that really helps. Will buy a thermometer today. In terms of adding humidity, if I spray his soil with water will that do the trick? Thanks again!

You should spray it daily to keep the humidity up, but if you just do it as a regular 'one-off' it'll dry up really quickly. If I read right, you're using soil as a substrate? That's good, take him out for a soak, moisten the soil and make sure it is all covered, no dry spots. Then by the time your torts soak is over it should have settled slightly and you can spray the parts that have dried a little. I 'mist' my enclosure once/twice a day whenever my RT comes out for a soak and give it a good full soaking about once a week.
Your tort CAN get an RI from damp substrate, but that's only with moist + low temps, if you get a thermometer you can regulate these.

 

[smarch]

I've always had trouble finding spraying soil bringing up humidity. About once a week I pour almost an entire pitcher of water into the soil and mix it around some.