Help please, Sick Radiated Tortoise extended neck and closed eyes

[Radmaster]

I will explain the history of his symptoms. 2 months ago he was very sick with a runny nose, legs neck and legs always fully extended and half closed eyes with white puss like substance , his weight went from 210 grams to 155 grams. I took him to the vet who looked after him for 5 days. The vet returned him to me and told me he could not do anything for the little guy, his illness is too severe (he isnt sure about what type of virus he has, he said perhaps severe respiratory problems) So I took him back home and I started to give him every type of vegetable I can buy to try and make him eat. I managed to get the right one (ladies fingers) and I kept feeding him ladies fingers for the past 40 days because he will not touch anything (even pumpkin which was his fav. prior to him falling sick) I got his weight back to 210 grams, his eyes are big round and clear again when he is awake however my Radiated Tortoise always closes its eyes and STILL extends its neck and legs out the whole day especially when I house him indoors. He does not have a runny nose anymore however when he sleeps his eye lids looks dry and cannot fully close his eyes. He lost appetite however did not lose weight, perhaps he isnt pooing as often. The only thing he eats at the moment are ladies fingers and nothing else...
Things I have tried - warm antibiotic baths everyday - respiratory nose drip - started parasitic medicine for the pass 5 days - heat lamp at night - indoor and outdoor enclosure with the correct light bulb and enough sunlight

I lost one tortoise with very similar symptoms 3 months ago perhaps the virus spread?
When I found out he was ill ( with a lot of white stuff around its eyes) I immediately quarantine him, perhaps I was too late because the virus has spread. It took the previous one around 25-30 days to die but the current one has been surviving for close to 80 days now, + it looks like he got a lot better but his health has reached a plateau, I dont think its life threatening anymore but he isnt 100% healthy . Can some one please help me improve the little guy's current condition please, thank you!

 

[Yvonne G]

This is probably more that I, a lay person, can help you with, so I'll send a shout-out to @deadheadvet

One thing that you didn't mention is the temperature of the enclosure. The legs extended sounds like he may be trying to get UVB on his skin and to soak up some warmth. Do you have a basking light?

(Doctor R: He's in Viet Nam, and lady fingers is either zucchini or ochra)

 

[deadheadvet]

I was thinking the legs and head out was behavioral. Not familiar w/ lady fingers ( except the Nabisco Cookie) If that is all the tortoise will eat, amd is not toxic, without having a feeding tube placed, not too many other options

 

[TammyJ]

You have not said what are the temperatures and humidity in his enclosure, this information may help us help you.
Also is it possible for you to get him to another vet that knows more about reptiles?
And can you post some pictures/

 

[Souptugo]

Could you post photos of your enclosure? Were these two (the one you lost RIP) and this one housed together? If so, was the enclosure substrate removed and sanitized before housing him back in there? What type of heating bulb are you using? etc...? Are you supplementing with any vitamins etc..? You say heat lamp at night, is that a ceramic heat emitter? They need total darkness to sleep so a lamp is no good.

Anyways, it is always helpful to have photos of your set up so as to get a background on how he's living.

 

[mark1]

my thought is antibiotic baths are useless for anything beyond possibly treating some skin infections , probably more useful in creating resistant bacterial infections than curing them ..... from my experience bacterial infections in these animals are common , when guessing , I think you got a good chance of being correct in guessing it's a bacterial problem , whether primary or secondary .... your vet kept it for 5 days , that's not long enough to know what you can do for it ........ assuming you know how to keep them correctly , and they are kept correctly , myself i'd run a course of injectable antibiotics like fortaz or amikacin , assuming those are appropriate for a radiated tortoise , and simultaneous sub q fluids , I would think any competent vet could dose them ...... no stress , some natural sunlight , optimum temps and humidity ......... I've saved a bunch of turtles just assuming they had bacterial infections , stuff I really had nothing to lose in trying , I don't believe I've ever killed one treating them with antibiotics ........ your tortoises may have some physiological differences , i'm more familiar with turtles ........