HELP RT EYE PROBLEM!!!!

[Steve_carter]

I use this one. Like other comments I would remove what looks like the wood shavings get a basking/uv bulb and for the water get a shallow clay dish so it's easy for them to get in & out if they want too. What diet is your tort on?

 

[Madeleine M]

Thank you! What should the humidity be at exactly?

 

[Madeleine M]

Dandelions, mixed greens stuff like that. They won't eat anything that's not green ....

 

[Mr Buster]

Get the mercury bulb. Also, be careful about having lights at an angle.

 

[Steve_carter]

Thank you! What should the humidity be at exactly?

If you take a read through this that @Tom put together this will help you with heating temps, humidity etc:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Have you got some calcium powder to sprinkle onto the food also? I sprinkle 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) - Good to give him greeny leafs, weeds and store products as long as the store products are the higher fibre stuff such as: Romaine lettuce, escarole, mustard greens etc
Iceburg lettuce is not good due to nutrient values.

As @Mr Buster has put. I would recommend a mercury bulb which has the UVB too. As my previous post, I use the arcadia light. Never had issues. Make sure if you use shade for the light that its a ceramic light shade due to the heat they give off. Have the bulb directly pointing down and not on angle. There are light stands available to allow it to hang into the enclosure/table.

How is your tort getting on?

 

[Madeleine M]

I have a "shady" area, & a stand to hold my lights, I do have the calcium powder.. I'm thinking I need a vet visit soon ..

 

[Tom]

I have a "shady" area, & a stand to hold my lights, I do have the calcium powder.. I'm thinking I need a vet visit soon ..

Be cautious. Most vets have no idea what to do for tortoises so they go to the back and read a text book or website that tells them to walk back into the exam room with the utmost confidence and proclaim your tortoise needs a "vitamin injection". Your tortoise doesn't need a vitamin injection. It needs its husbandry issues addressed, considered, and corrected. Unless you luck out and find a vet who has been keeping their own tortoise for years, they will not likely do anything helpful, despite charging you a bunch of money. Vitamin injections can be harmful or fatal in some cases. If your vet says this, realize you've made a mistake and gone to the wrong vet.

 

[Madeleine M]

i just dont know what else to do...

 

[Yvonne G]

Once you've stopped using the coil shaped compact fluorescent bulb, it takes about two weeks for the eyes to get back to normal. In the meantime, while you're waiting you can buy either one of these products online. Amazon ships right away and you'll get it within a couple days:

These products will sooth they eye. You don't need both, just buy one or the other.

 

[Madeleine M]

Awesome! Thank you guys so much!! I'll keep you updated !!

 

[Tom]

i just dont know what else to do...

Review the care sheet for temps, humidity, diet and other parameters, and make any needed changes. When tortoises get sick, there is a reason. We need to find the reason and correct the problem.

-You've already removed the coil bulb, so if that was your problem, things should get better.
-Have you removed the shavings? Those aren't good to use for tortoises.
-That water bowl is a problem too. The sides are too tall and steep.
-What are your four temperatures? Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low?
-How often do you soak him?
-What are you feeding him?

Here they are again:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Madeleine M]

They have always got in & out of the water bowl fine & I always see them drinking from it.
I would say the high is 80 the low is probably 65ish
I soak once a week, but my male that is sick I've be doing more often
I feed them.. mixed greens, dandelion, ice burg (on occasion) & some other greens
(They won't eat anything not green )

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank you! What should the humidity be at exactly?

Don't worry about humidity. Your Russian tortoise is full grown. Just moisten the substrate a little bit and mix it all up with your hand to get it evenly moist. You want the top layer to dry out and slightly (SLIGHTLY) moist underneath.

 

[Yvonne G]

They have always got in & out of the water bowl fine & I always see them drinking from it.
I would say the high is 80 the low is probably 65ish
I soak once a week, but my male that is sick I've be doing more often
I feed them.. mixed greens, dandelion, ice burg (on occasion) & some other greens
(They won't eat anything not green )

You keep saying "they". I think we've all missed the boat here. You have TWO russian tortoises together in the same enclosure? More than likely, herein lies your problem. Russian tortoises are scrappy. They don't like or need another tortoise for company. Chances are pretty good that one of the tortoises has bitten the other's eyelid. Make a whole other habitat and separate these tortoises. Use the eye ointment on the eye and you should see an improvement in a week or two. In my opinion, the only time you can have more than one russian together in the same habitat is when they live outdoors and the habitat is big with lots of hiding places and sight barriers.