Helpp, my hermanns tortoise

[jodiecooper2011]

Hi,

I have a hermanns tortoise called Toby iv had him for a month. He was hatched in 2023

He's eating, pooing, weeing being normal and active around his enclosure.

The past few days his right eye is closed I have tried to give him warm soaks but nothing is working. His skin seems dry and flaky

I was wondering what it could be

Thankyou

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello! Can you post a photo of him and his eyes close-up? Where do you keep him - inside or outside? If inside - what heating/lightning do you use?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Could you send a picture of the skin?

 

[jodiecooper2011]

Hello! Can you post a photo of him and his eyes close-up? Where do you keep him - inside or outside? If inside - what heating/lightning do you use?

Hi,

I will get a photo of him and his eye tomorrow.
He is kept indoors and he has a exo terra solar glo 3 in 1 Mercury vapour bulb - the reptile shop I got him from said the bulb is ok I just need to change it every 6 months

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi,

I will get a photo of him and his eye tomorrow.
He is kept indoors and he has a exo terra solar glo 3 in 1 Mercury vapour bulb - the reptile shop I got him from said the bulb is ok I just need to change it every 6 months

Okay, while we are waiting for the photos, a few more follow-up questions:
1. What kind of substrate do you use? If it's dry substrate with sand mixed-in - sand grains can cause eye irritation.
2. What wattage is the mercury vapour bulb and what distance from tortoise/substrate? When they are placed too low this can affect eyes too, but usually both eyes not one.

 

[jodiecooper2011]

Okay, while we are waiting for the photos, a few more follow-up questions:
1. What kind of substrate do you use? If it's dry substrate with sand mixed-in - sand grains can cause eye irritation.
2. What wattage is the mercury vapour bulb and what distance from tortoise/substrate? When they are placed too low this can affect eyes too, but usually both eyes not one.

It's one from pets at home it has a mixture of topsoil, sand and limestone I will attach a picture.

The wattage of the bulb is 125 wattage and the reptile place said to have it 12 inches from the substrate/tortoise.

There's always mixed views online and different people say different suggestions with lighting, substrate, etc Hopefully with help on here I can make everything perfect for him

 

[Tom]

It's one from pets at home it has a mixture of topsoil, sand and limestone I will attach a picture.

The wattage of the bulb is 125 wattage and the reptile place said to have it 12 inches from the substrate/tortoise.

There's always mixed views online and different people say different suggestions with lighting, substrate, etc Hopefully with help on here I can make everything perfect for him

You've been given the usual terrible pet shop advice and sold the wrong product for a tortoise. I know how frustrating this must be, but I hope we can help. Start here. This thread will explain a LOT. Questions are welcome and so are you.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[jodiecooper2011]

Brilliant thankyou, so much information I will change a few things in his enclosure and hopefully he will get better. Could the substrate cause his eye to close

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

It's one from pets at home it has a mixture of topsoil, sand and limestone I will attach a picture.

The wattage of the bulb is 125 wattage and the reptile place said to have it 12 inches from the substrate/tortoise.

There's always mixed views online and different people say different suggestions with lighting, substrate, etc Hopefully with help on here I can make everything perfect for him

At 12 inches it gives too much UVB for a young Hermann's tortoise and basking area temperature is probably not enough, at the same time. At the basking area you need 95-100F and UV index 3-4. You can achieve these numbers when using a combination of flood type incandescent lamp (Arcadia Solar Basking Floodlight is preferred but ExoTerra Daylight Basking Spot or Flukers Basking Spot lamp will work too) and T5 fluorescent tube for UVB (Arcadia ProT5 Desert 12% or ZooMed Reptisun 10.0). You can get them from SwellReptile, for example.

The substrate can be the reason of irritated eye. Just plain coco coir or orchid bark are better options. Get sterile saline solution from a nearby pharmacy and gently flush the eye, this may help if substrate is the reason.

 

[jodiecooper2011]

At 12 inches it gives too much UVB for a young Hermann's tortoise and basking area temperature is probably not enough, at the same time. At the basking area you need 95-100F and UV index 3-4. You can achieve these numbers when using a combination of flood type incandescent lamp (Arcadia Solar Basking Floodlight is preferred but ExoTerra Daylight Basking Spot or Flukers Basking Spot lamp will work too) and T5 fluorescent tube for UVB (Arcadia ProT5 Desert 12% or ZooMed Reptisun 10.0). You can get them from SwellReptile, for example.

The substrate can be the reason of irritated eye. Just plain coco coir or orchid bark are better options. Get sterile saline solution from a nearby pharmacy and gently flush the eye, this may help if substrate is the reason.

Thankyou, is this ok to use as I'm going to change his enclosure so ordering everything straight away

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thankyou, is this ok to use as I'm going to change his enclosure so ordering everything straight away

Yes, it looks fine. If you want, you may double-check the whole shopping basket before placing an order.