How to inspect your tortoise's health

Tolis the tortoise

New Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2021
Messages
29
Location (City and/or State)
Salmiya
Inspecting your tortoise to make sure it is happy and healthy, is important and here is what you need to do:

If you have a small tortoise, hold it up. If you have a larger tortoise that is too heavy to carry, try to inspect it when it is still; not walking.


Here is what you need inspect:

Eyes: Your tortoise's eyes should be fully open, alert, and bright, when it is awake and active. If your tortoise is weak, and it cannot open it's eyes or if it could barely open it's eyes during the day, your tortoise may be dehydrated or sick. If you have a dehydrated or sick tortoise, try soaking them in warm water for 30-45 minutes for twice a day.

Nose/Nostrils: Your tortoise's nose should be clear of discharge, crust, etc. It should not have anything clogging it or inside of it.

Carapace: The Carapace, or the top part of a tortoise's shell, should be clear of bumps, scratches, cracks, or marks, and your tortoise's growth rings should be clearly visible. The carapace should be nice and smooth. Older tortoises may have a bit of dents/scratches on their shell, and their growth rings may be faded. That is OK for larger, older, tortoises. The Carapace should also be clear of prymaiding. If your tortoise's shell is deformed, or is prymaiding talk to a reptile health expert immediately.

Plastron: The plastron or the underside of your tortoise's shell, should be smooth, and clear of bumps or scratches.

Ears: Tortoises should have 2 dark scale like circles on the sides of their heads. These are tortoise ears. They should be clearly visible, and the should be the same size and color.

Skin: Tortoise skin is dry, and scaly. A tortoise's skin should not be wet, unless you have soaked the tortoise or the tortoise came in contact with water. If your tortoise's skin is very dry and rough, it is possible that it is dehydrated.

Throat: Your tortoise's throat should actively puff up during the day. When your tortoise puffs it's throat that is a sign it is smelling. They do not do this when they are sleeping. If you see that your tortoise's throat underside turns pink while puffing, that is normal.

Tail: The tail should be clear of liquid, feces and urine; feces should not be regularly visible in your tortoise's tail.

Beak: The beak should be slightly larger than the bottom jaw. However, the beak should not be over grown. (Search up healthy and over grown tortoise beaks for more information). If your tortoise's beak is overgrown you can clip it, or ask your local vet to clip it for you.

Urine: A tortoise's urine should be clear. If you see a thick, white splotch in your tortoise's urine, do not be afraid. That is normal and those white things in your tortoise's urine are known as uriates. Some foods like dandelion may temporarily turn a tortoise's pee pink. Your tortoise's pee should never be red. Take your tortoise to the vet if you notice your tortoise has red or green urine.

Feces: The feces should be green-ish brown and solid, they should not be watery. If they are watery, it could be because of a change in your tortoise's diet. If you continue to see watery feces, there could be a parasite issue in your tortoise. If you see a bit of white in your tortoises feces, do not be alarmed. It is possible that those are just uriates.



How to detect internal bleeding:

If you see that there is pink, on your tortoise (Except for the throat) that is a sign that there is internal bleeding in your tortoise. The blood makes your tortoise's skin appear light pink. Get your tortoise checked if you notice internal bleeding.


Reply and comment below if you have questions, or if you just want to reply.
 
Top