I have question, help please?

[tortoiseashell]

Hello everyone, I am looking for advice. Also first time posting on a forum, so I hope I'm doing this right!

I have come for help. Long story short, when I was 3 years old my parents bought me a Russian tortoise (Shelly!) and all my life I trusted that they where taking good care of her (because "They are adults! So they MUST know what they're doing!") but sadly...they where not. She grew up in a tiny enclosure with hay for substrate and poor diet.

But now I am old enough to understand she isn't being treated right and I want her to have a better life then she did before. I have already started to make improvements and this is what she has so far:

*6x3ft (roughly, not American, sorry!) tortoise table enclosure, with Trixie coco soil as substrate (about 18L, it was 2 9L packets rehydrated), made of wood with high walls so she can't escape/climb out
*A "Repti Planet All in One UVA/UVB Solar Bulb 1250w" (which I will switch to a regular heat lamp + a UV tube lamp..as soon as it comes in the mail) (her lamps on 12h a day)
*Terracotta water dish, clay dish and slate to eat off of, a hide, decorative plants and some rocks (planning to get more hiding places soon)
*She is soaked for about 15mins, 1-3 times a week
* It's currently fall here, and all the plants are slowly dying out, so now her diet is a mix of romaine lettuce, rocket, lettuce, cucumber (1-2 slices for hydration) + a sprinkle of calcium. In the spring/summer she had a mix of weeds and other plants (plantain, ground elder, dandelion, clover, lilac, chickweed, forget-me-not, pansy, viola, rose and whatever the Tortoise Table says is ok to eat)

I am currently waiting for a UV tube lamp (alongside holder), heat gun, timer for the lamps and hydrostat to come in the mail.

Here are some question I'm not sure about:
* Is this an alright set up? What can I add? Maybe there is something else she needs? (I cannot do a bigger enclosure, we live in an apartment and space is scarce ..shitty I know, but I cannot surrender her, exotic adoption centers aren't really a thing around me...and those that I HAVE found have terrible conditions.. and I don't want to sell her, because reptiles as pets aren't common where I'm from and information is scarce, I think her best shot is staying with me.)

*Is Coco Soil a good substrate? (I've heard both good and bad things about it, what's the general consensus?)

* From what I've gathered from speaking to others online, Shelly might have a vitamin A deficiency (swollen eyes, strangely "straight" growing peak) from her former improper diet. Is this something that can be fixed only with a vet visit, or would vitamin A supplements (alongside her now hopefully proper diet) be enough to fix this?
(I'm asking because the nearest exotic vet is a 2h drive from me and I wouldn't want to put her through the stress of transport if it's not necessary)

* What is the proper weight for an adult Russian female tortoise? I've seen recommendations online to keep track of their weight, but I can't seem to find guidelines for what a healthy weight for a Russian is actually supposed to be?

* Are regular dog/cat vets ok to go to for smaller issues with a tortoise? (They did a fine job with trimming her beak, but what about wounds or something like an abscess?)

*Is Brilliant Green (Benzaldehyde green, solutio viridis nitentis spirituosa, whatever you want to call it) ok to use on tortoises/reptiles? We always have some laying around the house and I was wondering if it's something I could add to my Reptile First Aid it?


Thank you for taking the time to read this! I'm genuinely seeking advice, I understand she hasn't been ta care of well before and I am trying to be better.
I want to do right by her, I want her to have a better life then she has had before.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!
It sounds like you've done everything right (and a huge "thank you" for doing research and improving her life!).

Coco coir is a fine substrate. Larger tortoises can make a lot of mess out of it but no other issues if you keep it damp and packed (just press it down with your palm).

Vitamin A deficiency is rare among tortoises on proper diet (leafy greens have enough vitamin A). If Shelly has a good appetite no vitamin injections are necessary. Swollen eyes can be because of UVB lamp (e.g. when it's hanging too low).

Tortoise age/size/weight charts aren't accurate - every tortoise grows in its own pace depending on many factors. A simple test is to take your tortoise in hand: if it feels heavy and solid it's likely fine but light and "hollow" means it's underfed or dehydrated.

Regular vets can be "hit or miss" - they know how to do general procedures but can be unaware of physiology or anatomy specifics (e.g. prescribe ivermectin for deworming which can be lethal or inject a "turtle" dose of vitamin A to a tortoise which will result in overdose). A good non-exotic vet will consult a herpetologist (and not Dr.Google) and will not do anything potentially harmful.

I haven't seen "Brilliant green" in any tortoise first aid guides. If I'm not mistaken it's an ethanol solution and that's why it should not be used. Chlorhexidine and povidon-iodine are commonly used for treating wounds.

If you don't mind sharing photos of Shelly and her enclosure we can suggest some improvements or confirm that everything's fine.

 

[TheTortoiseKing]

Yes please share photos

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

It's currently fall here, and all the plants are slowly dying out, so now her diet is a mix of romaine lettuce, rocket, lettuce, cucumber (1-2 slices for hydration) + a sprinkle of calcium. In the spring/summer she had a mix of weeds and other plants (plantain, ground elder, dandelion, clover, lilac, chickweed, forget-me-not, pansy, viola, rose and whatever the Tortoise Table says is ok to eat)

You might want to look into some pellet options for the winter to amend the grocery store greens with fibre. Depending on the pellets, a separate calcium supplementation may be necessary.

Sounds like you are going to the right direction, keep it up!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

It sounds like you’ve made some great changes and have even more in the works which is great!

Perhaps you might find this thread below useful to have a look over for some visual inspiration on things along with other care information, there’s also a really handy diet link!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope you like it! Welcome to the forum! Would love to see some photos of your set up and tortoise

 

[tortoiseashell]

Hello everyone! This is a follow up post for this one (https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/i-have-question-help-please.220501/) PLEASE read this for more context!

Long story short: as a child I was gifted a russian tortoise and trusted that my parents, being adults, knew how to take care of her..sadly, they didn’t and as a teenager now I want to give her (Shelly!) the best life I can.

(My circumstances - aka. living in a flat - might not be the best, but surrendering her is not an option, land tortoises aren’t a popular pet where I’m from, I haven’t found and reputable exotic rescues and the zoo has gone to s*** do to a recent owner change)



Thank you to everyone who responded before and I’m sorry I took to long to post – we’ve moved! And remember those lamps I ordered? They arrived..and where promptly broken on accident which is just..incredible. New ones are arriving and for now I’m using her old "Repti Planet All in One UVA/UVB Solar Bulb 1250w" (mercury vapor bulb)

I’ve attached (or tried to attach..still very new to this sorry) photos of Shelly and her (for now VERY rough looking) enclosure (it’s still being set up so we made do with what we had for now – it does NOT look like this all finished. I just added it for context.)



Here are some questions I have:

*As you can clearly see, I must have jinxed by last post because Shelly has developed an abscess on her neck . The best suggested exotic vet is a two hours drive away and we’ve scheduled an appointment with them (they also specialize in reptiles/tortoises) in which is in a month (they’re very booked).

But my question is how serious is it? I know it’s impossible to tell but will it be ok for her to wait? She doesn’t seem bothered – she’s active and has the appetite of an adult man (as always). But I’m just worried – is there anything I can do for her in the meantime? I don’t want to take her to a regular vet because they’ve told us they don’t specialize in reptiles.

Also, yes, she has a very long beak (I don’t know why, she eats off slate and has a cuttlebone but she won’t use it for some reason?) we usually take her to the cat-and-dog vet but figured we’d get it done at the exotic vet (Or should she be taken to get it taken care of?)

*The UV lamp I got for her is a tube one – Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 40w/105cm luminescent bulb with UV (UVB 10% and UVA 33%) – it was the best I could find online – is this ok? And is it ok to mix it with a mercury bulb heat lamp?

*As was suggested in a comment – I’ve started feeding a bit of pellets for added fiber since its winter – Dajana Tortoise Sticks- are these good?

*Anything else I should do or add? I’d be happy to hear and suggestions

Thank you for taking the time to read this

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Once you get your tube light, ditch the mercury vapour bulb and replace that with a reptile floodlight(should have a frosted front and is usually pear shaped)

In terms of the abscess, I can’t offer a whole lot of advice on waiting, though I’m thinking if she’s active and eating normally, it’s worth waiting to see a good vet, let me ask @Yvonne G and @zovick what they think

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi!
I can comment a bit on technical questions:
1. It's not a good idea to have different UVB sources (tube and MVB in your case) in one enclosure. UVB is additive and summary output is not very predictable.

2. The UVB lamp you've got is a T8 tube. They are weaker than more modern T5 tubes and have shorter lifespan. However, in a double fixture with quality reflector they are usable. What fixture do you have for this ExoTerra lamp?

3. I haven't found nutritional facts for Dajana Tortoise Sticks (maybe you can add a photo of the can). But overall composition doesn't look good: Cereals, by-products grew. origin, products from oilseeds, yeast, alfalfa, minerals.

If you can order from Amazon.de, there are Arcadia and ZooMed Reptisun UVB kits and Agrobs Pre Alpine dry tortoise food.

Waiting a month with ear abscess doesn't feel like a safe option to me. Unfortunately, I don't have a good advice in such situation.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Are you 100% sure it's an abscess, not a cyst or tumor...? I used to sterilize a razor blade and cut the abscess a bit...squeeze pus out... take a syringe and squirt peroxide in...do that twice a day and it will get better..but you must be 100% sure it's an abscess before you go cutting...and you need a steady hand

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Could you maybe post a photo of how the abscess is looking like now?

 

[Yvonne G]

testing