Is my Russian Tortoise Sick?

[Asafreeman13]

Hello. My name is Asa Freeman. I have a male Russian Tortoise and I'm not so sure he's doing so well. He stays burrowed all day and he seems sick. He has a UVB Lamp and I'm going to change his dirt and woochips this week. He eats mostly spring mix, spinach, romiane lettuce and arugula. He has his head down a lot of the times and sometimes he doesn't have a reflex when I pet him on the head. I am going to take him to the vet just tell me symptoms of a sick Russian. And is mine sick? Thank you!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Can't say if he's sick. What we can do is tell you if you need to improve things for him. What's the temp day and night at tort level? What's the basking temp? Post a pic of the enclosure. How often do you soak him and do you see him drink?

 

[Oogway the russian tort]

Can u take pictures of his enclosure and himself. Tell us the temps in the cool side and hot. How many times do u soak him a week

 

[JoesMum]

Hello. My name is Asa Freeman. I have a male Russian Tortoise and I'm not so sure he's doing so well. He stays burrowed all day and he seems sick. He has a UVB Lamp and I'm going to change his dirt and woochips this week. He eats mostly spring mix, spinach, romiane lettuce and arugula. He has his head down a lot of the times and sometimes he doesn't have a reflex when I pet him on the head. I am going to take him to the vet just tell me symptoms of a sick Russian. And is mine sick? Thank you!

Hello Asa

Your tort doesn't sound right.

The first thing to check are the the temperatures in the enclosure. If it's too cold, your tortoise cannot digest food or be active.

It must be 95-100F directly under the basking lamp and, until your tort recovers, don't let it drop below 80F anywhere else.

While your tort is not eating, you must soak him in warm water for at least 30 minutes every day. Use a flat-bottomed, high sided bowl that he can't see through or over. The water needs to be just deep enough to come up over the line between the shell and the plastron (undershell)

Does your tortoise have any signs of a runny nose? This is a respiratory infection.

Make sure any vet you use is experienced with tortoises. One that isn't could do more harm than good. Do not allow your vet to give a Vitamin A injection - this causes serious skin problems in tortoises.

Have you read our care sheets for Russians? They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

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

If you post photos of your enclosure and lighting we will be happy to look them over for any issues that might be affecting your tortoise.

 

[Asafreeman13]

No runny nose

 

[Asafreeman13]

I will take all of your advise and do that. Thank you everyone!