Minnesota with 2 tortoises

[Jpolson2284]

Hi I'm Jenny. I live in Minnesota and have 2 tortoises. Both were passed on to my family and I by other family. We have Tort the Gopher Tortoise (approximately 85 years old GIVE or take 5 years). And we have Dermarr the Russian Tortoise. He is (Approximately 20 years old give or take 2 years). Weve had both for about 15 years. Tort has been battling an upper respitory infection for the last 5 years. The antibiotics never seem to completely heal him and he also has a mass in his abdomen. Dermarr is kept completely seperate from Tort because he's sick all the time and because Dermarr attacks him and bites his legs if they are together. They both aren't in anywhere near ideal shape. I mentioned Torts conditions but he also is very underwater wont eat and the vet says it would be risky to euthanize him because his metabolism is so slow it could turn into torturing him to death. The vet also doesn't think he would survive the surgery on his abdomen. Dermarr is active and eats kale mustard greens and romaine. He is puffy behind his legs and for the first time ever I dropped him while carrying him and chipped his shell im very worried about both but don't know what to do.

 

[crimson_lotus]

These guys shouldn't be kept together at all, so please leave them separate. They are from different continents and can pass along disease to each other. Also Gopher tortoises are native to Florida, whereas Russians are from a more temperate area. Tortoises do not have buddies and generally don't like having other tortoises in their territory.

Please give us some information on how they are housed - temperatures, substrate, lighting, size of enclosure, and more about their diet. How do you know there is a mass in Tort's abdomen - was there a scan done at some point? Are you sure it isn't a bladder stone?

 

[Tom]

Hi I'm Jenny. I live in Minnesota and have 2 tortoises. Both were passed on to my family and I by other family. We have Tort the Gopher Tortoise (approximately 85 years old GIVE or take 5 years). And we have Dermarr the Russian Tortoise. He is (Approximately 20 years old give or take 2 years). Weve had both for about 15 years. Tort has been battling an upper respitory infection for the last 5 years. The antibiotics never seem to completely heal him and he also has a mass in his abdomen. Dermarr is kept completely seperate from Tort because he's sick all the time and because Dermarr attacks him and bites his legs if they are together. They both aren't in anywhere near ideal shape. I mentioned Torts conditions but he also is very underwater wont eat and the vet says it would be risky to euthanize him because his metabolism is so slow it could turn into torturing him to death. The vet also doesn't think he would survive the surgery on his abdomen. Dermarr is active and eats kale mustard greens and romaine. He is puffy behind his legs and for the first time ever I dropped him while carrying him and chipped his shell im very worried about both but don't know what to do.

Over the last few decades, most of the care info that has been passed from generation to generation has been wrong. That wrong info is everywhere and outside of this forum and its members, it is hard to get the right info. I bring this up because tortoises don't just get sick for no reason. When they get sick it has to do with diet, temperatures, or some element of the care routine. Having said that, here is the correct care info for these species:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jenny, and welcome to the Forum!

From looking at the pictures, it looks to me as if BOTH tortoises are Russian. If you post more pictures of the one you think is a gopher, maybe we can tell his species better. Also, I'm curious to see the mass on his plastron. Maybe we can help you with that too.

Don't worry about the chip. It's not causing him any discomfort.

 

[Maddoggy]

Hi I'm Jenny. I live in Minnesota and have 2 tortoises. Both were passed on to my family and I by other family. We have Tort the Gopher Tortoise (approximately 85 years old GIVE or take 5 years). And we have Dermarr the Russian Tortoise. He is (Approximately 20 years old give or take 2 years). Weve had both for about 15 years. Tort has been battling an upper respitory infection for the last 5 years. The antibiotics never seem to completely heal him and he also has a mass in his abdomen. Dermarr is kept completely seperate from Tort because he's sick all the time and because Dermarr attacks him and bites his legs if they are together. They both aren't in anywhere near ideal shape. I mentioned Torts conditions but he also is very underwater wont eat and the vet says it would be risky to euthanize him because his metabolism is so slow it could turn into torturing him to death. The vet also doesn't think he would survive the surgery on his abdomen. Dermarr is active and eats kale mustard greens and romaine. He is puffy behind his legs and for the first time ever I dropped him while carrying him and chipped his shell im very worried about both but don't know what to do.

Welcome to the tortoise forum. It's obvious to me that you are fastidious about your tort keeping, you may lack some knowledge and facts about our amazing creatures but you can turn that around by running your issues across this forum. I have to yield when it comes to guidance on your tort issues but I here to tell you welcome and your in the right place

 

[Jpolson2284]

Thank you very much!

 

[jeff kushner]

Jenny, you have hit the motherlode of talent on this forum and welcome!

I think it's supercool, the whole family is used to caring and having our little friends around. Tortoises, a family affair! LOL

That's one tough looking old guy.....! A BEAST!

You have responses from some of that top talent.....read & FOLLOW the care sheets, they simply are the best written anywhere. They humbled me....with what I thought I knew after keeping turtles since Kennedy was President!

jeff

 

[Jpolson2284]

Thank you to all who have responded. I genuinely appreciated each and every comment. I will follow the worksheets and here are some more pictures as requested. I'll upload more of Tort soon.

 

[Jpolson2284]

Hi Jenny, and welcome to the Forum!

From looking at the pictures, it looks to me as if BOTH tortoises are Russian. If you post more pictures of the one you think is a gopher, maybe we can tell his species better. Also, I'm curious to see the mass on his plastron. Maybe we can help you with that too.

Don't worry about the chip. It's not causing him any discomfort.

Thank you for your reply. He doesn't have a mass on his shell, its internal. Its either in his stomach or kidney. Also, he is a desert tortoise. I thought he was a subspecies of Gopher? Again, I don't know much. I've reaserched him a few different times but have forgotten much of it. Anyway they bought him in the late 50's to early 60's in South Texas. Tort will only eat romaine lettuce and tomatoes. We've sprinkled some vitamin powder on his food from time to time. He isn't eating now and we've trying to wake him up from hibernation. He's weezing and it makes me very anxious. He's light as a feather. I'm soaking him once a day for the past few days. Occasionally he opens his eyes. While soaking him he will open his mouth all the way and extend his neck and head in the air. I think he's trying to loosen the mucus in his nose and throat? He seems very uncomfortable and doesn't want to wake up.

Hi Jenny, and welcome to the Forum!

From looking at the pictures, it looks to me as if BOTH tortoises are Russian. If you post more pictures of the one you think is a gopher, maybe we can tell his species better. Also, I'm curious to see the mass on his plastron. Maybe we can help you with that too.

Don't worry about the chip. It's not causing him any discomfort.

 

[Jpolson2284]

Thank you to all who have responded. I genuinely appreciated each and every comment. I will follow the worksheets and here are some more pictures as requested. I'll upload more of Tort soon.

Thank you to all who have responded. I genuinely appreciated each and every comment. I will follow the worksheets and here are some more pictures as requested. I'll upload more of Tort soon.

More pictures of Tort are under Yvonn's comment. I took them in here and didn't realize they didn't save.

 

[Jpolson2284]

These guys shouldn't be kept together at all, so please leave them separate. They are from different continents and can pass along disease to each other. Also Gopher tortoises are native to Florida, whereas Russians are from a more temperate area. Tortoises do not have buddies and generally don't like having other tortoises in their territory.

Please give us some information on how they are housed - temperatures, substrate, lighting, size of enclosure, and more about their diet. How do you know there is a mass in Tort's abdomen - was there a scan done at some point? Are you sure it isn't a bladder stone?

 

[Jpolson2284]

Thank you for your reply. They are never together unless someone for a second forgot to close the porch door. And in literally talking seconds and this RARELY EVER happens. Also, Tort is a desert tortoise which I thought was a subspecies of Gopher?? Sorry for the confusion. Also he was purchased in the late 50's possibly early 60's in South Texas. Dermarr, the Russian from a pet store in Minnesota. He was the only one left, the rest had died from disease.

Soooo, we have 2 heat lamps and one sunlight lamp for the cool days. Tort is kept warm, maybe 75-80 degrees in the day which he really doesn't like anything warmer. He retreats all the way into his shell. He doesn't have the strength to even move out of the way of something making him uncomfortable. He's just waking up from hibernation and he's slightly wheezing and underweight and overall looks terrible. He won't eat. We soak him every night for about 20 minutes in warmish water. He seems comfortable with that. Dermarr goes outside into an enclosure about 12 ft by 10 feet. He gets a lot of sun for a couple hours and then the trees end up blocking it. He eats romaine, kale, mustard greens, dandelions, and a tomato here and there. We soak him once or twice a week for about 5 minutes. At night he's brought into the house and he likes to get out of his wooden house and shove himself 1/4 under the refrigerator where its warm.

Tort did have a scan or an xray and thats how we know of his mass and yes it could be a bladder stone for sure. Actually I think that's what it is now that you said that. I posted some more pictures under Yvonne's comment and under my first post.

 

[Jpolson2284]

Jenny, you have hit the motherlode of talent on this forum and welcome!

I think it's supercool, the whole family is used to caring and having our little friends around. Tortoises, a family affair! LOL

That's one tough looking old guy.....! A BEAST!

You have responses from some of that top talent.....read & FOLLOW the care sheets, they simply are the best written anywhere. They humbled me....with what I thought I knew after keeping turtles since Kennedy was President!

jeff

Thank you! And I will look at the care sheets and try to follow them to my best ability. I posted some more pictures on Yvonne G.'s comment and under my original post too.

They a truly amazing little creatures, aren't they?! I'm so lucky to be able to gain all this information about them here and from all the members!!

So cool about your tortoises! I would love to see them. Ill look to see if you have posted pictures!

 

[Jpolson2284]

Over the last few decades, most of the care info that has been passed from generation to generation has been wrong. That wrong info is everywhere and outside of this forum and its members, it is hard to get the right info. I bring this up because tortoises don't just get sick for no reason. When they get sick it has to do with diet, temperatures, or some element of the care routine. Having said that, here is the correct care info for these species:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

Thank you for the worksheet/article! I will read immediately.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Thank you for your reply. They are never together unless someone for a second forgot to close the porch door. And in literally talking seconds and this RARELY EVER happens. Also, Tort is a desert tortoise which I thought was a subspecies of Gopher?? Sorry for the confusion. Also he was purchased in the late 50's possibly early 60's in South Texas. Dermarr, the Russian from a pet store in Minnesota. He was the only one left, the rest had died from disease.

Soooo, we have 2 heat lamps and one sunlight lamp for the cool days. Tort is kept warm, maybe 75-80 degrees in the day which he really doesn't like anything warmer. He retreats all the way into his shell. He doesn't have the strength to even move out of the way of something making him uncomfortable. He's just waking up from hibernation and he's slightly wheezing and underweight and overall looks terrible. He won't eat. We soak him every night for about 20 minutes in warmish water. He seems comfortable with that. Dermarr goes outside into an enclosure about 12 ft by 10 feet. He gets a lot of sun for a couple hours and then the trees end up blocking it. He eats romaine, kale, mustard greens, dandelions, and a tomato here and there. We soak him once or twice a week for about 5 minutes. At night he's brought into the house and he likes to get out of his wooden house and shove himself 1/4 under the refrigerator where its warm.

Tort did have a scan or an xray and thats how we know of his mass and yes it could be a bladder stone for sure. Actually I think that's what it is now that you said that. I posted some more pictures under Yvonne's comment and under my first post.

Do you have anything to confirm the temperature in the enclosure? What are the wattages of the heat lamps and sun lamp, how high up are they from the tortoise, when was the last time you changed the sun bulb, etc. A picture of the space would help a lot. We would also be able to tell the substrate, if it's an open or closed chamber, and humidity conditions if existing.

I would soak the russian for more than 5 mins a week (hope this was a typo!). It takes my tortoise nearly an hour to have her soak and poop. The bladder stone, if that is what it really is, can be linked to dehydration or diet. It would also be helpful to note if the stone is passable or if it's too big and requires surgery or breakup of some kind. Perhaps someone else can give you better advice on Tort and improving his diet, but I would suggest to make sure he is kept warm at least 80 degrees all the time. Don't let them wander on the floor of your home as they can ingest weird things and it's generally cold down there.