My talia the tortoise is not well

[Barryshaw6]

Hi it seems that tortoise suffer with eye problems.
My grand daughters tortoise was quite cold she is 3 years old I think she has not been cared for properly she was cold not moving much and eyes puffy and closed I put her in a warm bath she perked up after a couple of days they don’t put her light on so I did her shell is a bit white she is much more active since I have bathed her each day for a week she is eating and she wees and poos now generally a lot better but her eyes won’t open I am worried about any help would be much appreciated thank you Barry

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome. Please post pictures of the tortoise and enclosure and tell us what are the conditions it is kept in, including temperatures, lighting, humidity, substrate and diet, and the size of the enclosure. Thanks! This will help us figure out the problems.

 

[wellington]

The answers to Tammy's post are needed before we can help
In the mean time, keep up the warm soaks daily and add pureed baby food carrots to the soak water.

 

[Barryshaw6]

Hi and welcome. Please post pictures of the tortoise and enclosure and tell us what are the conditions it is kept in, including temperatures, lighting, humidity, substrate and diet, and the size of the enclosure. Thanks! This will help us figure out the problems.

Her enclosure is plywood she has sectioned off with a lid that opens it is about 3ft x 2 ft

 

[Barryshaw6]

Also one pic shows her hospital bed while she is poorly

 

[Barryshaw6]

She eats lettuce tomatoes mostly she had stoped eating but now eats well

 

[Barryshaw6]

It would be nice to know what kind of tortoise she is ?

 

[Barryshaw6]

Hi and welcome. Please post pictures of the tortoise and enclosure and tell us what are the conditions it is kept in, including temperatures, lighting, humidity, substrate and diet, and the size of the enclosure. Thanks! This will help us figure out the problems.

 

[wellington]

She is a Russian and needs a 4x8 foot enclosure.
That substrate is wrong and needs changing to orchid or fir bark or coconut coir.
Humidity needs to be 50%.
Water dish needs to be bigger so she can fit in it.
The halogen light needs to go ASAP. You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking 95-100
Tube fluorescent for uvb
And ceramic heat emitter for any needed added day heat of 75-80 and if night he goes too low, do not let it go below 60, 70 is better.
Make changes ASAP and in the meantime soak her in warm water daily with pureed baby food carrots mixed in.
Her diet needs to be greatly improved. No tomatoes and lettuce should never be the main diet.
Riddichio, arugula, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, endive, water cress, spring mix, small amounts of kale, mustard greens and collard greens
Changes need to be made ASAP, too much not correct.

 

[Barryshaw6]

She is a Russian and needs a 4x8 foot enclosure.
That substrate is wrong and needs changing to orchid or fir bark or coconut coir.
Humidity needs to be 50%.
Water dish needs to be bigger so she can fit in it.
The halogen light needs to go ASAP. You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking 95-100
Tube fluorescent for uvb
And ceramic heat emitter for any needed added day heat of 75-80 and if night he goes too low, do not let it go below 60, 70 is better.
Make changes ASAP and in the meantime soak her in warm water daily with pureed baby food carrots mixed in.
Her diet needs to be greatly improved. No tomatoes and lettuce should never be the main diet.
Riddichio, arugula, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, endive, water cress, spring mix, small amounts of kale, mustard greens and collard greens
Changes need to be made ASAP, too much not correct.

I will make changes

She is a Russian and needs a 4x8 foot enclosure.
That substrate is wrong and needs changing to orchid or fir bark or coconut coir.
Humidity needs to be 50%.
Water dish needs to be bigger so she can fit in it.
The halogen light needs to go ASAP. You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking 95-100
Tube fluorescent for uvb
And ceramic heat emitter for any needed added day heat of 75-80 and if night he goes too low, do not let it go below 60, 70 is better.
Make changes ASAP and in the meantime soak her in warm water daily with pureed baby food carrots mixed in.
Her diet needs to be greatly improved. No tomatoes and lettuce should never be the main diet.
Riddichio, arugula, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, endive, water cress, spring mix, small amounts of kale, mustard greens and collard greens
Changes need to be made ASAP, too much not correct.

I will make changes asap

 

[TammyJ]

Thanks very much for coming here and for agreeing to make the changes that will definitely help your tortoise! Please stay with us as we follow your progress!

 

[Barryshaw6]

Thank you all for helping me talia is not mine she belongs to my grandaughter her mum and dad bought it for her a few years ago she was fine untill they moved house this year the house is bigger and i think colder
she is much better now but her eyes are still closed i bathed her and her eyes but cant be there all the time i am not sure they are taking this as seriosly as i am !

 

[Sarah2020]

I suspect the spot light is irritating the eyes and needs to be off. Make suggested improvements and hopefully you will see improvement. There is shell pyramiding which will remain, but aim for now growth to be smooth with correct set up.

You may have read this but just in case...

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

If you have questions please ask as there are others and myself in the UK.

 

[Barryshaw6]

I suspect the spot light is irritating the eyes and needs to be off. Make suggested improvements and hopefully you will see improvement. There is shell pyramiding which will remain, but aim for now growth to be smooth with correct set up.

You may have read this but just in case...

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

If you have questions please ask as there are others and myself in the UK.

Some one else said I need to leave the spotlight on its halogen by the way not sure what to do now I was told to change it for an incandescent bulb and am trying to find the right thing at the moment!

 

[Barryshaw6]

She is a Russian and needs a 4x8 foot enclosure.
That substrate is wrong and needs changing to orchid or fir bark or coconut coir.
Humidity needs to be 50%.
Water dish needs to be bigger so she can fit in it.
The halogen light needs to go ASAP. You need a incandescent flood bulb for basking 95-100
Tube fluorescent for uvb
And ceramic heat emitter for any needed added day heat of 75-80 and if night he goes too low, do not let it go below 60, 70 is better.
Make changes ASAP and in the meantime soak her in warm water daily with pureed baby food carrots mixed in.
Her diet needs to be greatly improved. No tomatoes and lettuce should never be the main diet.
Riddichio, arugula, escarole, dandelion, cactus pads, endive, water cress, spring mix, small amounts of kale, mustard greens and collard greens
Changes need to be made ASAP, too much not correct.

sorry but i am confused about the heating lighting have changed the substrate and ready to do the heating and lighting just dont want to get it wrong and why is the halogen light not the right thing? i have seen the spotlight type bulbs i guess i will need a new holder for them? i am realy sad about talia i dont think my daughter thought about it much and just bought a tortise as a pet not thinking that it would need special treatment and conditions

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Some one else said I need to leave the spotlight on its halogen by the way not sure what to do now I was told to change it for an incandescent bulb and am trying to find the right thing at the moment!

Hello!
Halogen lamps may be too harsh for the shell and eyes. Here is the incandescent lamp, which works better for the basking area: https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-solar-basking-floodlight#basking-solar-75w-floodlight (75W is a usually a good start, but you can get a higher wattage if it's possible to adjust height). Basking zone diameter is roughly equals to bulb mounting height and should be twice or triple more than tortoise size, with temperatures under the lamp around 95-100F.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

sorry but i am confused about the heating lighting have changed the substrate and ready to do the heating and lighting just dont want to get it wrong and why is the halogen light not the right thing? i have seen the spotlight type bulbs i guess i will need a new holder for them? i am realy sad about talia i dont think my daughter thought about it much and just bought a tortise as a pet not thinking that it would need special treatment and conditions

With tortoises it's a general recommendation to avoid narrow and intense heat and light sources. You may think of a natural sun light and a sun light focused through the looking glass to get an idea.

You may need a new holder if the new lamp doesn't fit the old one. Those on photos look like a E27 sockets, if so they should be fine for the incandescent lamps.

Unfortunately, this is very common situation with reptiles - people buy them unaware of proper care and their needs and pet shop guys give terrible advice on care as well (often selling loads of wrong, expensive, ineffective or harmful stuff).

 

[Barryshaw6]

With tortoises it's a general recommendation to avoid narrow and intense heat and light sources. You may think of a natural sun light and a sun light focused through the looking glass to get an idea.

You may need a new holder if the new lamp doesn't fit the old one. Those on photos look like a E27 sockets, if so they should be fine for the incandescent lamps.

Unfortunately, this is very common situation with reptiles - people buy them unaware of proper care and their needs and pet shop guys give terrible advice on care as well (often selling loads of wrong, expensive, ineffective or harmful stuff).

THANK YOU i have ordered the new bulb will fit it tomorow

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

THANK YOU i have ordered the new bulb will fit it tomorow

Great! Please, keep us updated!

You didn't mention any kind of UVB lamp, which are more likely to cause eye issues. Does Talia have any?

And thank you for your efforts and taking care of Talia!

 

[Barryshaw6]

i dont think so there is only one light fitting the one thats shown in the pic