my tortoise has some strange lumps in the joints of his upper legs

[Rainbow Dash]

my russian tortoise is about 5 or so years old, he is very active and healthy, he has bright shiny eyes, and a dry nose. He eats twice a day, i feed him romaine lettuce, strawberries, and tomatoes. And he loves to go out side and walk and climb around on rocks. I always wash him before thoroughly before putting him back in his terrarium. he has no visible ticks and healthy stools. However he has some strange lumps near his joints on his upper legs. they are only visible when he extends his legs out of his shell, and it's bigger on one side. is he out growing his shell, as winter has just passed and he hasn't gotten a lot of exercise in the past couple of months and he's been feeding every day twice a day. It does't look like cancer and is too soft to be a tumor. whats wrong with the little guy? please halp!

 

[slowpoke]

I would take him to a vet , are you giving him any calcium , D3 , or any vitamins ... what is his diet ?

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

I would also recommend taking your tortoise to the vet.

 

[Laura]

its swelling of some sort.. either getting fat or water retention. a check up might be a good idea.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

Welcome to the forum (at least i think your new! )
I would go to a vet.

 

[slowpoke]

i just noticed in that pic are you feeding your RT lettuce ?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Rainbow Dash:

Welcome to the Tortoise forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

and may we know appx. where in the world you are?

Russian tortoises need a lot of exercise. They are hard-wired to eat as much and as often as they can because in the wild, their season is very short. In some areas, they hibernate most of the year. So, because they eat so much, they need a lot of exercise to not get fat. I'm not real sure because its only one picture, but I think your tortoise is overweight. Do you have an outdoor pen built for him?

 

[ada caro]

Welcome.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

i just noticed in that pic are you feeding your RT lettuce ?

yes

 

[slowpoke]

lettuce is high in water and has no nutritional value , are you giving him any dark greens like kale , collard , mustard greens or just lettuce ? im not thinking its fat , but maybe water retention if all your feeding him is lettuce ...

 

[tortadise]

lettuce is high in water and has no nutritional value , are you giving him any dark greens like kale , collard , mustard greens or just lettuce ? im not thinking its fat , but maybe water retention if all your feeding him is lettuce ...

I would have to agree. I saw this a lot when I worked at a vet. It's pretty common in Russians to occur when given to much water intake and also not enough excersise. Definitely start to a more fibrous and nutrient enriched diet. Mustard,collars, turnip greens, kale. Nothing super serious just need a little adjustment in his routine and diet.

 

[slowpoke]

lettuce is high in water and has no nutritional value , are you giving him any dark greens like kale , collard , mustard greens or just lettuce ? im not thinking its fat , but maybe water retention if all your feeding him is lettuce ...

I would have to agree. I saw this a lot when I worked at a vet. It's pretty common in Russians to occur when given to much water intake and also not enough excersise. Definitely start to a more fibrous and nutrient enriched diet. Mustard,collars, turnip greens, kale. Nothing super serious just need a little adjustment in his routine and diet.

yea i sent the pic of it to my causin who works with reptiles in MO. she was thinking water retention right off the bat, but if i was you i would still take it to a vet just to make sure , do you give your RT any out side time with room to roam ?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

If it were bilaterally symmetrical (the same on both sides), I would say it's just fat. But from that picture, although it's hard to make out, it looks like it's only on the left arm, which suggests pathology, or disease. It could be at least two things:

- Swollen lymph node due to cut or infection
- Edema, also known as the water retention mention above

I doubt if it's a swollen lymph node, because you said the tortoise seems to behave normally, suggesting there are no cuts or infections on his body. That leaves edema, which can come about from a variety of causes. One could be dietary, and another could be lack of exercise, as mentioned above. However, edema in reptiles can also result from being too cold, or at least not warm enough. This can lead to respiratory tract infection, but you said you don't see a runny nose. What temperature is the hot spot of your Russian tortoise's pen? If it's not about 95*F during the day, then your tortoise may be having difficulty digesting his food properly, which can lead to poor circulation and edema.

Taking him to a vet might be advisable. Also make sure he has proper nutrition, temperature, and humidity so his body can function under the conditions it evolved to.

 

[Rainbow Dash]

If it were bilaterally symmetrical (the same on both sides), I would say it's just fat. But from that picture, although it's hard to make out, it looks like it's only on the left arm, which suggests pathology, or disease. It could be at least two things:

- Swollen lymph node due to cut or infection
- Edema, also known as the water retention mention above

I doubt if it's a swollen lymph node, because you said the tortoise seems to behave normally, suggesting there are no cuts or infections on his body. That leaves edema, which can come about from a variety of causes. One could be dietary, and another could be lack of exercise, as mentioned above. However, edema in reptiles can also result from being too cold, or at least not warm enough. This can lead to respiratory tract infection, but you said you don't see a runny nose. What temperature is the hot spot of your Russian tortoise's pen? If it's not about 95*F during the day, then your tortoise may be having difficulty digesting his food properly, which can lead to poor circulation and edema.

Taking him to a vet might be advisable. Also make sure he has proper nutrition, temperature, and humidity so his body can function under the conditions it evolved to.

thank you for the help, he has two heat lamps and a heating plate in his fairly large terrarium. the thermometer indicates its about 87 degrees fahrenheit in his terrarium, and its 80 degrees outside. how can i keep him warmer?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

thank you for the help, he has two heat lamps and a heating plate in his fairly large terrarium. the thermometer indicates its about 87 degrees fahrenheit in his terrarium, and its 80 degrees outside. how can i keep him warmer?

Russian tortoises need daytime ambient temperatures in the 70s to low 80s. For the hot spot, some people recommend basking temperatures of 90*F, but others recommend 95 or 100*F. Don't go any higher than 100, but at any rate, 87 is not hot enough for the tortoise to digest it's food efficiently.

The basking spot in each of my pens is 95-100*F, and I use a ceramic heat emitter (CHE). This is a resistor coil that screws in like a lightbulb, and emits heat but no visible light. They are more expensive than light bulbs, but they also last much longer (a few years).

A Russian tortoise prefers nighttime temperatures that cool down into the 60s, but if for some reason you need to leave the CHE on at night, you can because it won't emit light.