need medical advice

[Adrianne]

I told a guy who does housework for my brother that I liked Ninja Turtles and since his english isn't so good. He bought me a Russian Tortoise for my birthday. I've had him about three weeks now.

I've only noticed him eat twice and drink once. At one point it was very clear he got a cold (I think the move was stressful, he had a draft, and bad husbandry on my part). He has been lethargic since day one but I notice what looked like a silent sneezing and mucus coming out of his nose. He even had diarreah once that night. I changed his living conditions at this point and started him on baths. He seemed to improve but still not eating much (twice from what I can tell in 3 wks).

Currently his eyelids are puffy and I can sometimes hear him exhale but the diarreah is gone and there is absolutely no mucus. Beyond this though he hasn't gotten better. His eyes are watery and bubbly and I always notice a few exhales.

I started giving him eyedrops from the pet store but 2 days hasn't made a difference yet. I put dandelions, romaine lettuce and carrots in his bowl.

Tonight in his bath it looked like he has a white bowl movement. It pellet shaped like it's supposed to be but looked very soft. I read online that's it's both bad and normal???

Any advice would be appreciated. I can't afford what the vet wants just to look at him but am able to treat at home. I love him a lot and would like to keep him but don't want him to suffer/die so I've already called about surrendering to a vet who can help him in case I can't help him get better.

Please advise.

 

[Weloveourtortoise]

you really need to get him to the vet, it sounds like he has an infection.
is he warm enough, the temp in his tank should be dry 80's and a basking lamp set with temp about 95.
Try spring mix cut up small.
keep bathing him for about 15 min each day
Yvonne will be able to get you more advise about the illness
here is a link to a great site on normal care
http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

-bon

 

[Yvonne G]

You posted quite a bit for us to read, however there was nothing in your post about your Russian tortoise's habitat. My first thought is that the tortoise is not warm enough. If they can't warm their body up to at least 80 degrees, they won't eat. If they don't eat, their eyes swell shut. They can't digest their food unless they can warm up.

We can't give you medical advice, because none of us is a veterinarian, however, we CAN give you husbandry advice. But first you need to explain how you keep your tortoise.

Yvonne

 

[Adrianne]

You posted quite a bit for us to read, however there was nothing in your post about your Russian tortoise's habitat. My first thought is that the tortoise is not warm enough. If they can't warm their body up to at least 80 degrees, they won't eat. If they don't eat, their eyes swell shut. They can't digest their food unless they can warm up.

We can't give you medical advice, because none of us is a veterinarian, however, we CAN give you husbandry advice. But first you need to explain how you keep your tortoise.

Yvonne

He's in what I think is a 55 gal tank. Originally there was some type of sand in it. I pulled all of that out when he got sick and washed everything with Dawn soap, rinsed and dried. Then I put down newspaper to be able to watch his bowl movements. He has a feeding dish a big rock, a flat rock and a little hut that looks like part of a hollowed out log.

I work two jobs and am home very little but remove old food and put fresh washed veggies in about every other day and usually refresh his water at the same time. I alos give him a bath outside the tank in a little pond with warn water for about 10-20 min.

Since he's been sick I leave his heat lamp on all the time, fairly close to the top of the tank and the thermostat adhered to the glass usually says about 75 degrees. But I know it's warmest directly under the light and cooler away from it. Sometimes he stretches out directly under it and goes to sleep but slightly more than half the time he likes to burrow into/under dark places and sleep. He's only active when I wake him up to go outside (where he again tries to burrow and sleep) or after a bath he'll sometimes moves around too.

 

[Crazy1]

Hi Adrianne welcome to the form. could you tell us were you live (city and state)? and how you have your Russian kept. Type of substrate, type of enclosure, type and wattage of bulbs.
What are the temps in the hot side, cool side, basking spot? Or post a pic which would greatly help. Both of the enclosure and of the tort.

 

[Adrianne]

Hi Adrianne welcome to the form. could you tell us were you live (city and state)? and how you have your Russian kept. Type of substrate, type of enclosure, type and wattage of bulbs.
What are the temps in the hot side, cool side, basking spot? Or post a pic which would greatly help. Both of the enclosure and of the tort.

I'll take some pics tonight and post them by tomorrow.

 

[Laura]

HE needs to be warmer. Especially since he is sick. you might need to change what he lives in to something smaller so you can heat it better.
Alos, he needs real sunshine if possible. but NOT in a glass tank. Calcium? He needs that too, but he needs to eat.. so warm him up. Thats your first priority.