New Russian not doing well...Help!!

[LIttleGreys]

I got these 2 new Russians on Sunday from someone who said she couldn't afford to feed them anymore. Both look kinda rough, especially the male. The female is doing fine, she is fairly active and is eating well. The male is not doing well at all. He has not eaten since he has been here. He burrowed in and never moved since. I took him to the vet on Tuesday, the vet who was there really doesn't know too much about tortoises, we did a fecal and it was negative. He seemed a bit perkier while at the vet, so decided to bring him home and give him some time. Yesterday he never moved, eyes never opened, nothing. Back to the vet today, another fecal just in case, negative again. Gave him a good long warm soak, he excreted a huge gooey white mass, then a normal stool in the water. Fecal was negative again. We started him on metronidazole. The vet that looked at him thinks he is old. He was bought at a pet store, so we have no idea really. He is missing some shell on his back, former owner said he was run over by a computer chair. He seems to be a good weight, he was 526 grams. He is just under 6 inches SCL. He is kept just as my other russians, coconut coir/sand mix (a bit too much sand, I'll have to fix that), about 90 under the basking light, 72 on the cool end. He was kept with the female by the previous owner, so I left them together, and she is doing fine. I don't know what else to do for him, perhaps he is just very old?? I don't have good pics, I didn't want to stress him anymore than necessary. Any thoughts??

 

[Yvonne G]

There's really no such thing as an old tortoise. They are able to reproduce right up until the day they die, even if they live to be 100 years old. Those wild caught tortoises almost always look pretty ragged. It must be very hard to be a Russian tortoise in their wild habitat. The temps seem ok to me. Maybe he's just needing time to adjust. But don't let him dig in and vegetate. Get him out every day and place him in front of the food. Soak him every other day or so just for the heck of it, and once he starts eating, only when necessary. Pick him up and talk to him face-to-face. Let him know that no harm is going to come to him and you are a safe person. After he walks away from the food give him a little time then place him there again.

Sometimes stringey, gooey discharge when pooping means they have the no-see-um type parasites...the kind that Flagyl (Metronidazole) takes care of. And then again, it might have just been urates. If he is pooping that means he has been eating. Just give him some time.

Yvonne

 

[egyptiandan]

Can't say it any better than Yvonne did. I will though say that is a darn big male at just under 6" SCL

Danny

 

[LIttleGreys]

Thanks! He came out and basked this morning, and started eating!!
And you are right Danny, he is only 5" SCL! Here is the female that came with him, she is bigger- about 5 3/4". She looks huge compared to the other Russians I have seen. She is also a brilliant gold color, the photos really washed out her color. I don't have a ton of tort experience, but I haven't seen one this color. She also has bright yellow scales on her front legs. She looks like a Russian in the pic, but in real life, she makes me wonder! She is really pretty in person.

 

[Crazy1]

Littlegreys, glad to hear your male is eating. You new female is beautiful.

 

[egyptiandan]

They look like the same subspecies to me T.h.rustamovi, just that the male is darker than the female. I have 2 males of this subspecies and one is very light and the other is almost black. I do though have a black female and 2 light colored females, so the males are paired up well.
Just remember to add beneficial bacteria to the food for a while as the Flagyl will destroy the good with the bad in the male.

Danny

 

[Jacqui]

Nice looking new Russians. Looks like they have been doing some recent growing. The male might also be a bit more prone to hibernation and thus the way he was being more inactive and digging in. Glad both are doing better.