Puffy skin

juliette1953

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Hi.i have a 21 year old female horsefield
She is puffy round the neck
Is this normal for her age
She's eating normally
 

zovick

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Hi.i have a 21 year old female horsefield
She is puffy round the neck
Is this normal for her age
She's eating normally
Puffy skin can be a sign of kidney problems. How about in the leg sockets? Does the skin in them also look puffy?
 

zovick

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The tortoise doesn't appear to in any distress. If it is eating and otherwise acting normally, maybe it is just fat.

On another note, I see you are keeping it on what appears to be sand which, if that is the case, is really not good. Tortoises can ingest sand accidentally and get intestinal impactions from it. I know this from a very painful experience. One of my rarest tortoises died from a sand impaction back in the mid-1970's. I would never keep one on sand.

You could used crushed oyster shells instead if you want a desert-like substrate. Those seem to be digestible and don't cause impactions.
 

wellington

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Oh so much wrong in that tiny pic
Remove the sand ASAP. Get a bigger enclosure a 4x8 foot ASAP.
Get rid of the red bulb. Replace and move higher a regular incandescent flood bulb for basking, a tube uvb fluorescent bulb for uvb and a ceramic heat emitter for when night heat or added day heat is needed. With the bad housing, I'm going to guess the diet isn't very good either. What are you feeding?
Your tort is likely over weight and that happens when fed the wrong food and not given a proper sized enclosure.
Make all changes and read and follow the link SinLA gave you ASAP. This tort needs major changes now.
 

juliette1953

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Please please please read over the care sheets on this forum and listen to the experts here, for the tortoises sake.
heFirst, post: 2059007, member: 148774"]
Please please please read over the care sheets on this forum and listen to the
Please please please read over the care sheets on this forum and listen to the experts here, for the tortoises sake.
Will be changing the sand for top soil
experts here, for the tortoises sake.
[/QUOTE]
Please please please read over the care sheets on this forum and listen to the experts here, for the tortoises sake.
 

ShellingtonTheFirst

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heFirst, post: 2059007, member: 148774"]
Please please please read over the care sheets on this forum and listen to the

Will be changing the sand for top soil
experts here, for the tortoises sake.
It desperately needs a bigger enclosure, too, and from what I’ve read I don’t think(?) top soil is the best substrate to use because you never know what chemicals have been added to it! Coco coir would be better, or fine grade orchid bark.

Is his tank 4x1? When I first got my Shelly he was in a similar size tank to yours, and it was absolute misery for him until I did the necessary research and had him a 4x6ft tank made. I wouldn’t be surprised if the size of his tank is the reason for the tortoises ‘puffiness’.

It’s a lot to take in but please read and reply to everything everyone is saying here. They know what they’re talking about.
 

juliette1953

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It desperately needs a bigger enclosure, too, and from what I’ve read I don’t think(?) top soil is the best substrate to use because you never know what chemicals have been added to it! Coco coir would be better, or fine grade orchid bark.

Is his tank 4x1? When I first got my Shelly he was in a similar size tank to yours, and it was absolute misery for him until I did the necessary research and had him a 4x6ft tank made. I wouldn’t be surprised if the size of his tank is the reason for the tortoises ‘puffiness’.

It’s a lot to take in but please read and reply to everything everyone is saying here. They know what they’re talking about.
It's 4ft by 2 ft
It desperately needs a bigger enclosure, too, and from what I’ve read I don’t think(?) top soil is the best substrate to use because you never know what chemicals have been added to it! Coco coir would be better, or fine grade orchid bark.

Is his tank 4x1? When I first got my Shelly he was in a similar size tank to yours, and it was absolute misery for him until I did the necessary research and had him a 4x6ft tank made. I wouldn’t be surprised if the size of his tank is the reason for the tortoises ‘puffiness’.

It’s a lot to take in but please read and reply to everything everyone is saying here. They know what they’re talking about.
 

juliette1953

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Yeah. That’s far too small for him. Even my 6x4ft isn’t ideal, but I’ll be adding a second level to it soon. It needs room to walk around and explore in, to aid digestion and exercise. What are your temps?
Yeah. That’s far too small for him. Even my 6x4ft isn’t ideal, but I’ll be adding a second level to it soon. It needs room to walk around and explore in, to aid digestion and exercise. What are your temps?
Temps are fine
And she can walk around .we put them in the garden as wel
 

ShellingtonTheFirst

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Temps are fine
And she can walk around .we put them in the garden as wel
What is fine? lol

What type of basking bulb do you use? UVB? Diet?


With all due respect it doesn’t look like she even has much room to turn around in there, let alone walk around (maybe a few steps back and forward?) It’s a crap pill to swallow when our husbandry has been off, but our responsibility, and necessary, to give our pets the best life possible. I can assure you 4x2 is FAR too small for her, and just because she’s been housed like that for 20+ years doesn’t make it right. Which is most likely the reason she is so puffy/severely overweight.
 

juliette1953

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What is fine? lol

What type of basking bulb do you use? UVB? Diet?


With all due respect it doesn’t look like she even has much room to turn around in there, let alone walk around (maybe a few steps back and forward?) It’s a crap pill to swallow when our husbandry has been off, but our responsibility, and necessary, to give our pets the best life possible. I can assure you 4x2 is FAR too small for her, and just because she’s been housed like that for 20+ years doesn’t make it right. Which is most likely the reason she is so puffy/severely overweight.
What is fine? lol

What type of basking bulb do you use? UVB? Diet?


With all due respect it doesn’t look like she even has much room to turn around in there, let alone walk around (maybe a few steps back and forward?) It’s a crap pill to swallow when our husbandry has been off, but our responsibility, and necessary, to give our pets the best life possible. I can assure you 4x2 is FAR too small for her, and just because she’s been housed like that for 20+ years doesn’t make it right. Which is most likely the reason she is so puffy/severely overweight.
She has a red heat lamp and a white light on a 12 hr timer
Her diet is a mixture of dry food kale peppers apples cucumber etc
 

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