Russian not eating or opening eyes

Hp4Gordo

New Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2020
Messages
13
Location (City and/or State)
Charleston
Hi everyone, sorry to start out my introduction with an issue but I am glad that I found you all!

I “rescued” (at least am making efforts to rescue) a tortoise from Craigslist. I am the third owner - first person got him from big box pet store, second got him from craigslist, too, and now here I am. Second owner told me he hasn’t been eating/moving much and her dog wouldn’t leave him alone (don’t think any direct contact but constant barking, occasional pawing at enclosure, etc.). The basking light was also burnt out and he hadn’t had one for at least a week.

We got him home yesterday afternoon. I purchased a replacement heating lamp last night and increased the wattage from 100 to 150. The UVB is a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0. The fixture is a Zoo Med Combo Deep Dome Dual Reptile Lamp. Tank is a 40 gallon horizontal and I keep the lights on the far right end, food/water on the front left side so that there is plenty of space in the back left corner for burrowing. Keep 3” of coconut fiber substrate on the basking side building up to 6” on the “cooler” food/water/burrowing side.

He tried to open his eyes a little last night but immediately closed back up. Gave him a bath this morning and he peed (urea and a quarter size amount of uric acid). He dipped his whole head in three times and seemingly tried to “wipe” his eyes with his arms a couple of times. Also took several gulps of water. In the meantime, I thought maybe the powdery consistency of the coconut fiber had irritated his eyes, so I sprayed it with spring water, added a small layer of timothy hay, sprayed that, too. After 15 mins he let us know he was ready to get out. Put him back in the tank and he seemed a bit more “perky” (eyes still closed) so I placed collard greens and squash, zucchini in front of him to no avail. He basked under the heat lamp for 20 mins or so. He did open his eyes for just a few minutes, then moved under the UVB. We left to go run errands and when we came back around 5pm, he had buried himself in the substrate and has been there ever since. I cut his lights off an hour ago. His reaction to the bath was encouraging but I am worried about his eyes and lack of appetite. Could the coconut fiber be irritating them? Is he not eating because his eyes are bothering him? Or is this all because he was wild caught and trying to prepare for hibernation? Just want to make sure we are keeping him healthy without stressing him. I don’t think he has been given any vitamin or calcium supplements, either, so maybe a baby food carrot bath is in order to get him to eat and take in some supplements. Thanks for any/all help
 

Attachments

  • A944D2AD-0147-48EA-AC16-1EAD44DD160A.jpeg
    A944D2AD-0147-48EA-AC16-1EAD44DD160A.jpeg
    12.7 KB · Views: 7
  • 5B90FF17-007E-416C-9CA6-A11BB6A8B087.jpeg
    5B90FF17-007E-416C-9CA6-A11BB6A8B087.jpeg
    14.2 KB · Views: 7
  • ECA4CD83-0761-4C39-B58E-0A9206F5C66F.jpeg
    ECA4CD83-0761-4C39-B58E-0A9206F5C66F.jpeg
    9.9 KB · Views: 8
  • BD890553-A5E0-43F2-B942-DE02CD91E476.jpeg
    BD890553-A5E0-43F2-B942-DE02CD91E476.jpeg
    13.8 KB · Views: 7
  • A49D9D30-1F10-437E-9A8B-D559102ED3D5.jpeg
    A49D9D30-1F10-437E-9A8B-D559102ED3D5.jpeg
    20.3 KB · Views: 7

New Posts

Top