Russian Tortoise eye problem i need Help

EE torts

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Hello i have just got a russian tortoise 2 weeks ago for the past couple of days one of his/her eyes seems a little hard to open and when it does open it looks a little smaller than the other one, he rubs it sometimes too. today i tried getting a cotton round with some water and dabbing his/her eye softly. it does still look healthy and black so i don't know if this is an infection or injury. What should i do?
 

Gillian M

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Welcome to the forum @EE torts .

Please take your tort to a vet asap. And read the "Beginners Mistake" Thread.

Post pics of your tort so as to enable us to help you more easily.

Good luck!
 

EE torts

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do you think i should change stuff in his enclosure? do you think it is an infection of injury? i heard if it is only one eye it is a injury is this true
 

EE torts

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What kind of set up do you have? Is it a baby Russian?
Hello! my russian is a hatchling 1 month old. his setup is a 5 feet by 3 foot homemade tortoise enclosure with potting soil and a tiny bit of play sand
3 hides one log one flower pot with sphagnum moss for a humid hide and a big hide like the zoomed tortoise house a water dish, food dish, basking spot with tiles under it and a petunia (but the petunia is dyeing lol ) temps are 92-95 in basking spot 88 in the middle and 80-78 in the cool side
 

Diamond

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My Russian is 2 now, but I kept her/him in a closed chamber in at least 70% humidity. Sand can irritate the torts eyes. Do you have a uvb bulb in the set up? Some of the bulbs that are coiled have been known to irritate their eyes. I keep my coco coir substrate with cypress mulch wet in both indoor and outdoor enclosures(live in phoenix, so need moisture in my outdoor set up too). Both my Russian and Dalmatian were bought as hatchlings and both are thriving. Humidity is important for hatchlings. If you don't have the entire enclosure humid, it's a challenge. Have you seen the suggested care sheets? I'm not sure how to attach them here.
 

EE torts

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My Russian is 2 now, but I kept her/him in a closed chamber in at least 70% humidity. Sand can irritate the torts eyes. Do you have a uvb bulb in the set up? Some of the bulbs that are coiled have been known to irritate their eyes. I keep my coco coir substrate with cypress mulch wet in both indoor and outdoor enclosures(live in phoenix, so need moisture in my outdoor set up too). Both my Russian and Dalmatian were bought as hatchlings and both are thriving. Humidity is important for hatchlings. If you don't have the entire enclosure humid, it's a challenge. Have you seen the suggested care sheets? I'm not sure how to attach them here.
thank you so much for your help! my russian is currently in 40-50 humidity so i will mist more. yes i use a coil uvb but i bought the tube fixture and the light is on its way so i will be using a tube soon. should i keep my substrate? no i havent seen the care sheet but i have read many books and articles:<3:.
 

EE torts

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also should i get a 5.0 uvb tube of 10.0 it is 12" from the substrate.
 

Tom

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also should i get a 5.0 uvb tube of 10.0 it is 12" from the substrate.
Most of what is written for tortoise care is old, outdated and much of it is wrong. Sand and sand mixes have been used and recommended in care sheets for decades. Many long term tortoise keepers will swear they've never had a problem using it. But the reptile vets I work with and call friends tell me all about their cases of impaction, skin irritation, and eye infection or irritation. For years I've been telling people not to use sand under any reptile, but how is a person supposed to know who to listen to when so many other sources say to use it? Well, you are seeing first hand the reason I say not to use it.

I'll answer your questions and then leave the current care info for you.

5.0 bulbs do almost nothing for UV. Waste of money. Get the 10.0 and mount it about 10-12" from the substrate. If you want to mount it higher than that, get the newer, better HO type.

I would turn off the coil one now. They are not an effective UV source and some of them damage reptile eyes. Since it offers no benefit, its not worth the risk. Your tortoise will be fine with just a basking lamp until your UV tube arrives, and you can get the baby outside in a safe enclosure for access to sunshine for a while longer too, until we get in to fall. Where are you? USA is a bit vague, and advice will vary with your climate.

I would't use bought-in-a-bag soil either. There is no way to know what composted yard waste it is made from. Could be something safe and innocuous, or it could be oleander clippings, or chemically treated grass clippings. No way to know. You said "potting soil", and there is usually a bunch of additives in that, like perlite, "wetting" agents and fertilizers. This could also be the source of your eye infection if it is not the sand.

Sphagnum moss. Another one recommended in all the care sheets. Every time I try to use it, my tortoises all try to eat it. This can lead to impaction. I wouldn't use it, and there is no need for it.

About the petunia: Did you grow it yourself from seed? If not, your tortoise shouldn't have access to it. Store bought plants are grown with systemic insecticides to keep the bugs off and keep them looking pretty for market. These toxins are absorbed into the plant's tissues and cannot be washed off.

You won't be able to keep humidity up in an open topped table. Misting does almost nothing. The only way to keep humidity up is to close off the air inside the enclosure so that it is not circulating with the room air. A closed chamber. As long as the cold dry room air is freely circulating with your warm humid enclosure air, physics will defeat you.

Give these a read through and come back with all your questions. We are here to help.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

EE torts

Active Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2018
Messages
205
Location (City and/or State)
USA
Most of what is written for tortoise care is old, outdated and much of it is wrong. Sand and sand mixes have been used and recommended in care sheets for decades. Many long term tortoise keepers will swear they've never had a problem using it. But the reptile vets I work with and call friends tell me all about their cases of impaction, skin irritation, and eye infection or irritation. For years I've been telling people not to use sand under any reptile, but how is a person supposed to know who to listen to when so many other sources say to use it? Well, you are seeing first hand the reason I say not to use it.

I'll answer your questions and then leave the current care info for you.

5.0 bulbs do almost nothing for UV. Waste of money. Get the 10.0 and mount it about 10-12" from the substrate. If you want to mount it higher than that, get the newer, better HO type.

I would turn off the coil one now. They are not an effective UV source and some of them damage reptile eyes. Since it offers no benefit, its not worth the risk. Your tortoise will be fine with just a basking lamp until your UV tube arrives, and you can get the baby outside in a safe enclosure for access to sunshine for a while longer too, until we get in to fall. Where are you? USA is a bit vague, and advice will vary with your climate.

I would't use bought-in-a-bag soil either. There is no way to know what composted yard waste it is made from. Could be something safe and innocuous, or it could be oleander clippings, or chemically treated grass clippings. No way to know. You said "potting soil", and there is usually a bunch of additives in that, like perlite, "wetting" agents and fertilizers. This could also be the source of your eye infection if it is not the sand.

Sphagnum moss. Another one recommended in all the care sheets. Every time I try to use it, my tortoises all try to eat it. This can lead to impaction. I wouldn't use it, and there is no need for it.

About the petunia: Did you grow it yourself from seed? If not, your tortoise shouldn't have access to it. Store bought plants are grown with systemic insecticides to keep the bugs off and keep them looking pretty for market. These toxins are absorbed into the plant's tissues and cannot be washed off.

You won't be able to keep humidity up in an open topped table. Misting does almost nothing. The only way to keep humidity up is to close off the air inside the enclosure so that it is not circulating with the room air. A closed chamber. As long as the cold dry room air is freely circulating with your warm humid enclosure air, physics will defeat you.

Give these a read through and come back with all your questions. We are here to help.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
Wow thank you so much! i am ordering eco earth and the 10.0 uvb tube.
 

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