Russian tortoise eyes problem: help !

[kikokoko]

Hello everybody, I urgently need your help !

My 3-years old russiantortoise has problem with both his eyes

He actually can’t open both eyes since 3-4 weeks.
Only rarely he’s able to open, but almost all day the turtle keeps them closed
I tried with many cares unsuccesfully, and I finally decided to consult a vet

I’m quite desperate because problems not fixed at all!

In fact the vet says the problem is an eye infection, and he suggested an antibiotic eye drops. But unsuccesfully!

So I contacted another vet, and he completely disagrees with the 1st one
He says the problem is a infection of parasites that causes dehydration, and suggested deworming and hydrating drip
But still unsuccessfully

And now my turtle feels very bad, He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t drink

please help me!

Any suggestion is welcome


I attach a recent shot of my turtle, hope can help for diagnosys


Thank you

Roberto

 

[dmmj]

The eyes are hard to see but I would first ask what type of light(s) do you use? How long has he not been eating? how long has he not been drinking? do you soak him or just have a water bowl for him?

 

[kikokoko]

thank you for prompt reply

I tried to moisten the eyes of the turtle, without success,
This is why I turned to the veterinarian

The turtle eats only 1-2 times a week,
after countless attempts

The terrarium is large and open,
illuminated by sunlight

 

[dmmj]

Since you have got conflicting info from 2 different vets I think it might be dry, do you soak it?
I am still leaning towards dehydrated.

 

[October]

You need to up the humidity in the enclosure as high as possible. Put plastic wrap or plexiglass over the whole thing and mist it down. His habitat looks incredibly dry.
If he's not eating, you also need to soak him in baby food. Get carrots or squash, mix it half and half with clean warm water and soak him for about 30 minutes. This will help him absorb some of the nutrients he is lacking from not eating. Does he get calcium at all. It wouldn't hurt to add calcium, or scrape off some cuttle bone into the water, also.

My guess is that he is very very dehydrated. Soak him a couple times a day in warm water, mist his head with a squirt bottle.

What is his diet and enclosure temps?

 

[kikokoko]

Thank you all for the invaluable advice

The vet told me that this species of turtle is suffering from moisture,
then the area where the turtle sleeps is very dry

However there is also a grassy area in the terrarium

I live in northern Italy,
and the temperature of the terrarium is determined by the sun
In the morning cool (about 20 ° C), the afternoon heat (35 ° C)



About the food, lots of lettuce, sometimes watermelon, blueberries, carrots

(excuse the term, I do not speak English very well)

But the problem is that for almost a month I am treating the turtle with antibiotic eye drops (on the advice of the vet), and no better!

---

sorry i forgot:
I never usually soak him

 

[dmmj]

If it is a dehydration problem eye drops won't help and they may affect the appetite. I would start soaking it and offering different types of food, fruits and vegetables are not a good choice for that tortoise.

 

[October]

It's a common misconception that tortoises do not need moisture. In their burrows, the regulate their moisture by peeing and the humidty given off from their breathing. As long as the night temps don't fall below about 80*F, they can have 99% humidity with no issued. Warm and wet is fine, cold and wet is bad.

I don't remember, do you say you soak him at all?

 

[ascott]

The first thing I thought too was he is too dry...simply by the way the skin fold is around his head...does not seem plump enough...a bit to thin skinned looking....also if you have been treating him with the eye drops he may be stressed and if the drops have not fixed the eye problem then I would think he needs to be hydrated... I would too agree on numerous soaks and mist him down...is he actually getting stimulated by the sun to eat...if he is getting warmth from the sun through a window that is great for warmth but the amount of uv rays are decreased by the window itself....soaks and sun would be my suggestion along with he absolutely needs a variety of greens/weeds to give him nutrition...these guys don't do well with so many fruits...it messes with their kidney function over time....

Good luck to you and your little one

 

[kikokoko]

thank you so much

I am angry with the vet who has made things worse with his stupid antibiotic drops

From tomorrow I will start with the moisturing care you suggest

I've never soaked him before,
I did not know that I had to soak him in a carrots bath,
it's a new thing for me ...

I hope the turtle might recover with your tips,
and then I will send you a new photo

thank you very much

PS: in italy now is late night,
I'm going to sleep (sorry for any delayed answer)


bye

roberto

 

[ascott]

Good morning ( )

Oh yeah...if you have not soaked this little guy before you will see a big difference in his overall personality....I would soak him at least twice a day for the next couple of weeks and then decide from there what his appearance has done...

Sun is also a great tool for a healthy tortoise.... good luck

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Roberto:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Your tortoise DOES need the moisture and soaking that has been suggested, but he also needs the sun. If you can't put him outside in the sun, then you need to buy an expensive UV light bulb that will give him the UVB that he needs in order for his calcium to be beneficial.

 

[cemmons12]

I'm still new and I didn't read all the posts but just to answer quick I would start soaking 20-30 minutes everyday or so. And I would get a Zoo Med Power Sun 100 watt bulb for uva/uvb light and heat. Battery dien on phone or I would have read all the posts. Good luck for you and tort I hope!!!!

 

[October]

Roberto, don't be angry with your vets. Most of the time they don't have much knowledge with torts and are trying to apply the care of mammals to something similar looking in torts. They ARE trying to help, just aren't sure how to go about it.

Baby food soaks are only necessary when your tort hasn't been eating just to try and get him some nutrients. If you can find baby food carrots (1st choice) or baby food squash (2nd choice, usually butternut), just mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with warm water and put him in it for about 20 minutes. Rinse him off with clean warm water when you're done. For a regular soak, all you need is plain warm water, up to his chin. He might try and climb out, but that's normal. 20 minutes 3 or so times a day should help (it kind of a personal call on how long and how often, but a tortoise cannot have too many soakings). If you can, put him in direct sunlight, not through a window. If not, put him and his whole bowl of water where it can stay warm, near the edges of his heat lamp.

Night temperatures lower than about 30C aren't a good idea. You probably need to get a ceramic heat emitter (like this) for him to keep that heat up. Remember that I said cold and wet are not good, that will lead to respiratory infections. The high temp of 35C is also a little low. Aim for about 43C. You'll probably need a basking/heat lamp.

And Russians don't need veggies or fruit. A blueberry for a treat is fine every couple weeks or so. What they really need is grasses and weeds.

Read these:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-russian.htm

 

[October]

Roberto, don't be angry with your vets. Most of the time they don't have much knowledge with torts and are trying to apply the care of mammals to something similar looking in torts. They ARE trying to help, just aren't sure how to go about it.

Baby food soaks are only necessary when your tort hasn't been eating just to try and get him some nutrients. If you can find baby food carrots (1st choice) or baby food squash (2nd choice, usually butternut), just mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with warm water and put him in it for about 20 minutes. Rinse him off with clean warm water when you're done. For a regular soak, all you need is plain warm water, up to his chin. He might try and climb out, but that's normal. 20 minutes 3 or so times a day should help (it kind of a personal call on how long and how often, but a tortoise cannot have too many soakings). If you can, put him in direct sunlight, not through a window. If not, put him and his whole bowl of water where it can stay warm, near the edges of his heat lamp.

Night temperatures lower than about 30C aren't a good idea. You probably need to get a ceramic heat emitter (like this) for him to keep that heat up. Remember that I said cold and wet are not good, that will lead to respiratory infections.

Also, Russians don't need fruits or veggies. They need grasses and weeds.

Read this:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/

 

[October]

Roberto, don't be angry with your vets. Most of the time they don't have much knowledge with torts and are trying to apply the care of mammals to something similar looking in torts. They ARE trying to help, just aren't sure how to go about it.

Baby food soaks are only necessary when your tort hasn't been eating just to try and get him some nutrients. If you can find baby food carrots (1st choice) or baby food squash (2nd choice, usually butternut), just mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with warm water and put him in it for about 20 minutes. Rinse him off with clean warm water when you're done. For a regular soak, all you need is plain warm water, up to his chin. He might try and climb out, but that's normal. 20 minutes 3 or so times a day should help (it kind of a personal call on how long and how often, but a tortoise cannot have too many soakings). If you can, put him in direct sunlight, not through a window. If not, put him and his whole bowl of water where it can stay warm, near the edges of his heat lamp.

Night temperatures lower than about 30C aren't a good idea. You probably need to get a ceramic heat emitter for him to keep that heat up. Remember that I said cold and wet are not good, that will lead to respiratory infections.

Read this:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/

 

[lynnedit]

Yes, please soak him twice per day, include the baby food as recommended.
Is the enclosure outside? Or do you mean illuminated by sunlight through a window? If this is the case, then he is not getting any UV as glass does not transmit it. That is why they are suggesting a UV bulb or to bring him outside if it is warm enough and you can watch him, even for an hour. (make sure he has shade if it is hot).
Do let us know how he is doing, poor little guy!

 

[bikerchicspain]

Do you give him calcium?
I think it is a combination of things, I agree with the humidity and baths, but I also think he is not getting enough UVA/B lighting or calcium.

Give him a cuttlefish bone if he won't eat it grind it up to make a powder and sprinkle on the food

 

[kikokoko]

Hello!


I attach photographs of the terrarium, and the first soaking kiko (kiko is the name of the turtle)
(I hope to have him put to soak properly)

when he was healthy,
kiko liked to eat small pieces of bone,
but now he doesn’t eat almost anything, nor food nor bones

Today the vet told me that Kiko has a lot of intestinal parasites, and told me to start a deworming treatment with both oral and injection

Furthermore, the vet has done him a drip moisture

He also said that soaking is not necessary
(However, I did it)


But are you pretty sure that soaking will do him good?
Note that kiko is a Russian tortoise (Horsefield)



Actually, unfortunately, his eyes are always closed, and today he didn’t eat anything

How long does it take by 'soaking to get the first signs of health recovery?

 

[October]

Wow, that's a really cool enclosure. Is it on the roof?!

Yes, soaking will do him good. The antibiotics will upset his tummy, so he probably will not eat much until he is off of them. The soaking will do him good. I have an older Russian and I soak her a couple times a week, mainly because it's blazing hot here but she does seem to enjoy it. And like I said, soaking Kiko will not harm him at all.

But drip moisture, do you mean an IV drip? That would basically be a faster way to get moisture into him than soaking, so saying he doesn't need a soaking is kind of weird.

I hope Kiko starts to feel better soon. I'm glad he's got an owner that cares about him. Keep up the good work and good luck!