Russian tortoise, help needed

[Mikaive]

Hey all,
I've had my Russian tortoise (Koopa) for about 8 months now and they have been relatively fine until now. I came back from work to find my tortoise with part of his face taken off! I don't know if this was because their cage was to dry or what. I don't think they can smell or their ability to smell has become very poor because when I put them in front of their food they just sit there and then walk away. He rubs his eyes a lot with his front feet and I don't know if it's an infection or irritation from the substrate. Is this something the tort can solve by himself with time and assistance from me or should I take this up with the vet? He doesn't have a lot of energy too, I don't think this is a respiratory infection because I don't have drafts going on in my room and his eyes aren't cloudy. Thank you.

---Husbandry---
Substrate: Coco Fiber
Humidity: around 40-50% throughout the cage, keep the hides around 60%.
Basking spot: around 95 degrees
Hot side: mid 80's
Cooler side: high 70's
Food: Kale, red and green lettuces, dandelion greens, and some mango once a month, I dust his food about every other day since they're still a baby.
Bath: every 2 days for about 3-4 minutes in lukewarm water
Cage size: 4' X 3'

Tortoise weight: 40 grams
Gender: N/A

 

[method89]

Why do you have the tile upside down? Why do you have so much, what I assume, calcium powder on the tile? He looks very dry. Your humidity is way too low. 60-70% all around with hides being higher. What type of lighting are you using?

The tort has some serious issue going. It could be because any number of issues. I highly recommend you soak him in luke warm water for 20 minutes. While he's doing that you should read this:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

You said "they" and "their". Is there more than one?

 

[Maro2Bear]

The other question I have is that you speak of Koopa as singular, then refer to them and their (plural), but also he f his. So, im confused. Are we talking about more than one tortoise?

 

[method89]

soaks of 3-4 minutes are not enough time. The one in the picture needs to be soaked everyday in warm water for 20 minutes
your ambient temp should be @ 80-85

 

[Maro2Bear]

Why do you have the tile upside down? Why do you have so much, what I assume, calcium powder on the tile? He looks very dry. Your humidity is way too low. 60-70% all around with hides being higher. What type of lighting are you using?

The tort has some serious issue going. It could be because any number of issues. I highly recommend you soak him in luke warm water for 20 minutes. While he's doing that you should read this:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

I would say...the other side of the tile is way toooo smooth. The idea behind using a tile is to provide some rougher surface area to feed on.... at least thats my thinking. I always use real stones, not manufactured tiles.

 

[Mikaive]

You said "they" and "their". Is there more than one?

No, I'm using "they" and "their" because Koopa is too young to tell the gender, thank you for the reply, I didn't expect to get one this fast!

 

[Mikaive]

Hey all,
I've had my Russian tortoise (Koopa) for about 8 months now and they have been relatively fine until now. I came back from work to find my tortoise with part of his face taken off! I don't know if this was because their cage was to dry or what. I don't think they can smell or their ability to smell has become very poor because when I put them in front of their food they just sit there and then walk away. He rubs his eyes a lot with his front feet and I don't know if it's an infection or irritation from the substrate. Is this something the tort can solve by himself with time and assistance from me or should I take this up with the vet? He doesn't have a lot of energy too, I don't think this is a respiratory infection because I don't have drafts going on in my room and his eyes aren't cloudy. Thank you.

---Husbandry---
Substrate: Coco Fiber
Humidity: around 40-50% throughout the cage, keep the hides around 60%.
Basking spot: around 95 degrees
Hot side: mid 80's
Cooler side: high 70's
Food: Kale, red and green lettuces, dandelion greens, and some mango once a month, I dust his food about every other day since they're still a baby.
Bath: every 2 days for about 3-4 minutes in lukewarm water
Cage size: 4' X 3'

Tortoise weight: 40 grams
Gender: N/AView attachment 298833
View attachment 298834View attachment 298835View attachment 298836

Sorry for the miscommunication of using the plural and male pronouns. I just default to he/him pronouns because he exhibits male behavior like patrolling their cage all day, but I was using the "they" "them" pronouns because they're too young to tell what sex they are. Thank you all for the speedy replies, the research that I have done has been inaccurate I guess. (no I didn't just read a WikiHow article or the reptile care sheet guide) . I'll get to changing my husbandry right away!

 

[Mikaive]

Why do you have the tile upside down? Why do you have so much, what I assume, calcium powder on the tile? He looks very dry. Your humidity is way too low. 60-70% all around with hides being higher. What type of lighting are you using?

The tort has some serious issue going. It could be because any number of issues. I highly recommend you soak him in luke warm water for 20 minutes. While he's doing that you should read this:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

The tile is upside down because that is the rougher side and that helps grind down their beaks. And yes that is calcium powder, I don't clean his tile every day. And for the lighting I'm using a 100-watt heat lamp and then and I'm using a 10.0 UVB compact lamp, right now I can't afford a big UVB light strip. But his shell is looking pretty good right now.

 

[method89]

The tile is upside down because that is the rougher side and that helps grind down their beaks. And yes that is calcium powder, I don't clean his tile every day. And for the lighting I'm using a 100-watt heat lamp and then and I'm using a 10.0 UVB compact lamp, right now I can't afford a big UVB light strip. But his shell is looking pretty good right now.

the compact fluorescent is known to cause eye irritation add that to what appears to be an overuse of calcium and dry conditions = equals swollen eyes. Definitely give him a good long soak.


PS. I'm only trying to help the tortoise, please don't think I'm trying to sh*t on you.

 

[Mikaive]

the compact fluorescent is known to cause eye irritation add that to what appears to be an overuse of calcium and dry conditions = equals swollen eyes. Definitely give him a good long soak.


PS. I'm only trying to help the tortoise, please don't think I'm trying to sh*t on you.

Oh no, I don't think you're trying to sh*t on me, seriously thank you so much. I'm giving Koopa a good soak right now. I've put a plate with water in it for him to poop in and bathe in on his own time. I've put a towel to drape over the cage to hold in the humidity and the heat a little bit more, I'm going to order a new UVB strip soon and I'll invest in some orchid bark as soon as I can. Again thank you so much!