Sickly Russian Tortoise

[Clay]

I am new to the website, but my daughters have had 2 Russian Tortoises for about 16 months. One of them has been acting sick for a couple weeks and his eyes don't open well. I am not sure but I don't believe he is eating much either. He lives in a glass tank with bark as substrate (regular bark purchase from home depot) and gets mostly lettuce (with some other salad pieces like shreded carrots) twice a day. There is both a heat lamp and ultra-violet light in there that is on 16 hours a day. I have attached a copy photos I just took after giving him a bath. Putting him in water did get him to be a little more lively and open his eyes a little more. If I need to take him to the vet, do I need to go to a special vet? Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

 

[ChiKat]

What type of lighting are you using? Certain bulbs can cause eye problems.
Also, what kind of bark are you using?

Glass tanks are too small for adult Russians and generally not a good choice for housing for various reasons- many tortoises don't like being housed in clear containers, etc.
Here is a great caresheet for Russians that can give you more info on housing and diet.
http://www.russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

I will let the forum experts offer more suggestions

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum

It sounds like a vitamin deficiency is the problem with your Russian and it will happen with the other one also.
Kate posted a link to a very good caresheet for Russian tortoises. Read it a few times and try to change the things that need changing (diet and enclosure). If you have any other question, just ask away and we'll be glad to help.

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Russian tortoises, especially adult Russian tortoises, need to be outside, for their mental as well as their physical well-being. Is there any way you can build some sort of pen outside for them? The sick one needs to be set up in a hospital habitat with warmer climate control. He also looks pretty dirty. Do you ever soak him? Here's what I would do if someone turned him in to my rescue:

Using a large bowl or small tub with high sides that he can't climb out of, I would mix a whole jar of Gerber carrots or sweet potatoes with the same amount of warm water. You need to find a container where the size will allow that amount of liquid to come up to the middle of the tortoise's side shell. You don't want him to have to struggle to keep his head out of the water. So, a small container with tall sides. Allow him to soak in the mixture for at least 30 minutes. Don't worry that the water gets too cold. It only gets as cold as room temperature (which feels cold to your 98.6 degree touch, but isn't too cold for the tortoise).

Then I would change out the water, add fresh warm water and give him an overall scrub with a soft bristle brush. Then put him into a Rubbermaid or Sterlite tub with a UV light and a hiding place. Because this is a hospital tub, you don't need to "decorate" it. Just the substrate, a light and a hiding place.

Make sure your bark isn't pine. Pine can be pretty harsh on eyes, as can the UV light if you have it too close to the floor of the habitat. Because he's not getting any sun, you really DO need to use a UV light. The one I use is a T-Rex UV/heat spot, 100 watt.

Soak in baby food every day. You should start to see an improvement in the eye situation within three days.


Now you need to take a look at your tortoise-keeping habits. A tortoise needs the area directly under the light to reach temps upwards of 100 degrees, with it getting slightly cooler as you move further away from the light.

Russian tortoises eat broad-leaf weeds. Not much into grasses. They do best when they can graze outside on weeds...dandelions, chick weed, plantain, etc. But inside you can use any dark, leafy greens like turnip greens, collard greens, chickory, escarole, etc.

Do you see any bubbles from his nose? Can you spring for a vet visit?

Good luck with your tortoise. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the group! In addition to what the others have said, I think you should get them a tortoise vet check up (vet list on the homepage of the forum) and fecal test done to check for parasites. Russians bought from pet stores are likely wild caught and even more at risk for parasites (all torts are though), which stress from a change in home and any other illness going on right now can cause high numbers of parasites, which can cause numerous problems. I hope you get these torts healthy and happy soon.

 

[Clay]

Thank you all for all your wise advice. I am going to take him into a vet tomorrow as I think the eye problem is more serious. It looks white and bulbous around his eyes and he seems to have trouble opening. I don't see anything coming from his nose however. The eye drops help him open as they look dry, but he still isn't eating. I did buy some eye vitamin drops that I tried putting on the food, but he wasn't eating so that didn't help. The bottle says I can put directly into his mouth with an eye dropper (which I tried) but I can't get him to open his mouth to get it in there and I am afraid to push too hard and force it in since it pushes his head. Hopefully the vet can help.

In terms of their habitat, I do have an outdoor area they can run around in. That is where we always planned on keeping them. The concern I had was that it doesn't get hot enough and that they would need time in the house under the lights. We live in Southern California so it doesn't get that cold, but only gets over 85 about a month or so during the year.

Again, thanks for all your help.

 

[dmmj]

I live in SoCal and my 3 russians spend a majority of their time outside, I do hibernate indoors. Their diet should be changed, and I know how hard it is to force feed a russian I had to do it for sevral months, I rescued one with an Respiratory infection, so I had to force feed it both food and medicine for a few months. welcome to the forum.

 

[Clay]

Thanks for the suggestions. The sweet potato bath seemed to help a lot. He is opening his eyes better and I saw him eating yesterday. I have been putting them outside as well which I think helps. But, do I need to bring them in at night when it gets colder (high 50s or low 60s) or can I just leave them outside all summer? If I do bring them in, do I put them under the heat lamp or just let them sleep? Thanks for all your help.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

I am so glad to hear your guy is doing a bit better. Please keep us updated as he continues to improve.