Soft head!?

[Sophie+Dandelion]

Help!

My 20yr old male Hermann's has been really weak in the neck recently.

I'm worried because the vet said he's fine but I really think something is wrong. He's got the nice Arcadia T5 UV and a heat lamp and a underfloor mat, plenty of fresh veg and the occasional fruit and we give him calcium powder but the last 2 days he's changed a lot.

The top of his head is squishy, not mushed like mash potatoes or anything but if you gently press on either side of his head just behind his eyes it compresses easily. His eyes bulge slightly and sometimes his eyes are puffy but not others? His head wobbles and trembles when he reaches for food and he's been sluggish though if you pick him up or show him food he'll move pretty fast still. His legs are still strong and he's got loads of energy but his head, neck and jaw seem to be struggling.

The vet said he's healthy and he doesn't have any signs of pneumonia or anything but there's something up.

I'm a new tortoise owner, he was dumped on me when I wasn't really ready but he was doing fine the last year.

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
Can you post some photos of your tortoise, especially head close-ups and his enclosure? If you track his weight this would be useful too.

What kind of Arcadia lamp you use (Desert or Forest)? What's the distance between the lamp and the tortoise?

Can you tell more about his diet? What veggies do you feed? Any other supplements/pellets besides calcium powder? Is calcium powder with D3 or plain?

The areas behind the eyes are tortoises ears - they aren't supposed to be rock hard.

 

[wellington]

First they should not have a heat mat under them without a heat source above the mat. They will stay on the mat too long trying to get the top of them warm and can cook themselves.
As for the softness, has he been squished at all? Head stuck in something? Anything that could have fallen on him?
What's the diet? Any supplements? Over all temps and basking temps? Night temps?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome! Some more information would definitely help if you can answer any of these questions

What are your temps like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) over all day temps& night temps?
What kind of lighting&heating are you using specifically? As in the basking bulb type and UV percentage? Packaging pics are good if you have any
How’s your humidity reading? What do you use for substrate?
What sized set up do they have?

As mentioned above, belly heat isn’t ideal for tortoises, they should receive their heat from above. Heat mats can be dangerous underneath.
I’d stop feeding any fruit all together, the only time I’d use some is by squeezing the juice on their greens to encourage them to eat if their appetite is off. They aren’t a fruit eating species, they can’t digest the sugars properly and it can mess with their gut flora.

If we could get a photo of your tortoise(head close ups would be good!) along with a photo of your full set up, that would be great

 

[Yvonne G]

Sounds neurological to me, and I haven't a clue if you should be worried or what to do about it, sorry.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

His head wobbles and trembles when he reaches for food and he's been sluggish though if you pick him up or show him food he'll move pretty fast still.

This part sounds neurological to me. What foods have you given him? Is there any chance he might have eaten something toxic, like outside for example? Does his enclosure have anything made out of pine (this could be substrate, any structures or the enclosure itself)?

We are asking a lot of questions just to help you determine the source of the symptoms!