Spur-Thigh Tortoise Swelling

[ch0904636]

Hi,

Our tortoise has developed some swelling to the top of its rear legs and neck. At the moment his substrate is pellets and Tortoise Life Mediterranean. We wondered if it had anything to do with that? We are thinking about changing the substrate to topsoil today.

We adopted him two years ago from a rescue centre. He has a sunken shell due to the lack of uv he was exposed to when young. We don’t know how old he is.

Could anyone help us?

 

[TechnoCheese]

Please give us pictures, and more information.

What do you feed?

What are your temps? Basking, cool side, and night?

How often do you soak?


Definitely remove the pellets. They are not at all a suitable substrate for any tortoise.

Please give these a read-
Russian Tortoise Care Sheet https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Russian-Tortoise-Care-Sheet.80698/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/

 

[ch0904636]

What do you feed?

We feed a mixture of dandelion weeds and green vegetables, such as kale and lettuce.

What are your temps? Basking, cool side, and night?

Basking is 32 degrees celsius. Not one hundred percent sure about the night temperature is 24 degrees celsius, similar to the cool side.

How often do you soak?

We soak for 10 minutes almost every day.

 

[TechnoCheese]

View attachment 249647What do you feed?

We feed a mixture of dandelion weeds and green vegetables, such as kale and lettuce.

What are your temps? Basking, cool side, and night?

Basking is 32 degrees celsius. Not one hundred percent sure about the night temperature is 24 degrees celsius, similar to the cool side.

How often do you soak?

We soak for 10 minutes almost every day.


View attachment 249648

I’m not sure about the swelling, but another member will probably come along who knows what this might be.

I would boost the basking spot to around 38-39 degrees.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Take him to a Vet, he probably has MBD also. He needs medical treatment. His carapace is grossly deformed, possibly pushing his organs around? Just a guess. Bet he does need a Vet.

 

[Yvonne G]

It also looks like he's blind in that right eye.

What you're seeing is sometimes edema, which would be associated with some sort of kidney failure. I second the vet comment.

 

[ch0904636]

It also looks like he's blind in that right eye.

What you're seeing is sometimes edema, which would be associated with some sort of kidney failure. I second the vet comment.

Both his eyes are the same, and they have been like that since the day we got the poor guy.

I’ll look into taking him to a vet. There aren’t many round our area that deal with tortoises unfortunately, but we will travel if need be.

Thanks for your help everyone

 

[Yvonne G]

It might just be that his system is trying to adjust to the new, better diet. In my opinion, you should go back to what he's used to eating, and introduce new greens and good diet slowly, very slowly.

As to the eyes, just by the picture, it looks like it's totally scarred over. Either cataracts or scarring.

 

[TammyJ]

He sure looks like he needs a good vet! All the best.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings..

In doing some searches on “symptoms associated with kidney failure in tortoises”. I found this

What to watch out for
Tortoises with kidney disease are often sluggish and clearly generally unwell. Toxins build up in the blood and every organ in the body has to work overtime. Legs can become swollen as fluid balancing goes wrong, but while fluid can gather in the extremities, it is sometimes in short supply in the rest of the body, leading to heart and brain problems. Most cases of tortoise lethargy is attributable to a simple and obvious cause, such as a problem with ulcerative stomatitis (mouth rot) or an infestation of worms, mites or ticks making the animal anaemic. But if on examination nothing obvious is apparent, the vet will test for kidney function. This can be an x-ray, blood tests, urine tests or a combination. Sadly, if the kidneys are seriously impaired there is generally no successful treatment, although dietary measures can prolong life for a while. It is unlikely that a tortoise which has renal problems will survive a hibernation, as this is in itself a big strain on the kidneys, even if they are healthy.
Source: http://www.netvet.co.uk/tortoises/renal-problems.htm

 

[Maggie3fan]

Greetings..

In doing some searches on “symptoms associated with kidney failure in tortoises”. I found this

What to watch out for
Tortoises with kidney disease are often sluggish and clearly generally unwell. Toxins build up in the blood and every organ in the body has to work overtime. Legs can become swollen as fluid balancing goes wrong, but while fluid can gather in the extremities, it is sometimes in short supply in the rest of the body, leading to heart and brain problems. Most cases of tortoise lethargy is attributable to a simple and obvious cause, such as a problem with ulcerative stomatitis (mouth rot) or an infestation of worms, mites or ticks making the animal anaemic. But if on examination nothing obvious is apparent, the vet will test for kidney function. This can be an x-ray, blood tests, urine tests or a combination. Sadly, if the kidneys are seriously impaired there is generally no successful treatment, although dietary measures can prolong life for a while. It is unlikely that a tortoise which has renal problems will survive a hibernation, as this is in itself a big strain on the kidneys, even if they are healthy.
Source: http://www.netvet.co.uk/tortoises/renal-problems.htm

wow!