Tortoise health problems?

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

I might be repeating myself too much and I might be too over-protective but I think something is wrong with my Russian tortoise. My tortoise seems to be smacking his lips but not like open his mouth wide, just opening his mouth like he is smacking his lips. Im worrying that this is a early sign of Respiratory infection. Second thing is that he isn't that active that much. Some days he runs around his enclosure and climbs up his log with brute strength, but then the next day he just stays in his humid area for hours and hours and never comes out to eat so I have to take him out (He does start eating). And tonight I was turning of the basking light, the UVB, (I leave the ceramic heat emitter on) The tank was going to be pitch dark but he just stands there in front of the food bowl, not moving at all. Third thing is that my tortoise doesn't seem to have swelling eyes and even some of yall say that he doesn't have any swelling or that it is due to the terrible lights I gave him (The flood light is coming tomorrow), But when he closes his eyes I think he has swelling eyes. Sorry if im bothering you guys but im just really worried and I want my tortoise to have an amazing and healthy life.
My enclosure size: 38 inches by 21 inches (I'm building him a bigger enclosure)
Tortoise: Russian tort, 522 grams, age is more than 1, 6 inches
Humidity: Cool side is: 60-80 % humidity, and other side is 30-50% humidity.
Temp: Basking: 80-100 degrees, Cool side: 60-70 degrees, Room temperature my tort enclosure is in: It is right now about 60-70 degrees.
Diet: Romain, Cilantro, Kale, sometimes cucumbers, Mazuri Tortoise diet soaked in water, (Currently looking at "Tortoise table" for weeds for my tortoise, so maybe if I research a bit more maybe I'll add: Clover and dandelion to his diet)
Substrate: Reptibark, and in his cool side Eco earth (I spray it every day)
Bathe: I bathe him for 10 min at any time I can in warm water.
Substrate change/ clean: every two weeks.
Supplements: I sprinkle in Reptivite to his Romaine, and kale and shake it in a bag every other day.
Feeding: I feed him his food every morning.
Water: I give him a fresh supply of water every day (I changed the water bowl from a dog dish to a saucer).
Temp in night: Basking area: 80 degrees due to the ceramic heat lamp, Cool side: 60-80 degrees.
Outside: I take him outside any day it is warm and sunny and currently its cold in Nj.
Lighting: Currently I use a Uvb 5.0 Reptisun 13 watts, a Ceramic heat emitter 75 watts, and a infrared basking light 75 watts which as said before I will be switching to a incandescent flood lightbulb 65 watts.

Thank you for reading and have a good day! (I can post pictures of him tomorrow in the afternoon if yall need them)

 

[Tom]

It appears you are still using the light that damaged the eyes. The infrared bulb is the wrong type of bulb to use, but that is not what burned his eyeballs. Its your cfl type UV bulb. Stop using it.

Your basking bulb should be on a timer for 12-13 hours. You should not have to turn it off daily.

Your UV bulb, once you get the right type, should be on its own timer for 2-4 hours mid day only.

You still need ambient lighting, and that can run on the same timer as the basking lamp.

You should not need the CHE for an adult Russian in a 60-70 degree room. If you do feel like you need it, run it on a a thermostat. If you want to get fancy, run the thermostat on a timer so that you get ambient heat during the day, but it can cool at night with the CHE staying off.

Get some endive, escarole, spring mix, collards, dandelion greens, green beans, turnip greens and more variety from the store. Add more weeds and leaves.

Reptivite every other day for an adult tortoise that is done growing is going to cause hypervitaminosis. You only need the vitamin supplement once a week or so.

You didn't mention calcium. You need a calcium supplement a couple of times per week. If you can feed mostly weeds and leaves, you really don't need much calcium supplementation at all.

There is no need to change your substrate ever. Spot clean any poop or leftover food and leave it be. Replacing it every two weeks is an unnecessary waste of time and money.

 

[LudusPlus]

Get yourself some smart plugs, they're great. They have an app attached that you can make timers on.

Go to a hardware store for these or Amazon (if you're in the UK places like screwfix & B&Q will have them)

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

It appears you are still using the light that damaged the eyes. The infrared bulb is the wrong type of bulb to use, but that is not what burned his eyeballs. Its your cfl type UV bulb. Stop using it.

Your basking bulb should be on a timer for 12-13 hours. You should not have to turn it off daily.

Your UV bulb, once you get the right type, should be on its own timer for 2-4 hours mid day only.

You still need ambient lighting, and that can run on the same timer as the basking lamp.

You should not need the CHE for an adult Russian in a 60-70 degree room. If you do feel like you need it, run it on a a thermostat. If you want to get fancy, run the thermostat on a timer so that you get ambient heat during the day, but it can cool at night with the CHE staying off.

Get some endive, escarole, spring mix, collards, dandelion greens, green beans, turnip greens and more variety from the store. Add more weeds and leaves.

Reptivite every other day for an adult tortoise that is done growing is going to cause hypervitaminosis. You only need the vitamin supplement once a week or so.

You didn't mention calcium. You need a calcium supplement a couple of times per week. If you can feed mostly weeds and leaves, you really don't need much calcium supplementation at all.

There is no need to change your substrate ever. Spot clean any poop or leftover food and leave it be. Replacing it every two weeks is an unnecessary waste of time and money.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJUWC2/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Should I use this?
and the uv light im using right now is this: https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptisun-100-uvb-t5-ho/dp/257675?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_campaign=18806583589&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj5mpBhDJARIsAOVjBdo-EnrhmVUOGd-zdoMS3qJZNZcDWBwjwCtEcYXnId5vGjKDiWKS2BkaAh_5EALw_wcB I think someone in the forum recommended me it. Ill try to get those items you listed for me as fast as I can

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Or should I use this supplement https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...free-calcium-with-vitamin-d3-ultrafine-powder

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

It appears you are still using the light that damaged the eyes. The infrared bulb is the wrong type of bulb to use, but that is not what burned his eyeballs. Its your cfl type UV bulb. Stop using it.

Your basking bulb should be on a timer for 12-13 hours. You should not have to turn it off daily.

Your UV bulb, once you get the right type, should be on its own timer for 2-4 hours mid day only.

You still need ambient lighting, and that can run on the same timer as the basking lamp.

You should not need the CHE for an adult Russian in a 60-70 degree room. If you do feel like you need it, run it on a a thermostat. If you want to get fancy, run the thermostat on a timer so that you get ambient heat during the day, but it can cool at night with the CHE staying off.

Get some endive, escarole, spring mix, collards, dandelion greens, green beans, turnip greens and more variety from the store. Add more weeds and leaves.

Reptivite every other day for an adult tortoise that is done growing is going to cause hypervitaminosis. You only need the vitamin supplement once a week or so.

You didn't mention calcium. You need a calcium supplement a couple of times per week. If you can feed mostly weeds and leaves, you really don't need much calcium supplementation at all.

There is no need to change your substrate ever. Spot clean any poop or leftover food and leave it be. Replacing it every two weeks is an unnecessary waste of time and money.

I was just looking at my reptivite but it says that it has calcium?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Maybe you could use Reptivite once a week, like Tom recommended above and just add cuttlefish bone as additional calcium source. It's cheap, helps with beak trimming and tort can chow it whenever it wants.
But proper diet probably is more important. And once again - Tom has given some suggestions on that. I can only add hibiscus and mulberry leaves to the list, but not sure if they are available in your area.
For UVB light - it's of the right type (T5 HO tube). But please, check recommendations on placement height for your tortoise specie. Example could be found Here Also this guide mentions usage of reflector or mesh cover to adjust light intensiveness.

I think, most of the questions on your tortoise health are answered and there is no need to rush anywhere. You can relax, read the forum and the answers in threads slowly and then take weighted decisions. Once you will have "tortoise care plan" or some questions left you, sure, can raise another topic.

I have a tortoise for one year and still learning about proper care and sometimes was nearly panicking Just need to take a deep breath, settle down information from this forum and do what's best for your pet.

And yet another thing: stick to TFO (this forum) as a trusted information source for a while. I'm being a newbie was really confused by contradictory info on the Internet and now I feel more confident to read other sources.

 

[Tom]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UJUWC2/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20 Should I use this?
and the uv light im using right now is this: https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptisun-100-uvb-t5-ho/dp/257675?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_campaign=18806583589&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj5mpBhDJARIsAOVjBdo-EnrhmVUOGd-zdoMS3qJZNZcDWBwjwCtEcYXnId5vGjKDiWKS2BkaAh_5EALw_wcB I think someone in the forum recommended me it. Ill try to get those items you listed for me as fast as I can

The ZooMed calcium supplement is fine. I prefer the Repcal, but I have used both over the years.

The 10.0 T5 Ho UV tube is a good one, but you said in post number one of this thread that you were using; "Lighting: Currently I use a Uvb 5.0 Reptisun 13 watts...", which is what I was commenting on.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Oops my bad

The ZooMed calcium supplement is fine. I prefer the Repcal, but I have used both over the years.

The 10.0 T5 Ho UV tube is a good one, but you said in post number one of this thread that you were using; "Lighting: Currently I use a Uvb 5.0 Reptisun 13 watts...", which is what I was commenting

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Maybe you could use Reptivite once a week, like Tom recommended above and just add cuttlefish bone as additional calcium source. It's cheap, helps with beak trimming and tort can chow it whenever it wants.
But proper diet probably is more important. And once again - Tom has given some suggestions on that. I can only add hibiscus and mulberry leaves to the list, but not sure if they are available in your area.
For UVB light - it's of the right type (T5 HO tube). But please, check recommendations on placement height for your tortoise specie. Example could be found Here Also this guide mentions usage of reflector or mesh cover to adjust light intensiveness.

I think, most of the questions on your tortoise health are answered and there is no need to rush anywhere. You can relax, read the forum and the answers in threads slowly and then take weighted decisions. Once you will have "tortoise care plan" or some questions left you, sure, can raise another topic.

I have a tortoise for one year and still learning about proper care and sometimes was nearly panicking Just need to take a deep breath, settle down information from this forum and do what's best for your pet.

And yet another thing: stick to TFO (this forum) as a trusted information source for a while. I'm being a newbie was really confused by contradictory info on the Internet and now I feel more confident to read other sources.

Thank you, you made me feel a bit more relaxed I will continue to use this forum.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

I did a bit more research on the tortoise forum and I came to a conclusion that my tortoise isn't sick and instead is trying to brumate! Here are my evidence:
1: It is starting to get cold (It is currently around 61 degrees outside).
2: He is staying in the cool side for many hours.
3: He is always asleep and I have to wake him up to eat.
4: He tries to dig in the cool side in which he has never done before.
5: he is wild-caught
However if he is trying to brumate I don't want him too. I don't know much about brumation because I wanted him to not brumate but since he was wild caught (The pet store said he was bred ) he may feel the need to brumate. so how can avoid him from brumating?

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

I did a bit more research on the tortoise forum and I came to a conclusion that my tortoise isn't sick and instead is trying to brumate! Here are my evidence:
1: It is starting to get cold (It is currently around 61 degrees outside).
2: He is staying in the cool side for many hours.
3: He is always asleep and I have to wake him up to eat.
4: He tries to dig in the cool side in which he has never done before.
5: he is wild-caught
However if he is trying to brumate I don't want him too. I don't know much about brumation because I wanted him to not brumate but since he was wild caught (The pet store said he was bred ) he may feel the need to brumate. so how can avoid him from brumating?

Oh wait nvm, I found tom's brumation thread and it lists everything, thanks tom!

 

[mojo_1]

Definitely stick to getting your information from this site. It's a long dark rabbit hole of bad information on the rest of the internet. And it will end up costing you more money then it needs to.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Definitely stick to getting your information from this site. It's a long dark rabbit hole of bad information on the rest of the internet. And it will end up costing you more money then it needs to.

I made that mistake before I got a tortoise, I spent many money on harmful and useless stuff

 

[mojo_1]

Oh yes, we did too. We won our RF tort at a reptile expo and knew nothing about them and we received tons of wrong information. It took a little bit to find this forum and I'm glad we did before it ended in the death of a pet that I love more than anything.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I made that mistake before I got a tortoise, I spent many money on harmful and useless stuff

Don't blame yourself.. Literally everything I've got from the pet shop as a "tortoise quick start kit" is piled in the closet now. Except of the tortoise, of course. )

 

[SinLA]

Oh yes, we did too. We won our RF tort at a reptile expo and knew nothing about them and we received tons of wrong information. It took a little bit to find this forum and I'm glad we did before it ended in the death of a pet that I love more than anything.

It makes me so sad the fate of reptiles treated this way. I’m glad you were able to get the advice you needed, so few do!

 

[mojo_1]

It makes me so sad the fate of reptiles treated this way. I’m glad you were able to get the advice you needed, so few do!

Me too. I would have been sad to lose the little dude.