feistyiguanas
New Member
Sorry this so lengthy, I'm just trying to be thorough...
I work at a pet store and have been extra concerned for a male Russian Testudo tortoise, especially over the past 1-2 months. He is likely 2-3 years old has been so very unlucky. He was housed in a 20-ish gallon terrarium (our biggest sales floor terrarium for them, because we just don't expect animals to stay with us for long) along with a female his age for over a year. Someone bought both of them for Christmas, then shortly returned him after they read into keeping two tortoises. At that point our supplier had already been notified we needed 2 more tortoises. So at one point we had three. The two new ones got sold pretty quickly after, somehow, which is crazy since it took this tortoise and the female over a year. (Also for some reason people weren't into this slightly larger, much less shy tortoise who had been used to us handling him for so long. He even comes out of his shell immediately after being picked up, and lets us touch his head and legs... but I digress.)
But more recently he's been having some troubles health-wise. A month ago I ran him to our quarantine room after I discovered him sitting limp under his log with puffy, closed, and leaky eyes. He was taken to the vet a couple days later. They found he had pinworms, and we treated that. But he is still having odd symptoms with his eyes and his activity. Below are 2 photos I took AFTER the day I FIRST put him in quarantine, after which his eyes seemed to clear up but remained a bit puffy. They were taken a month ago, while just held in my hand and then during a warm soak which we still give him each day, and he still looks the same now. At one point he was transferred back out onto the floor, but the next day his eyes were closed and leaky again. Even while in quarantine his eyes still go through phases of such irritation from time to time. Aside from his eyes, my coworker and I deeply feel that something is off with him and we don't know what, or what can be done, aside from giving him better living conditions which we just can't do right now. Our manager has not scheduled another vet visit after his pinworms were treated and his issues proceeded. I want to be able to voice what might actually be wrong with him, so it can get checked, and he can go back to the sales floor and find a home. (I'd sincerely take him if I had a yard, but I don't right now.)
I don't know how quality these pictures are to be able to tell, but his eyelids definitely seem more squinted/puffy in comparison to the same tortoises I've looked up images for, and in comparison to how I remember he looked awhile back. He's also mostly lethargic, but that might be because we only have a 20 gallon to keep him in, and he's just... not happy in general, and hasn't been for over a year due to circumstances? Please, any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to keep writing "no treatment" with his same symptoms on his charts any longer.
So far, because while he's kept off the sales floor no one else can take him, I think his only salvation is if he's kept here until August 1st when I move into a house with a yard I'd keep him in. But I REALLY don't want him to have to wait that long. My current apartment is already packed a bit tight with other animals.
I just want this animal to be as comfortable as can be while he's trapped where he is...
Thank you so much for any input.
I work at a pet store and have been extra concerned for a male Russian Testudo tortoise, especially over the past 1-2 months. He is likely 2-3 years old has been so very unlucky. He was housed in a 20-ish gallon terrarium (our biggest sales floor terrarium for them, because we just don't expect animals to stay with us for long) along with a female his age for over a year. Someone bought both of them for Christmas, then shortly returned him after they read into keeping two tortoises. At that point our supplier had already been notified we needed 2 more tortoises. So at one point we had three. The two new ones got sold pretty quickly after, somehow, which is crazy since it took this tortoise and the female over a year. (Also for some reason people weren't into this slightly larger, much less shy tortoise who had been used to us handling him for so long. He even comes out of his shell immediately after being picked up, and lets us touch his head and legs... but I digress.)
But more recently he's been having some troubles health-wise. A month ago I ran him to our quarantine room after I discovered him sitting limp under his log with puffy, closed, and leaky eyes. He was taken to the vet a couple days later. They found he had pinworms, and we treated that. But he is still having odd symptoms with his eyes and his activity. Below are 2 photos I took AFTER the day I FIRST put him in quarantine, after which his eyes seemed to clear up but remained a bit puffy. They were taken a month ago, while just held in my hand and then during a warm soak which we still give him each day, and he still looks the same now. At one point he was transferred back out onto the floor, but the next day his eyes were closed and leaky again. Even while in quarantine his eyes still go through phases of such irritation from time to time. Aside from his eyes, my coworker and I deeply feel that something is off with him and we don't know what, or what can be done, aside from giving him better living conditions which we just can't do right now. Our manager has not scheduled another vet visit after his pinworms were treated and his issues proceeded. I want to be able to voice what might actually be wrong with him, so it can get checked, and he can go back to the sales floor and find a home. (I'd sincerely take him if I had a yard, but I don't right now.)
I don't know how quality these pictures are to be able to tell, but his eyelids definitely seem more squinted/puffy in comparison to the same tortoises I've looked up images for, and in comparison to how I remember he looked awhile back. He's also mostly lethargic, but that might be because we only have a 20 gallon to keep him in, and he's just... not happy in general, and hasn't been for over a year due to circumstances? Please, any input would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to keep writing "no treatment" with his same symptoms on his charts any longer.
So far, because while he's kept off the sales floor no one else can take him, I think his only salvation is if he's kept here until August 1st when I move into a house with a yard I'd keep him in. But I REALLY don't want him to have to wait that long. My current apartment is already packed a bit tight with other animals.
I just want this animal to be as comfortable as can be while he's trapped where he is...
Thank you so much for any input.