White dot on eyelid

[timmy_tortoise]

Hi all,

Last week my horsefield had a problem with his eye where he would only open it to look at me and it looked swollen. We've been bathing him everyday and making sure to gently pour water over his face and his eye got better after a couple of days. But now he has a small white dot on his eyelid that I don't think was there before (although I'm not entirely sure) . Throughout all of it he's still been active and eating etc. Is the dot something I should be concerned about?

(The red on his face is strawberry! Photo taken a couple of days ago).

 

[zovick]

Hi all,

Last week my horsefield had a problem with his eye where he would only open it to look at me and it looked swollen. We've been bathing him everyday and making sure to gently pour water over his face and his eye got better after a couple of days. But now he has a small white dot on his eyelid that I don't think was there before (although I'm not entirely sure) . Throughout all of it he's still been active and eating etc. Is the dot something I should be concerned about?

(The red on his face is strawberry! Photo taken a couple of days ago).

It might be a lacrimal gland with a clogged/blocked duct. You can try bathing it with warm water and if possible put light pressure on it with a wet cotton swab to help it get cleared.

If you can't do that, it is probably self-limiting and will ultimately drain on its own.

 

[Ink]

Your tortoise should not be eating fruit. They can't process the sugar.

 

[timmy_tortoise]

Your tortoise should not be eating fruit. They can't process the sugar.

They can definitely eat fruit! Just in small amounts

 

[timmy_tortoise]

It might be a lacrimal gland with a clogged/blocked duct. You can try bathing it with warm water and if possible put light pressure on it with a wet cotton swab to help it get cleared.

If you can't do that, it is probably self-limiting and will ultimately drain on its own.

Thanks for your help!

 

[COmtnLady]

Red Foot Tortoises can eat fruit, it is too sweet for Russians; they can't digest it well. When they eat it it unbalances their gut flora and fauna. It is like you are giving ice cream to someone with lactose intolerance - they get it down, but it gives them an upset stomach/intestinal problems. A better "treat" would be a small slice of cucumber, or squash.

This info is from a professional tortoise keeper and breeder who spent decades studying your type of tortoise and discovering what is optimal for it and the best way to keep it.

Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

Russian tortoises have great personalities, are very hardy, tolerate a wide variety of enclosure parameters, stay small, and are generally a good "starter" tortoise in my opinion. Here is how I like to set them up: Indoor Enclosure type and size: Most people want to know the minimum size...

tortoiseforum.org

These are the germane dietary paragraphs from that care sheet:

Diet:
Russian tortoises need broadleaf weeds. You will need to learn about the weeds near you and which ones are okay to feed or not. Pics can be posted here on the forum in the "Plant ID" section, or you can take samples to a local nursery. Look for dandelion, sow thistle, mallow, filaree, hawksbit, and many more. If you are not 100% sure that your source is free of pesticides and other chemicals, don't feed anything from there.
You can grow your own food too. Here is one of my favorites: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix
I also get lots of seeds here: http://www.groworganic.com
If you must use grocery store foods I like to favor spring mix, endive and escarole heavily. Also add in carrot tops, cilantro, mustard, turnip and collard greens, and lots of other leafy greens.
It is a good idea to add a product called "Salad Style" to grocery store greens to add some fiber: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/salad-style-food-topper/
This is a new food topper and I like it a lot so far: http://www.tortoisesupply.com/HerbalHay
You can also feed them grape, mulberry and hibiscus leaves, tender young spineless opuntia cactus pads, Mazuri tortoise chow and ZooMed Grassland tortoise food. Alternating and mixing up any of these foods will give your russian a good diet and meet its nutritional needs.

Supplements:
I like to have cuttle bone available for them to munch on at will. I also sprinkle some "MinerAll" on the babies food a couple of times a week and a reptile vitamin supplement once a week. I don't think adult males need any supplementation if they are getting a good varied diet, but I like to supplement egg laying females and babies with a pinch of calcium carbonate powder once or twice a week. I usually use either the ZooMed or RepCal brands.

 

[COmtnLady]

They can definitely eat fruit! Just in small amounts

So many sources elsewhere repeat the old info that only had one-size-fits-all, marginally acceptable, outcomes. The expert members here have discovered much better ways, through hands-on experiences and controlled studies over the last thirty or forty years. Members here will do their best to help you help your tortoise thrive.

Veterinarian schools don't spend any length of time on tortoises at all. They only spend a minimal amount of time on reptiles in general. As with many new members that come here, veterinarians often expect a "one size fits all" to work with tortoises - completely unaware of the differences between the tortoise species. For example, all horses eat approximately the same foods - hays and grains, a bit of other vegetation, and the occasional apple and carrot as treats. BUT ! - with tortoises, their dietary needs depend entirely upon the species. A species of tortoise that evolved on the grasslands, cleverly enough, eats grasses and hay as an adult, but, a type that evolved in or near a jungle can't digest grasses very well, but eat fruits without any damage to their digestive systems - which almost no other species of tortoise can do. Some species need very high humidity, ALL hatchlings need high humidity, most vets don't know this and tell people to keep their tortoises in human-room temps and humidity levels. They recommend tiny cages and not enough water. And most, when they haven't a clue as to what is causing you to bring your tortoise to them, prescribe vitamin shots that don't help, probably harm, your tort. Some vets can't recognize a Horsefield from a Sulcata.

Pet stores are 98% interested in selling you things (much of which is harmful to your tort). They got their info from the same out-of-date books. And many keepers have gotten their info from these same sources.

Social Media is Social Media, egos and trolls.

FB and other Social Media is usually working with the same wrong old info TF cautions about. They will get quite rude, sometimes block anyone that doesn't agree with them, too.


Don't pay attention to most of the info "out there". Remember those games of "telephone" where fifteen people sit in a circle and whisper what they heard from the person on one side of them, to the person on the other side? Remember how successful getting the accurate info to the last person was?


Settle in here. The info here is the most up-to-date and will have better outcomes.



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[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome to the forum