Are my tortoises sick? (doubtful symptoms,, please help)

Squamata

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Hello everybody!

I bought 2 Indian star tortoises (about the size of an adult man's palm, excluding the fingers) about a week ago and I must say these creatures are just gorgeous. But since I don't have enough experience, I am worried about how healthy they are (I did not buy them from an expert or a breeder it was just someone who had them and decided to sell them).

There are a few doubtful things that I noticed on my tortoises and some of those are:

1- The eyes.
eye.png
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Here's the eye of the same guy half-opened (it doesn't always look like that, he was sleeping and I woke him up to take a photo). I uploaded this one to show the surroundings of his eye, and the eyelids all together.

eye2.png
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2- Legs.
The part where their legs are connected with their shell looks blown like a balloon.
legs.png
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Do these look normal? If not, why? and what would be the cause(s)?

I really don't want these guys to suffer. We don't have exotic pet vets here so I had to ask experts online.

So if you have any information or experience, or maybe have asked a vet, please help.

Thanks!
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(btw I'm not a perfect English speaker but I hope my English sounds clear enough)
 

Lyn W

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If you read the care sheets for this kind of tort under 'Species Specific' section (South East Asian Tortoises) you may find out if you are doing anything wrong and what you need to do to help the tortoises be healthy. That will be a start until someone comes along to help. Hope they are OK
 

crimson_lotus

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Doesn't look normal to me. Do you know how they were cared for before you bought them a week ago?
 

Squamata

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Thanks guys

I have done a little research about them and how to prepare their enclosure, but I received them like this. I don't think they had enough time to develop anything as they're with me.

The temp. is around 30 celsius. (30 C = 89 F).

Do you know how they were cared for before you bought them a week ago?

tbh, not really. The guy seemed to be a tortoise fan, he had Indian stars, red-foots and pancake tortoises. I've been looking for a star tortoise for a long time so I picked these guys right away.
 

Squamata

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do they have access to water?
No

I bought a good flat plate but I haven't used it because I wanted to first check their health. Because idk if getting wet could hurt a sick tortoise.

However, I gave them a warm bath a few days ago and all they were doing is trying to escape and pooping out as much load they had as possible. (I rinsed them after, and dried them with tissue paper)

I also make sure to include foods rich in water like cucumbers when I feed them.
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

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No

I bought a good flat plate but I haven't used it because I wanted to first check their health. Because idk if getting wet could hurt a sick tortoise.

However, I gave them a warm bath a few days ago and all they were doing is trying to escape and pooping out as much load they had as possible. (I rinsed them after, and dried them with tissue paper)

I also make sure to include foods rich in water like cucumbers when I feed them.
tortoises need access to water at all times.
 

crimson_lotus

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No

I bought a good flat plate but I haven't used it because I wanted to first check their health. Because idk if getting wet could hurt a sick tortoise.

However, I gave them a warm bath a few days ago and all they were doing is trying to escape and pooping out as much load they had as possible. (I rinsed them after, and dried them with tissue paper)

I also make sure to include foods rich in water like cucumbers when I feed them.

Cucumbers actually aren't great for them and watery foods like tomatoes and cucumbers should be limited, like treats every once in a while. You should not depend on food items as their only water intake. Bathing them in warm water a few times a week actually helps them get over sickness and keeps them hydrated. They probably didn't like the temperature of the soak as it may have been too cold.
 

crimson_lotus

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What is your humidity in the enclosure you have? The face in the picture looks pretty dry. What do you have for substrate?

Also the type of lighting you have would be helpful to know, some bulbs can damage tortoises eyes.
 

Tom

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They look very dry. I would do daily soaks for a couple of weeks to make sure they are hydrated.

The edema (swelling) could be caused by any number of things. Hopefully providing them with good condition will help things and allow them to fight off whatever is causing that problem.

Here is how I house stars and a few other things that should help too.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Hello and welcome to the forum. Your English is excellent. Where are you?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the forum!

Get a small tub that the tortoises can't climb out of and put enough warm water in it to come up to the middle of the tortoises' sides. Leave them soaking in the water for about a half hour. Do this daily for a couple weeks, then you can go every other day. Once you notice that the tortoises are drinking out of their waterer on their own, you can go to soaking once a week.

Star tortoises can be kept the same as sulcatas and leopards, that's why Tom gave you links to leopard and sulcata care sheets. I think you'll start to see an improvement in their health once you've got them set up properly with humidity and a better diet.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hello and a warm welcome to tortoise forum.
Daily baths and lots of access to water.
A shallow terracotta saucer, wide enough for them to sit in and sunk into the substrate should do it.
 

teresaf

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Yes, all of the above is great advice. Terra cotta saucer that you put under flower pots that's big enough for him to get in and soak, and daily warm shallow soaks are good for hydration and socializing/bonding with you!
 
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