I need tortoise health advice

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Ok, I got my Russian tortoise from a nearby pet store and he looked completely fine when I got him. I did tons of research on Tortoises but ever since I got him I noticed the flaws and weird things he has been doing or had. One thing is that he seems to bite his hands a few times (No infection by far as I can tell), second is that I saw him open his mouth and I got a heart attack thinking he had respiratory disease so I researched about it a bit more but it might have been just a yawn (Not exactly sure, he only opened his mouth one time), third he makes this "Ffff" noise sometimes and It might be him pooping or having trouble with breathing (HELP), Lastly he has this small crack on his shell (I did not do that, It was like that when I got him) its like a really small crack but do I have to treat it? btw he is 1 years old.

 

[wellington]

Do your research again but stick to this forum only. Read the caresheet under the Russian section in the Mediterranean section. From your other threads, I'm guessing you got a lot of bad and wrong info.

 

[SinLA]

Ok, I got my Russian tortoise from a nearby pet store and he looked completely fine when I got him. I did tons of research on Tortoises but ever since I got him I noticed the flaws and weird things he has been doing or had. One thing is that he seems to bite his hands a few times (No infection by far as I can tell), second is that I saw him open his mouth and I got a heart attack thinking he had respiratory disease so I researched about it a bit more but it might have been just a yawn (Not exactly sure, he only opened his mouth one time), third he makes this "Ffff" noise sometimes and It might be him pooping or having trouble with breathing (HELP), Lastly he has this small crack on his shell (I did not do that, It was like that when I got him) its like a really small crack but do I have to treat it? btw he is 1 years old.

Can you provide pictures of him and your enclosure?

By the way pet stores always tell customers the tortoises are one year old because that’s what customers want to hear. If you got it at some thing like a Petco it is almost certainly a wild caught Tortoise that was shipped over and is probably many many years old.

How many inches is he or she?

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

He is about 6 or 5 inches

 

[wellington]

Pictures of him and enclosure.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Sorry here it is, he is about 5-4 inches and the store owner says that he is a juvenile and I got him two days ago I will change the substrate to coco fiber soon and will add more substrate later on. Also I won’t be able to reply back until tomorrow. You can see he has a small crack hole on the top shell...

 

[Tom]

Ok, I got my Russian tortoise from a nearby pet store and he looked completely fine when I got him. I did tons of research on Tortoises but ever since I got him I noticed the flaws and weird things he has been doing or had. One thing is that he seems to bite his hands a few times (No infection by far as I can tell), second is that I saw him open his mouth and I got a heart attack thinking he had respiratory disease so I researched about it a bit more but it might have been just a yawn (Not exactly sure, he only opened his mouth one time), third he makes this "Ffff" noise sometimes and It might be him pooping or having trouble with breathing (HELP), Lastly he has this small crack on his shell (I did not do that, It was like that when I got him) its like a really small crack but do I have to treat it? btw he is 1 years old.

The problem is likely the cfl UV bulb. Those burn their eyes and can cause the symptoms you are seeing. Turn it off immediately.

You found the temperate species care sheet. Disregard what the pet store told you. They have it all wrong just like almost everyone else does. Follow that care sheet.

On the info for new people thread, there is a heating and lighting breakdown near the bottom. Check that out and follow it.

 

[LudusPlus]

Sorry here it is, he is about 5-4 inches and the store owner says that he is a juvenile and I got him two days ago I will change the substrate to coco fiber soon and will add more substrate later on. Also I won’t be able to reply back until tomorrow. You can see he has a small crack hole on the top shell... View attachment 362146View attachment 362147

Is that a dog water bowl?

I might be seeing it wrong but if it is you need to remove it, the sides are way too steep. You need ideally a plant saucer, something shallow and quite heavy without deep sides.

This is so your tortoise can access it and it doesn't flip itself upside down in the process.

I'm no expert but please listen to everyone's advice here. Tom & Wellington alone have already saved my tortoises life several times in my opinion.

I don't think the roughed up shell is really a concern. Russian tortoises can survive a lot, unfortunately I learned this the hard way when I was younger from some unfortunate experiences.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Thank you very much , Ill change the water bowl to a home depot clay bowl, I will also change the uvb light

 

[wellington]

No, he doesn't look like a juvenile, it looks older to me. It needs a much larger enclosure, a 4x8 foot minimum.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

Got it

 

[zolasmum]

By the way, tortoises do yawn - ours does so occasionally when waking up,also sneezes sometimes,and occasionally makes odd little noises, but I don't think you need to worry about that sort of thing, unless he's doing it repeatedly.
Angie

 

[SinLA]

Looks like an adult and given how the shell looks, probably wild caught. I know it’s hard to accept being lied to, and it’s possible the store itself was lied to and is just passing along bad information, but if so it could be a decade old or more.

If you show photos of its tail and underside people can tell you make or female.

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

The problem is likely the cfl UV bulb. Those burn their eyes and can cause the symptoms you are seeing. Turn it off immediately.

You found the temperate species care sheet. Disregard what the pet store told you. They have it all wrong just like almost everyone else does. Follow that care sheet.

On the info for new people thread, there is a heating and lighting breakdown near the bottom. Check that out and follow it.

I turned the uvb light off and ordered a t5 reptilight but his eyes just seemed to have gotten worse

 

[TechnoCheese]

I turned the uvb light off and ordered a t5 reptilight but his eyes just seemed to have gotten worseView attachment 362249View attachment 362250

Could you post a picture of the light you got?
Lose the red light, they can see both the color and the light. You want a white flood bulb, like a 65 watt incandescent flood, that you turn off at night and turn on during the day. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B52C8SE/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

My phone ran out of battery so I'll just show you the image of the box

and yes, I already ordered a flood Incandescent (Surprisingly the same product you linked) I didn't know that even the red light could hurt him... but I don't have any source of heat that will be sustainable for him until it arrives...

 

[TechnoCheese]

My phone ran out of battery so I'll just show you the image of the box

and yes, I already ordered a flood Incandescent (Surprisingly the same product you linked) I didn't know that even the red light could hurt him... but I don't have any source of heat that will be sustainable for him until it arrives...

Sorry, I meant a picture of the UVB light you ordered. Happy to hear you have a flood light on the way

 

[Mr. RussianTortoise]

oh my bad. here

 

[TechnoCheese]

oh my bad. here

Yep, that one’s good. Your tort’s eyes should hopefully get better with time.

 

[SuzanneZ]

Ok, I got my Russian tortoise from a nearby pet store and he looked completely fine when I got him. I did tons of research on Tortoises but ever since I got him I noticed the flaws and weird things he has been doing or had. One thing is that he seems to bite his hands a few times (No infection by far as I can tell), second is that I saw him open his mouth and I got a heart attack thinking he had respiratory disease so I researched about it a bit more but it might have been just a yawn (Not exactly sure, he only opened his mouth one time), third he makes this "Ffff" noise sometimes and It might be him pooping or having trouble with breathing (HELP), Lastly he has this small crack on his shell (I did not do that, It was like that when I got him) its like a really small crack but do I have to treat it? btw he is 1 years old.

First off, he's very cute. The obsessing you're doing is fairly normal. (Keeps us alert to the baby's cries.) The mouth opening when my Ornate Wood did it just seemed a friendly guesture. Can't see the crack.