Is my daughters Russian tortoise gone?

[Kara Sea]

What's the status. Warmth and soaks are important. Try pinching the legs to check a reaction. If your getting nothing you can get a vet to check and verify, tortoise can look dead but their not.

No reaction when pinching. We set up Tortoise ICU with heating pad. Pic attached. Is it ok to keep him in warm bath constantly?

What's the status. Warmth and soaks are important. Try pinching the legs to check a reaction. If your getting nothing you can get a vet to check and verify, tortoise can look dead but their not.

 

[Kara Sea]

What's the status. Warmth and soaks are important. Try pinching the legs to check a reaction. If your getting nothing you can get a vet to check and verify, tortoise can look dead but their not.

 

[SinLA]

Anyone with a stethoscope could tell you if there’s a heartbeat. If you have seen no movement and there is no response to you touching legs etc. and it’s been kept warm all this time, then I think it’s likely that he has passed.

If you do decide to get another Tortoise come back to the forum and let’s talk about your enclosure and set up before you end up getting another one.

I’m very sorry

 

[Kara Sea]

I’m not sure if this where I put update - this is the daughter who took care of popeye. We had him for about 7 months as I got him in August as a gift from my friend, she has tortoises of her own so she helped me set things up. She got him from a pretty well respected pet store but he was discounted because he was blind in one eye and had damage on his shell in a few places. After having him for a few weeks his eye seemed to get better and I assumed he was well and healthy otherwise. Though his enclosures are more bland I’ll admit I never really “finished” setting up his outdoor enclosure, i had plans to have stuff planted and my dad and I were going to build a hutch that would have a digging area, but couldn’t really get around to it. His indoor enclosure too looks pretty bland, it usually has far more substrate in it (coco and peat) and he would have a water bowl every other day. I also have a larger dish for water outside but we get mosquitoes bad down here so it wasn’t out 24/7. I mention the water a lot because I’m scared he was dehydrated, as the sunken eyes and coma-like behavior a lot of you said, and since it’s been very cold he’s been inside under his lamp during the day as I read that Russians don’t usually go into hibernation. He was sluggish the past week, and I noticed in the last few days he would eat less and less, and I wouldn’t notice any poop in his tank. I understand there is a lot I could have done and I’ll appreciate any advice for keeping that I missed out on, I’m incredibly devastated, I really do feel like sometimes that he knew I loved him and maybe felt something similar back. He was a very spunky little dude with his quirks too. Thank you for all of your advice and your kind words, I’ll come back to read any advice about keeping and what I could have done differently when I’m feeling better.

 

[SinLA]

I’m not sure if this where I put update - this is the daughter who took care of popeye. We had him for about 7 months as I got him in August as a gift from my friend, she has tortoises of her own so she helped me set things up. She got him from a pretty well respected pet store but he was discounted because he was blind in one eye and had damage on his shell in a few places. After having him for a few weeks his eye seemed to get better and I assumed he was well and healthy otherwise. Though his enclosures are more bland I’ll admit I never really “finished” setting up his outdoor enclosure, i had plans to have stuff planted and my dad and I were going to build a hutch that would have a digging area, but couldn’t really get around to it. His indoor enclosure too looks pretty bland, it usually has far more substrate in it (coco and peat) and he would have a water bowl every other day. I also have a larger dish for water outside but we get mosquitoes bad down here so it wasn’t out 24/7. I mention the water a lot because I’m scared he was dehydrated, as the sunken eyes and coma-like behavior a lot of you said, and since it’s been very cold he’s been inside under his lamp during the day as I read that Russians don’t usually go into hibernation. He was sluggish the past week, and I noticed in the last few days he would eat less and less, and I wouldn’t notice any poop in his tank. I understand there is a lot I could have done and I’ll appreciate any advice for keeping that I missed out on, I’m incredibly devastated, I really do feel like sometimes that he knew I loved him and maybe felt something similar back. He was a very spunky little dude with his quirks too. Thank you for all of your advice and your kind words, I’ll come back to read any advice about keeping and what I could have done differently when I’m feeling better.

No worries and again I am very sorry for your loss.

Just know, and if you were to search this vast forum, you would learn pretty quickly pet stores very often give wrong advice and many breeders also give wrong advice.

For example, Russians are very much hibernating species, I am not sure why someone would tell you otherwise, but if they did, they don’t know tortoises.

Don’t worry about how your enclosure looks. Enclosures do not need things to be exciting and they can be as bland as toast, but if they are not big enough or have the right lighting and temps than truly nothing else matters.

A Russian needs about 4‘ x 8‘ in space. They will get sick and die if they are in too small of a space - it could be that he had a bladder stone, it could be he had something else entirely. It could be the diet you were told wasn’t right, it could be many many things.

At this point in time I don’t think it really matters. I think you should grieve your loss but when you are ready to come back, come back with an open mind and understand that probably everything you were told about how to raise him was wrong , but know that you are not alone in that that is true for most people who get tortoises. They just have a lot more complicated needs than most owners are told.

 

[Kara Sea]

No worries and again I am very sorry for your loss.

Just know, and if you were to search this vast forum, you would learn pretty quickly pet stores very often give wrong advice and many breeders also give wrong advice.

For example, Russians are very much hibernating species, I am not sure why someone would tell you otherwise, but if they did, they don’t know tortoises.

Don’t worry about how your enclosure looks. Enclosures do not need things to be exciting and they can be as bland as toast, but if they are not big enough or have the right lighting and temps than truly nothing else matters.

A Russian needs about 4‘ x 8‘ in space. They will get sick and die if they are in too small of a space - it could be that he had a bladder stone, it could be he had something else entirely. It could be the diet you were told wasn’t right, it could be many many things.

At this point in time I don’t think it really matters. I think you should grieve your loss but when you are ready to come back, come back with an open mind and understand that probably everything you were told about how to raise him was wrong , but know that you are not alone in that that is true for most people who get tortoises. They just have a lot more complicated needs than most owners are told.

I’m the mom kara. Sydney read your perfect post! Thank you so much!
She off to work again and we turning off the ICU unit. Putting him in tank with heat lamp and will bury him in next day or so.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I'm very sorry about your loss... You did your very best to give him better life and to save him.

 

[Kara Sea]

No worries and again I am very sorry for your loss.

Just know, and if you were to search this vast forum, you would learn pretty quickly pet stores very often give wrong advice and many breeders also give wrong advice.

For example, Russians are very much hibernating species, I am not sure why someone would tell you otherwise, but if they did, they don’t know tortoises.

Don’t worry about how your enclosure looks. Enclosures do not need things to be exciting and they can be as bland as toast, but if they are not big enough or have the right lighting and temps than truly nothing else matters.

A Russian needs about 4‘ x 8‘ in space. They will get sick and die if they are in too small of a space - it could be that he had a bladder stone, it could be he had something else entirely. It could be the diet you were told wasn’t right, it could be many many things.

At this point in time I don’t think it really matters. I think you should grieve your loss but when you are ready to come back, come back with an open mind and understand that probably everything you were told about how to raise him was wrong , but know that you are not alone in that that is true for most people who get tortoises. They just have a lot more complicated needs than most owners are told.

Syd’s co-workers dad is a reptile exotic expert person?? I’m nothing but a mom trying to help comfort her kid and quite frankly tired. ICU back in operation so we shall see.

 

[Kara Sea]

Syd’s co-workers dad is a reptile exotic expert person?? I’m nothing but a mom trying to help comfort her kid and quite frankly tired. ICU back in operation so we shall see.

 

[Kara Sea]

Syd’s co-workers dad is a reptile exotic expert person?? I’m nothing but a mom trying to help comfort her kid and quite frankly tired. ICU back in operation so we shall see.

Popeye still doesn’t smell (yet). But no movement since Friday or maybe it was Thursday. Prayed for an Easter miracle but nothing which is ok as cried enough. Won’t bury him till smells as morbid as that sounds. But this forum taught us that. We know he’s gone in our hearts.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I guess it's all over now.
I wish I knew the right words to show you my support. I believe Popeye was a great and adventurous guy. Extremely sad things turned out this way...