Need help. (plastron pink, soft)

[Tudor girl]

Hi everyone
I've just got my Russian female tortoise tillymint out of brumination and I'm totally stressed out cos her plastron is pink and soft. I nearly freaked out when I saw it. She's been fine in her fridge and I've been trying to find out what could be wrong. I'm so worried she's going to die. She's awake and under her basking lamp and a heat lamp. She's had a bath and a drink and is moving around slowly. Any advice
Thanks

 

[Lyn W]

Hi everyone
I've just got my Russian female tortoise tillymint out of brumination and I'm totally stressed out cos her plastron is pink and soft. I nearly freaked out when I saw it. She's been fine in her fridge and I've been trying to find out what could be wrong. I'm so worried she's going to die. She's awake and under her basking lamp and a heat lamp. She's had a bath and a drink and is moving around slowly. Any advice
Thanks

I don't know anything about hibernating torts or brumation because mine doesn't, but if you can post some pics of her that may help.
How long have you had her and has she hibernated before in the fridge or some other way?
Did she stop eating well before brumation?
I'll tag some very experienced members who hibernate torts or know about hibernation and will be able to help
@Yvonne @Tom @zovick @ZenHerper @Toddrickfl1 @TeamZissou

 

[zovick]

Hi everyone
I've just got my Russian female tortoise tillymint out of brumination and I'm totally stressed out cos her plastron is pink and soft. I nearly freaked out when I saw it. She's been fine in her fridge and I've been trying to find out what could be wrong. I'm so worried she's going to die. She's awake and under her basking lamp and a heat lamp. She's had a bath and a drink and is moving around slowly. Any advice
Thanks

The pink plastron sounds like a grave concern. Can you post a photo or two of it?

Do you have any vets near you who treat tortoises regularly?

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone
I've just got my Russian female tortoise tillymint out of brumination and I'm totally stressed out cos her plastron is pink and soft. I nearly freaked out when I saw it. She's been fine in her fridge and I've been trying to find out what could be wrong. I'm so worried she's going to die. She's awake and under her basking lamp and a heat lamp. She's had a bath and a drink and is moving around slowly. Any advice
Thanks

How old is the tortoise?
What size is the tortoise in grams?
How long has it been in brumation?
What temperature for brumation?
How long did the tortoise fast with warm temps and no food before brumation?
Is the plastron squishy like a sponge, or does it have give lite a plastic butter tub lid?
What substrate is in the tortoise's normal enclosure when not brumating?
What substrate is the tortoise brumating on?

 

[Tudor girl]

Thank you for responding
she's 6
980 g she only lost 7 g over brumination which was 11 weeks.the fridge stayed between 5 and 7 o c
She fasted for 4 weeks
He she'll gives a little. It's not squashy
She bruminated on coco coir, soil and dead leaves around her. Her normal substrate is coco coir, fine orchid bark and stones she climbs on.
I'm too scared to turn her over to take a photo.

 

[Tom]

Thank you for responding
she's 6
980 g she only lost 7 g over brumination which was 11 weeks.the fridge stayed between 5 and 7 o c
She fasted for 4 weeks
He she'll gives a little. It's not squashy
She bruminated on coco coir, soil and dead leaves around her. Her normal substrate is coco coir, fine orchid bark and stones she climbs on.
I'm too scared to turn her over to take a photo.

All of that sounds pretty good. I usually brumate Russians at 3-4C, but 5-7 is still acceptable as long as they aren't in their hibernacula scratching around the whole time.

The pink color and softness could be an indication of septicemia, but that's impossible to diagnose over the internet. Warmth and soaks will hopefully get her back on track. I don't have much confidence in most vets, as some of them do more harm than good, but if you have a good one that knows tortoise care, it might be worth the risk to take her in.

You don't have to turn her over for a photo. Just point her nose toward the sky and have someone take the photo straight on. Be sure the lighting is good.

 

[Tudor girl]

There aren't any vets near me but I may take her to one nearer Liverpool City centre. It's only her second brumination and she was great last time. I've only had her for 3 years and I just over wintered her for the first year. I'll give her another warm soak and see if she drinks again

 

[Tom]

There aren't any vets near me but I may take her to one nearer Liverpool City centre. It's only her second brumination and she was great last time. I've only had her for 3 years and I just over wintered her for the first year. I'll give her another warm soak and see if she drinks again

I don't see anything wrong there. If it were my tortoise, I'd give her a few days to warm up, some daily warm soaks, and start offering food once temps are up to normal operating levels.

 

[Tudor girl]

Will her shell harden again? I'll give her warm saoks and keep her very warm and see if I can tempt her to eat. I got her from someone's son who couldn't bothered with her once she got a bit bigger and he got a dog which was far more fun. I know from a terrible experience years ago that dogs and tortoises don't go together so I had to take tillymint. I had a tortoise and a dog got into the garden and killed her. I would be devastated if anything happened to tillymint as she's such a little character.
Thank you so much your help today.

 

[Noelluene]

Red patches on plastron could be signs of sepsis. Have you noticed any possible wounds? Is the tortoise being as active as usual? Does it have energy to resist when you pick it up?

 

[Tudor girl]

Hi.
Well I've just been in to see her and she was walking round her pen! She resisted when I picked her up and now she's having a soak at the moment and drinking lots of water. There are no visible wounds anywhere on her. I'm going to keep her very warm and see how she goes today.

 

[Jacqui]

Since everything sounds good, I would watch closely keeping in mind if anything gets worse, it's off to a Vet.

 

[Tudor girl]

Since everything sounds good, I would watch closely keeping in mind if anything gets worse, it's off to a Vet.

Thanks.
I've found a reptile vet in Liverpool if needed. Fingers crossed, I won't have to take her.

 

[Sarah2020]

Assume you include calcium in the diet?

 

[Tudor girl]

Assume you include calcium in the diet?

 

[Tudor girl]

Hi.
Yes, she has calcium and nutrobol, not at the same time though. She's had plenty to drink today and a few slices of cucumber and a few dandelion leaves. She's currently fast asleep under her basking lamp. Also have a heat lamp on.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!