New hear with a sick Russian tortoise

[Crush87]

Hello. I have a female Russian tortoise named Crush. She is approximately 9 years old and I have had her for 8 years never with any problems. I keep her in an extra large Rubbermaid tub with 50/50 coir brick and sand mixture that I just keep slightly damp. She eats mostly store bought greens. I try to get as big of a variety as I can. I live in Washington state so she can only eat weeds a few months out of the year. I have a uva/uvb light on one end for her and a log she can hide under that I keep on the opposite cool side of her enclosure. Anyway about 2 weeks ago I noticed she wasn't finishing all of her food (she always has a huge appetite and eats everything I put in front of her). It quickly progressed into not eating at all and she was super weak and lethargic. I took her straight to the vet. While I was there I noticed she had some redness on her side. The vet examined her and gave me a feeding tube and apple banana critical care mix for it ( even though I told her she's not supposed to have fruit) and some antibiotics that I have to inject her with every other day. Luckily she started eating on her own again so I have not tube fed her at all since the doctor did it at the vets office. She is getting stronger and looking a lot better. She has had 4 doses of antibiotics now. My concern is that the redness on her shell is getting worse and spreading to other areas of her shell. The vet thought she was bruised. I tried to tell her that she is most definitely not bruised, she has not fallen or been around any other animals. And now that it's spreading to other parts of her shell I know it's not bruising. I'm really worried. I will admit I have not been soaking her as much as I should have been and not been suplimenting her food with vitamins or calcium. She does have a cuddle bone at all times though. Anyone have any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I uploaded photos, I apologize if I may have put them in the wrong place. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and Crush.
A very lovely looking tortoise.
I am not a vet, by any means, but from what i have read and seen, this could be septicaemia.
One of the possible causes of this is gut impaction which in turn is sometimes caused by the ingesting of sand from the substrate.
Coco coir only would be a better substrate, in my opinion.
You need to visit a qualified herp vet and ask them to check for septicaemia.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[Crush87]

Thanks. I am having trouble finding an hero vet that seems to really know anything about tortoises (or at least that isn't contradicting everything I've learned about caring for them) for example she kept telling me to house her in shredded newspaper or rabbit pellets and to feed her fruit and meat! It's very obvious that I am no expert but I thought all of those things were very bad to do with Russians. I can't find anyone that specificity sees reptiles around here. Just vets that also see exotic pets along with dogs and cats and such. I will take the sand out though. She used to burrow a lot when I first got her but I haven't seen her do it in years. Also when I first got her I noticed those red spots very faintly on her belly (on the line down the middle) and I talked to a tortoise guy on line. He told me that he thought she was eating too much since I fed her every day and NOT to keep water in her enclosure. He said to instead feed her every other day as much as she will eat and soak her twice per week and make sure she has a cuddle bone at all times. I followed his advice and the redness went away within two weeks. So now I'm really confused. This was 8 years ago and this is the first time it's. even a problem since then and now it's really bad. She seems to be better in every other respect other than the redness. When I first gave her that cuddle bone 8 years ago she went to town on it. Now I never see her touch it. Maybe she is bored with it and that also contributed to the problem? She is eating and drinking and peeing (a lot) and pooping. Do you still think she might be impacted even though she is peeing and pooping?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Probably not, but as i say, i'm not a vet.
I would scrape a little bit of the cuttlefish bone onto the food once or twice a week.
As you know, no newspaper, rabbit pellets, fruit or meat.
She should have free access to water at all times, a cheap, shallow terracotta plant saucer is ideal, big enough for her to soak in and sunk into the substrate.
If she wants to dig, she can dig into the coir, that's fine.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
are good if you haven't already read them.

 

[Yvonne G]

I tried to find a treatment for septicemia online. This is what the Tortoise Trust says about it:

Septicaemia: Signs include vomiting, lethargy, distinct reddish flush or tinge on the plastron or under carapace shields (except in angulates). Haemorrhages of tongue and oral mucous membranes occur, jaundice, and the animal drinks excessively. This is sometimes caused by egg retention/rupture, or gut impaction. Obtain veterinary help immediately.

And then another site says it's a bacterial infection, but goes on to say:

Septicemia Treatment
Treating septicemia cannot be done at home. A vet must diagnose the tortoise and prescribe proper treatment. In most cases, antibiotics are going to be prescribed. Some vets will prescribe a fluid therapy, nutritional support (such as vitamin injections or supplements on the food), nebulization for breathing problems, and an increased temperature at the basking site.

Some veterinarians will prescribe an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory for the wound, itself. You'll want to keep it clean and apply an antiseptic ointment, such as Betadine. If the wound is large, you will want to apply a clean dressing daily to keep it covered. Some will suggest covering the wound with jelonet or micropore.

If you are able to catch the septicemia quickly and get it treated as soon as possible, your tortoise can and will make a full recovery. The problem is noticing the signs early because tortoises, like most reptiles, are great at hiding illnesses until it's far advanced.


It mentions vitamin injections. Don't ever allow your vet to inject vitamins into your tortoise. Try to raise the temperature i the habitat to about 85F over the whole habitat. Soak the tortoise daily, and get some antibiotics from the vet. Do you know Therese at the Northwest Tortoise Rescue? She has a lot of experience and she may be able to offer you some advice - http://northwesttortoise.org/

 

[Crush87]

Thank you, I will check out the rescue. She is on antibiotics that I inject under her armpit every other day. No vitamin injections. I have been soaking her daily (inspite of what the vet told me, she thought it might unnecessarily stress her out) since she is feeling much better though and has her energy back I have been doing it daily. I have her in a much smaller enclosure right now so she doesn't end up on the cold side and fall asleep over there, it's at 90 right now. Is that too hot?

 

[Crush87]

There has been no vomiting or mucous or excessive drinking or anything like that. Her eyes had been sunken in at first but they look much better now. There was no unusual breathing and her eyes and nose were and are still clear.