Tortoise with skin problems

[Mia.Forte]

Hi, my name is Mia and I have a 2-year-old Russian tortoise named Pickles. Recently he has begun to show some problems with his skin. We have taken him to the vet 2 times and spent over $400 when the vet continues to tell us that he is 100% fine and looks normal. My family knows that this can not be the truth. His skin is very raw and smells horrible. It sometimes seems to ooze a clear liquid and his skin is very wet and will come off at the slightest rub. The vet told us to give him disinfectant baths with soap, this seems to bring the smell down a tiny bit but after a few hours, it is back. He lives in a big indoor cage. We clean his cage once a month very thoroughly and replace his woodchips often. He eats red leaf and green leaf lettuce, apples, and occasionally other fruits such as strawberries, melon, peaches, etc. Before all of the problems he was a very laid back little guy who loved to cuddle and be pet, but now it is almost as if he is in horrible constant pain. Thank you for reading. Please let me know if you can help at all.

 

[JoesMum]

I am very concerned about your tort's diet

Fruit is not good for him. He cannot digest the sugars properly and they cause digestive and kidney problems.
All sweet foods, including tomato, bell pepper and carrot as well as fruit should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally. You need to stop feeding fruit and feed a wider variety of greens.

What exactly are you putting in the soak water? Wiping open wounds with an antiseptic is one thing. Putting something in the water that he may drink is worrying. And definitely no soap!

Please can you post pictures of your tort's enclosure and lighting so we can see if there's a problem with the environment

Have you seen our care guides for Russians?

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[MPRC]

Is your vet a specialist? Sometimes dog and cat vets have good intentions, but aren't really well educated in reptilian matters. If you let us know where you reside someone may be able to recommend a different vet for a 2nd opinion, as that really doesn't look right.

 

[Mia.Forte]

I am very concerned about your tort's diet

Fruit is not good for him. He cannot digest the sugars properly and they cause digestive and kidney problems.
All sweet foods, including tomato, bell pepper and carrot as well as fruit should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally. You need to stop feeding fruit and feed a wider variety of greens.

What exactly are you putting in the soak water? Wiping open wounds with an antiseptic is one thing. Putting something in the water that he may drink is worrying. And definitely no soap!

Please can you post pictures of your tort's enclosure and lighting so we can see if there's a problem with the environment

Have you seen our care guides for Russians?

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Russian Tortoise Care
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

Thank you for the quick reply. We use antibacterial soap and let him soak while we stand there and make sure he does not drink any (we keep his head above the water) Here is a picture of the habitat he is kept in. His weight log book is by and he doesn't appear to be losing weight or gaining any for that matter.

 

[Mia.Forte]

Is your vet a specialist? Sometimes dog and cat vets have good intentions, but aren't really well educated in reptilian matters. If you let us know where you reside someone may be able to recommend a different vet for a 2nd opinion, as that really doesn't look right.

Hi, thanks for replying. I live in Cincinnati OH. The vet that he has been going to is a reptile vet and services the Newport Aquarium. He keeps telling us that he looks normal but yes something can not be right.

 

[Yvonne G]

Have you been giving the tortoise any vitamin A? In fact, stop giving ANY vitamin supplements. Your tortoise is probably an adult, not a youngster like you were told, and he will be getting all his vitamins from his food. Change his diet to plants and greens only. It might be a good idea to enlarge his space. An aquarium is a pretty small space for a Russian tortoise. they are hard-wired to wander over great distances.

Chances are pretty good that your tortoise is having an allergic reaction. What brand/type of substrate do you use?

And be sure to rinse the soap off the skin very thoroughly.

 

[Mia.Forte]

Have you been giving the tortoise any vitamin A? In fact, stop giving ANY vitamin supplements. Your tortoise is probably an adult, not a youngster like you were told, and he will be getting all his vitamins from his food. Change his diet to plants and greens only. It might be a good idea to enlarge his space. An aquarium is a pretty small space for a Russian tortoise. they are hard-wired to wander over great distances.

Chances are pretty good that your tortoise is having an allergic reaction. What brand/type of substrate do you use?

And be sure to rinse the soap off the skin very thoroughly.

When we took our tortoise to the vet he gave him vitamin supplements which we noticed did not help. We then took him back in which the vet gave him more vitamin injections. He told us to feed him Critical Care which we did not after reading about some vitamin overdosing. After we use the soap I spend over 5 minutes rinsing him off and making sure there is no soap left on him. This happens about twice a day now.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Tortoises not only "drink" with their mouths but also stay hydrated through their cloaca, their butt. I would not put soap in the soaking water

What are you using in there, regular dirt and hay? Try switching up to something softer like coconut coir and see if that makes a difference

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I'm betting THAT's (vit. injections) is your tortoise's problem. Too often, a vitamin injection causes an overdose of vitamin A and that causes skin problems. Just keep soaking the tortoise to help flush it out of his system. I would keep him in the soaking water (daily) for at least a half hour. Stop the antibacterial addition to the water and just use plain water. Too much vitamin A causes the skin to slough off. To assure he doesn't get a skin infection because of the raw skin, remove all the substrate until he's all healed and just keep him on newspaper temporarily. Try to keep his home as clean as possible.

 

[JoesMum]

Yvonne is the expert on this. Go with what she says. Stop soaking in the soap. Keep your tort in a 'hospital enclosure' on newspaper (you still need the basking and UVB) lamps. Change diet to healthy greens supplemented with good pellets, eg Mazuri (not the LS version) if greens are in short supply round you now

 

[Kasia]

Hi, thanks for replying. I live in Cincinnati OH. The vet that he has been going to is a reptile vet and services the Newport Aquarium. He keeps telling us that he looks normal but yes something can not be right.

Change your Vet, he sucks badly... try JoesMum and Yvonne ideas, if it doesn't help check this forum section for a proper reptile specialist. Don't let any Vet give your tort a vitamin injections just in case. Good luck.

 

[TammyJ]

You have got some great advice already, and I do believe it is allergies! Maybe to the "wood chips". Get rid of that wood chip substrate and wash out the enclosure. Especially if it was cedar chips - toxic!
Thank you for caring and trying to help this tortoise, the solution is probably very simple - just the correct substrate and other conditions and diet!

 

[TammyJ]

Also if you do any soaks right now, I think it should be in a mild warm SALT Water bath.

 

[GingerLove]

I hope he starts feeling better. Have you had a chance to change anything yet?

 

[Lyn W]

Also if you do any soaks right now, I think it should be in a mild warm SALT Water bath.

Wouldn't salt be bad for him if absorbed in the soak?

 

[JoesMum]

Wouldn't salt be bad for him if absorbed in the soak?

If Yvonne says plain water then it should be plain water. She's nursed more sick torts than most of we've had hot dinners.

 

[Lyn W]

If Yvonne says plain water then it should be plain water. She's nursed more sick torts than most of we've had hot dinners.

Yup! She certainly has!

 

[stevenf625]

Fancier supermarkets e.g. 'Whole Foods' are now selling Dandelion greens by the bunch. Sometimes they will even have some 'lambs lettuce' (mache).
Start feeding him that instead of fruit.

 

[TammyJ]

Wouldn't salt be bad for him if absorbed in the soak?

Too much salt in the water would likely be bad for him, but I said a MILD warm salt water bath, meaning warm water with just a small amount of salt and for just about ten minutes, that is what I would do to help with the healing if the skin is raw. That's all. The plain water soaks I totally agree with too, also the paedialyte soaks.
Of course nothing would replace a visit to an excellent reptile vet.

 

[Yvonne G]

The salt would be a good wound wash. Nothing wrong with that suggestion.