Bumps on tortoise skin

[Bobam]

Hi,

Does anyone know what these bumps are on our Horsefield tortoise?

We’ve been to the vet and they were not sure.

Been bathing for a week 2 x 20 minutes per day,

Eyes are also shut.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Can you provide details of the conditions of his enclosure, that is, temperatures, humidity, lighting, substrate what is his diet? How long have you had him? Is he on any medication ? Pictures of entire tortoise top and bottom please? Then you will get some help.

 

[Bobam]

Hi, thanks for your reply. He is currently being bathed in repto boost and some vitamin drops from the vet (sorry I don’t know the name off the top of my head). He is in a vivarium with a temp of 33 during the day and 28 at night (we were told to increase it by the vet but I’ve recently lowered it again) and he is on swell tortoise soil. He has a UV light and an infrared bulb and we spray water in there for humidity. We have had him from September last year and had a similar problem in January where we believe he was dehydrated, after a few trips to the vet and lots of bathing he bounced back but he has deteriorated again over the last few weeks. He is eating occasionally now but our main concern is his eyes, they have been closed for some time but yesterday opened and look like the photo. He is staying in his little cave and only coming out when we bathe him. He’s being fed spring greens, kale, pak Choi plus watercress and cucumber to help with hydration. Attached is a photo of him from yesterday, initially his eye looked like it had pus in the corner but since opened and now looks swollen and crusty. I have also shared photos with the vet but am yet to hear back. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[TammyJ]

@wellington @Tom

 

[TammyJ]

I have requested some expert advice! Hang on.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

While waiting for the more experienced members, could you tell some more about enclosure and tortoise (I believe these questions would arise anyway).

What's your tortoise age? Weight, size..

Could you provide more details on UV lamp (what it looks like and what's mounted height) and infrared lamp. Most of the UV sources are not suited for tortoises (can do harm to their eyes and shell), only tube-type lamps are fine. Infrared lamps (if it's a deep heat projector) work great to warm up enclosure, but too harsh for tortoise shell (so usually are no-go, unless you can point it to some area, unreachable for your tortoise).

Soil on photo looks looks dry and have sand particles in it. This could be another factor affecting his eyes. Sand, if swallowed, could cause serious impaction.

 

[wellington]

He needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
Basking temp with an incandescent flood bulb should reach 95-100 F
Over all temp should range from 75-80F
And night temps no lower than 70 in winter when not brumating.
A tube florescent for uvb not any type of coil bulbs, mercury bulbs, spot bulbs or halogen bulbs or red bulbs should be used
A ceramic heat emitter for added day heat and night heat.
He needs a better substrate of orchid or fir bark not soil.
Humidity should be 30-50% for an adult Russian.
Try to add more to his diet.
Be sure to have a low sided clay saucer that he can fit into for drinking and self soaking
For now I would soak in warm water every day and add baby food carrots to the soak water and some piedialyte, do this for a week.
Get everything corrected and see how he does. Also, this time of year tortoises that normally brumate will slow down on movement and eating. Make the enclosure brightly lite during the day for 12-14 hours
As for the bump, I have no idea what it is. Try putting some antibiotic cream on it and see if that helps.

 

[Tom]

Hi, thanks for your reply. He is currently being bathed in repto boost and some vitamin drops from the vet (sorry I don’t know the name off the top of my head). He is in a vivarium with a temp of 33 during the day and 28 at night (we were told to increase it by the vet but I’ve recently lowered it again) and he is on swell tortoise soil. He has a UV light and an infrared bulb and we spray water in there for humidity. We have had him from September last year and had a similar problem in January where we believe he was dehydrated, after a few trips to the vet and lots of bathing he bounced back but he has deteriorated again over the last few weeks. He is eating occasionally now but our main concern is his eyes, they have been closed for some time but yesterday opened and look like the photo. He is staying in his little cave and only coming out when we bathe him. He’s being fed spring greens, kale, pak Choi plus watercress and cucumber to help with hydration. Attached is a photo of him from yesterday, initially his eye looked like it had pus in the corner but since opened and now looks swollen and crusty. I have also shared photos with the vet but am yet to hear back. Thanks in advance for any help. View attachment 362614

So far from what you've told us, I see several common errors. These errors are not your fault, as almost everyone, myself included, gets taught the wrong info ad sold the wrong products.

1. Sandy substrate should never be used for tortoises. This is a mistake the pet shops make. Seems like all the shops over there sell the "Swell" type that you've got, or the "Pets At Home" type with the sand and limestone bits in it. Both are terrible and dangerous for tortoises.
2. Vets know very little about tortoises and tortoise care. They learn from the same wrong sources as everyone else. There is no semester on tortoise care in vet school. The result of this is that they come to the same wrong conclusions, diagnoses, as everyone else.
3. You've got the wrong lighting. Infrared should not be used over tortoises, and most people get and use the wrong UV. CFL type bulb often burn their eyes. What type of bulb are you using? I don't need the brand name and amount of UV, e.g. 10.0. I need to know the type of bulb.
4. 33C as an ambient temp is a bit higher than it needs to be, but there needs to be a basking area directly under a flood bulb that gets to 36-37C daily. How and where are you measuring the temperature? What type of thermometer and where is it?
5. You are feeding entirely the wrong foods. Long term malnutrition might be a factor here.
6. I don't see any bumps in your photos. I see irritating sand grains all over this poor guy. Where are the bumps?

I'm sorry you got the wrong info. I got it too more than 30 years ago. It took a long time to figure out that it was all wrong, and then to figure out what was right and why. Fortunately for you, you can learn the right info with just a few minutes of reading. Here it is. Look for the heating/lighting breakdown and the temperate species care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Yvonne G]

I thought it looked like sand too, but the OP said the vet didn't know about the bumps. Surely if the vet was seeing the tortoise in real time he would have known it was sand???

Gently scrub the tortoise with a soft bristle brush to see if the bumps come off. Then read our care sheet for Russian tortoises and get him set up in the right kind of habitat with the right kind of lighting. Feed him the correct diet. All these things contribute to your baby's health.

 

[dd33]

Is this a wild caught animal? Any chance you can get a clear photo of the inside of its mouth without stressing it out too badly?

 

[Bobam]

So far from what you've told us, I see several common errors. These errors are not your fault, as almost everyone, myself included, gets taught the wrong info ad sold the wrong products.

1. Sandy substrate should never be used for tortoises. This is a mistake the pet shops make. Seems like all the shops over there sell the "Swell" type that you've got, or the "Pets At Home" type with the sand and limestone bits in it. Both are terrible and dangerous for tortoises.
2. Vets know very little about tortoises and tortoise care. They learn from the same wrong sources as everyone else. There is no semester on tortoise care in vet school. The result of this is that they come to the same wrong conclusions, diagnoses, as everyone else.
3. You've got the wrong lighting. Infrared should not be used over tortoises, and most people get and use the wrong UV. CFL type bulb often burn their eyes. What type of bulb are you using? I don't need the brand name and amount of UV, e.g. 10.0. I need to know the type of bulb.
4. 33C as an ambient temp is a bit higher than it needs to be, but there needs to be a basking area directly under a flood bulb that gets to 36-37C daily. How and where are you measuring the temperature? What type of thermometer and where is it?
5. You are feeding entirely the wrong foods. Long term malnutrition might be a factor here.
6. I don't see any bumps in your photos. I see irritating sand grains all over this poor guy. Where are the bumps?

I'm sorry you got the wrong info. I got it too more than 30 years ago. It took a long time to figure out that it was all wrong, and then to figure out what was right and why. Fortunately for you, you can learn the right info with just a few minutes of reading. Here it is. Look for the heating/lighting breakdown and the temperate species care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

So far from what you've told us, I see several common errors. These errors are not your fault, as almost everyone, myself included, gets taught the wrong info ad sold the wrong products.

1. Sandy substrate should never be used for tortoises. This is a mistake the pet shops make. Seems like all the shops over there sell the "Swell" type that you've got, or the "Pets At Home" type with the sand and limestone bits in it. Both are terrible and dangerous for tortoises.
2. Vets know very little about tortoises and tortoise care. They learn from the same wrong sources as everyone else. There is no semester on tortoise care in vet school. The result of this is that they come to the same wrong conclusions, diagnoses, as everyone else.
3. You've got the wrong lighting. Infrared should not be used over tortoises, and most people get and use the wrong UV. CFL type bulb often burn their eyes. What type of bulb are you using? I don't need the brand name and amount of UV, e.g. 10.0. I need to know the type of bulb.
4. 33C as an ambient temp is a bit higher than it needs to be, but there needs to be a basking area directly under a flood bulb that gets to 36-37C daily. How and where are you measuring the temperature? What type of thermometer and where is it?
5. You are feeding entirely the wrong foods. Long term malnutrition might be a factor here.
6. I don't see any bumps in your photos. I see irritating sand grains all over this poor guy. Where are the bumps?

I'm sorry you got the wrong info. I got it too more than 30 years ago. It took a long time to figure out that it was all wrong, and then to figure out what was right and why. Fortunately for you, you can learn the right info with just a few minutes of reading. Here it is. Look for the heating/lighting breakdown and the temperate species care sheet near the bottom:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi there, thanks so much for taking the time to send your reply. We have been on holiday and he has been being taken care of, but we are back now so I can send you all of the specific details. I have had a read of the info sheet which is really useful, thank you. As for the temperature, we are measuring it via a digital thermometer (HabiStat) that’s inside the vivarium in the back corner close to the basking light. The grainy bumps have gone now so these were likely the substrate, I have ordered the repti-bark that you recommended. He still isn’t opening his eyes but they do look slightly less puffy, I’ll send a closer photo of those too if that’s ok. Do you think this could be because the vivarium is too dry? Thank you all again for your help, it’s really appreciated and I’m really hoping we can make him comfortable and happy again.

 

[Tom]

Hi there, thanks so much for taking the time to send your reply. We have been on holiday and he has been being taken care of, but we are back now so I can send you all of the specific details. I have had a read of the info sheet which is really useful, thank you. As for the temperature, we are measuring it via a digital thermometer (HabiStat) that’s inside the vivarium in the back corner close to the basking light. The grainy bumps have gone now so these were likely the substrate, I have ordered the repti-bark that you recommended. He still isn’t opening his eyes but they do look slightly less puffy, I’ll send a closer photo of those too if that’s ok. Do you think this could be because the vivarium is too dry? Thank you all again for your help, it’s really appreciated and I’m really hoping we can make him comfortable and happy again.

What type of UV bulb are you using?