Greek Tortoise RI/ Eye Infection?

[Vipetsksa]

Hi Guys,

I keep a mix of Golden Greek and Greek tortoises outdoor with amix of Soil and hay. The temperature in my country is quite hot at the moment around 32 degrees celcius

 

[Vipetsksa]

Hi Guys,

I keep a mix of Golden Greek and Greek tortoises outdoor with amix of Soil and hay. The temperature in my country is quite hot at the moment around 32 degrees celcius

Seems like the rest of what I wrote disappeared. It’s 32 Degrees Celsius in the shade and gets up to 36 in the sun. They have swollen eyes and a slight runny nose but the weird thing is that only the golden Greeks seem to be affected. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mark1]

seeing all the loose sand on the tortoise , i'd guess your soil might be an issue …… I doubt they habituate as loose of sand as it appears you got ? I don't doubt they inhabit rocky sandy soil areas , but i'd bet it's soil that holds together …….. it's not usual to see tortoises or turtles with loose sand all over them .........

 

[Vipetsksa]

seeing all the loose sand on the tortoise , i'd guess your soil might be an issue …… I doubt they habituate as loose of sand as it appears you got ? I don't doubt they inhabit rocky sandy soil areas , but i'd bet it's soil that holds together …….. it's not usual to see tortoises or turtles with loose sand all over them .........

Ok thank you, I appreciate the feedback. I will try to wet the soil so it’s not as loose other then changing the soil completely I’m not sure what else I could do.

Anyone else please give me your imput

 

[mark1]

Ok thank you, I appreciate the feedback. I will try to wet the soil so it’s not as loose other then changing the soil completely I’m not sure what else I could do.

Anyone else please give me your imput

you could amend it ,little by little , by adding plant based compost to it …...

 

[Vipetsksa]

you could amend it ,little by little , by adding plant based compost to it …...

Oh ok that’s interesting, I’ll try to look into that. So do you think I should give a course of antibiotic to the affected tortoises?

 

[mark1]

other than the irritated eyes , do they act sick ? are they eating ? are they not alert ? make sure they have a place where they can cool off ………
this guy doesn't look sick

nostrils look clear , one eye looks a little irritated ….. i'd be hesitant to use an ointment on it with all the sand stuck to him , i'd be concerned the sand would stick to it ........ maybe try rinsing it out with saline , there are some liquid prescription eye drops .......

 

[Tom]

Sand is a huge impaction risk and possible skin and eye irritant, which is exactly what you are seeing. Greeks don't eat hay, so I wouldn't put that in with them either.

Is the sand just what was on the ground where you made the enclosure, or did you bring it in on purpose? If you can remove it and just use the regulate dirt, this problem will likely clear up. If the whole thing is just a big sand box under there, you might need to move them. Mark's idea might help, but I still would't want them on a sand soil mix either, personally.

Super cool enclosure, other than the sand!