Horsefield Baby Tortoise

Celine2019

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Jan 8, 2019
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In need of some advice! My baby tortoise today had a really puffy eye, one was fine. She seemed to keep rubbing her arms on them. She also had a bit of snot/bubbles from her nose.

She is kept warm and bathed every other day. She has a varied diet but I am very new to keeping tortoises so starting to worry, any advice???
 

Celine2019

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Jan 8, 2019
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Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
Her eyes have pretty much gone back to normal now! But it has happened before with her left eye being slow to open and more puffy
 
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A few comments on the enclosure, if that is potting soil with perlite, you may want to find an alternative substrate because the tortoises will eat the little white pellets and they can lead to impaction in his digestive system. I use coco coir and orchid bark for substrate because it holds moisture. Which looks to be another element lacking, make sure you are bathing the baby constantly and wetting his enclosure with mist. If he were in the wild, he would be constantly surrounded by the dewy moisture, plus getting rained on, plus digging down into the moist soil.
Err on the side of being too wet and hot, rather than cold and dry, especially while they are small.
 

Celine2019

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Joined
Jan 8, 2019
Messages
17
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
A few comments on the enclosure, if that is potting soil with perlite, you may want to find an alternative substrate because the tortoises will eat the little white pellets and they can lead to impaction in his digestive system. I use coco coir and orchid bark for substrate because it holds moisture. Which looks to be another element lacking, make sure you are bathing the baby constantly and wetting his enclosure with mist. If he were in the wild, he would be constantly surrounded by the dewy moisture, plus getting rained on, plus digging down into the moist soil.
Err on the side of being too wet and hot, rather than cold and dry, especially while they are small.

Thank you so much! The soil with perlite is what was suggested to me with the start up set from the pet shop. I will look into the others :)
Should I be bathing her more regular?
 

Ben02

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For my substrate I have coco coir at the bottom and orchid bark covering the top so hey don't eat any on the food. Looks like you have a growing tort There:D
 

Cheryl Hills

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Hi and welcome to the forum. I see a bunch of things that need to be changed. Please do go to the Russian tort section , which was the link given above, and read. Make the changes according to the care sheet. You have what looks like a baby russian. They do need a bit of special care at that age. Unfortunately, most pet stores, some breeders and vets have very little clue as to how to raise a tortoise correctly. We have the most up to date info here on the forum. If your baby has bubbles from her nose , she may be coming down with a respiratory infection, or it could be from improper temps, substrate, etc. . Please read the care sheet and come back with any questions ASAP.
 

Yvonne G

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Just to add to what's been said, I really doubt a small baby like your Russian is would be able to eat those pellets. Fresh weeds and greens would be the best diet. If you must feed pellets, they have to be soaked in water until soft enough for the baby to eat them.
 

Celine2019

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Okay - a lot learn! It’s shocking how incorrect and little help the shops give you.

So, humidity for her enclosure. I am going to switch up her area this weekend. Hopefully this will help. I am hoping this and temperature may be one of the main issues for her eyes and nose.

For the substrate, I am going to change this when I clean out her enclosure next week. I like the mix of soil and wood chips on top. I have noticed that the food catches soil when she’s eating.

Can I have some advice on bathing? Should I be bathing her every day?

She hasn’t been eating any pellets anyway just the fresh vegetables I have been giving her. I will try soaking a couple but she seems to pooing and weeing normally. I sprinkle vitamins over the vege too.

Thanks everyone!
 

Yvonne G

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Vitamins only a couple times a week, soaking daily while it's a baby, then a couple times a week and later only once a week.
 
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