mads3732
Member
Hi! I made an account to post this and am excited to meet new people. I need help with my Russian tourtise named Tuttle. He is 8 years old and got him when he was around a year old.
History: I changed his cage from a terrarium to basically what is a 6 × 3 box of wood less then a year ago. In the last 2 weeks I changed his substrate from repti bark to cedar mulch. (Recommended) the day I was changing his new substrate I had him outside in like 80 degree weather and he got out of his gate for about 30 minutes. I found him within out fence, he seemed fine. He loved the substrate.
The past week my fears have gotten bigger. I have tried feeding him more foods since hes always been picky. He Is sleeping alot more, moving around less. He IS eating, just not much. He might eat a piece of squash or two at the most and go back to bed. I've noticed his eyes seem puffy so I've given him eye drops (turtle eye drops) as of today. He has always had slight burn marks on his shell from a heat lamp that's wattage was too high, I'm trying to change it to make it higher soon. For now I'm limiting the time he spends under the heat lamp and am turning it off sometimes. These burns have always been there but they have gotten worse. He also has been chipping slightly under his shell. I love my animals and get paranoid if I notice something off about them. I dont think this is an issue but I kinda have a fear of shell rot for him. Since I've been soaking him everyday he has pooped more and ALOT, more then I see him go in his home. I just want him to be healthy and would love advice and opinions
History: I changed his cage from a terrarium to basically what is a 6 × 3 box of wood less then a year ago. In the last 2 weeks I changed his substrate from repti bark to cedar mulch. (Recommended) the day I was changing his new substrate I had him outside in like 80 degree weather and he got out of his gate for about 30 minutes. I found him within out fence, he seemed fine. He loved the substrate.
The past week my fears have gotten bigger. I have tried feeding him more foods since hes always been picky. He Is sleeping alot more, moving around less. He IS eating, just not much. He might eat a piece of squash or two at the most and go back to bed. I've noticed his eyes seem puffy so I've given him eye drops (turtle eye drops) as of today. He has always had slight burn marks on his shell from a heat lamp that's wattage was too high, I'm trying to change it to make it higher soon. For now I'm limiting the time he spends under the heat lamp and am turning it off sometimes. These burns have always been there but they have gotten worse. He also has been chipping slightly under his shell. I love my animals and get paranoid if I notice something off about them. I dont think this is an issue but I kinda have a fear of shell rot for him. Since I've been soaking him everyday he has pooped more and ALOT, more then I see him go in his home. I just want him to be healthy and would love advice and opinions