New Hinge Back tortoise

russian_hingeback

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3 days ago i went to a reptile expo and purchased a hinge back tortoise. The seller did not tell me the sex age or type of hinge back. When i went up to the cage it's head was out and looked healthy. Once i got him(im calling him a him because i don' t like using 'it') i put him into a cage with a hide log,water dish, food dish, and bedding. I am using the forest bedding from petsmart by Zoomed i believe. I understand that they are shy animals but when he came out of his shell his eyes were closed. I picked him up and they remained closed. Does this mean he could possibly have an eye infection? There doesn't seem to be any swelling or crust around the eyes so i'm not sure what's wrong with him. BTW i named him Gadget
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome. C what kind of lighting bulb are you using? Do you know what kind the breeder/seller was using? If it's a compact kind I would stop using it and see if the eyes improve. Post pics of your enclosure and your care routine.
@Jacqui @Will @Yvonne G
 

russian_hingeback

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Hello and Welcome. C what kind of lighting bulb are you using? Do you know what kind the breeder/seller was using? If it's a compact kind I would stop using it and see if the eyes improve. Post pics of your enclosure and your care routine.
@Jacqui @Will @Yvonne G
For the day time i use a 75 watt reptile bulb and at time i switch it to a black nightlight bulb that is also 75 watt. No i don't know what kind the breeder was using there wasn't much time to talk he had many other customers. The routine is around 10 pm i switch to a night bulb and at 6:30 am i switch to a daytime bulb. I put fresh red leaf lettuce in a food dish every day hoping he will eat but he never does. He has moved a bit from the place i put him which i suppose is good because he is coming out of his shell. I will post a photo of his cage in a sec i'm on my laptop so its a little hard to do.
 

wellington

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He does need a much bigger variety of a diet. I don't have any experience with the hinge backs but a variety in the diet is a must for all torts.
Post your temps for day and night, basking temps, all the info you can think of. It will help the members I alerted to help you better.
 

wellington

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First thing I see in the pic is its way too small of an enclosure and the water dish has to be lower sided. They can't drink out of a bowl like a dog or cat does. Get a clay saucer like what is put under flower pots and make it big enough for him to fit his whole self into. The enclosure needs to be at least three times the size of what it is now.
 

russian_hingeback

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First thing I see in the pic is its way too small of an enclosure and the water dish has to be lower sided. They can't drink out of a bowl like a dog or cat does. Get a clay saucer like what is put under flower pots and make it big enough for him to fit his whole self into. The enclosure needs to be at least three times the size of what it is now.
okay i have another cage for him i'll put into that now. i also have an old water dish from my Russian so i will put that into his cage as well
 

Jacqui

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First thing, are you soaking him in warm water with babyfood?
 

Jacqui

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For food try fruits and mushroons. Things like ripe muskmelon, papaya, strawberries. Mushrooms and earthworms are also lived. Even a little ripe banana until he is eating.

I would go solid sides and a quiet spot until he is more comfortable. Also can you get some leaves in there? Maybe some plants for humidity and hides
 

Jacqui

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the temp during the day is around 80-85F and at night 75F. Does it matter what kind of plants to put into the cage?

Temps are a bit high for the day time. What are you using to make those temps?

Any that has no pesticide or fertilizer and are safe to eat. He won't probally eat them, but will crawl on them on. lol

Also I am not a fan of what you are using for bedding. Doesn't hold moisture well. Have any coir?
 

russian_hingeback

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Temps are a bit high for the day time. What are you using to make those temps?

Any that has no pesticide or fertilizer and are safe to eat. He won't probally eat them, but will crawl on them on. lol

Also I am not a fan of what you are using for bedding. Doesn't hold moisture well. Have any coir?
I use a 75 watt bulb for the day but the room he is kept in gets pretty hot so that raises the temp. And i read that coir gets stuck in their eyes so i tried to stay away from that. I do have organic soil that i use for my Russian. I could use that for this one too.
 

Jacqui

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Is that light bright?

Were the eyes open when you got him?
 

Jacqui

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First thing, are you soaking him in warm water with babyfood?

For babyfood use something like carrots, squash, or fruits. Water depth to where the two shells meet.
 

Jacqui

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For food try fruits and mushroons. Things like ripe muskmelon, papaya, strawberries. Mushrooms and earthworms are also lived. Even a little ripe banana until he is eating.

I would go solid sides and a quiet spot until he is more comfortable. Also can you get some leaves in there? Maybe some plants for humidity and hides

Ripe fruit has more smell, so more attraction. Also naturally they would get the ripe fruit, because since they can't climb the tree and pick the fruit, they have to wait for it to fall... which is usally once it is really ripe.

If you feed papaya, remove the seeds. With banana use it only to get him eating. Bananas can be addicting. Might try plantain (like a banana).
 

russian_hingeback

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The light is a bit bright not very though. His eyes weren't open at the reptile expo i just thought he was resting. I got a closer look at his eyes today and i found that one is open while the other is closed.
 
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