New tortoise owner, help please, red swollen sores

creepy-crawler

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have you seen the vet? I keep russians too, swollen eyes are USUALLY a sign of Respiratory infection, if he is not eating, it means it is pretty advanced, he will need antibiotics to survive. I do not claim to know what is wrong with your tortoise, but mine is currently in the hospital tank after a vet visit. mine are kept outside and with a f****d weather this year this got an RI, looks like this except without the sores, the sores mean a definite infection, also, take him outside, let him enjoy the morning sun, also since he is not eating, neither is mine, give him soaks in V* or tomato (even better) juice. It feeds him a little bit as they absorb though claoca so much. good luck, i will not be checking how much anger and disagreement this comment will provide, but my best goes out to you and your boy:)
 

creepy-crawler

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and the fact that his skin is turning pink is the worst thing, it looks like septicimia to me, vet my friend is your only salvation, or he will die, septicimia will kill him in one month.
 
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and the fact that his skin is turning pink is the worst thing, it looks like septicimia to me, vet my friend is your only salvation, or he will die, septicimia will kill him in one month.

I appreciate all your input but go through the whole post haha, took him to the vet over a week ago. His first round of antibiotics is almost over. All the sores are all healed and scabbed over/healed. I soak him in a mixture of water and gerbers carrot baby food.
 

creepy-crawler

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oh the recovery is very long, did he open his eyes yet? he might not look it but he might be congested.
 
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oh the recovery is very long, did he open his eyes yet? he might not look it but he might be congested.

Well it’s a respiratory illness so I’ve been assuming he’s congested. But he has not opened his eyes yet. We are at the park right now for sunset. There’s a nice breeze and it’s pretty warm outside.
 

Melis

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Be careful at public parks. They could spray the grass. You don’t wanna add on any other issues to this little guy
 

mark1

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outside really is a big deal , but if you don't have a pen to keep him in that he's acclimated to , myself personally I think the stress of moving him around outweighs any possible benefit to the limited outside exposure he'll be getting , stress is unhealthy for a healthy animal , it's deadly to an unhealthy animal ……. the best sun for them is morning early afternoon ……. keep him hydrated and warm 80-85 degrees , humidity will benefit him ….. when i read "never" give them a vitamin shot , myself personally i shake my head ....... vitamin deficiencies such as B and A can in themselves be fatal , just as to much can be .......personally I think a b shot might perk him up , that along with hydration............. the fact he hasn't opened his eyes is worrisome , if the infection is bacterial and hasn't been let go to the point it has damaged organs , i'd guess he will survive ........ the carrot soak is new to me , from here , but if he's drinking it sure sounds like a good idea , oral vitamin A is absolutely safest ……..he probably hasn't eaten in a long time , I would think he's probably a candidate as to having some deficiencies going on ………… I read on this board quite often that a vet is the last resort , and then folks are blaming their vets for their animals death , which to me is more than a bit illogical , it's like wondering why a doctor getting his patients from hospice has such a high death rate ........ i have many dog vets and have had quite a few exotic vets , if one of them didn't know a dog is different than a turtle they wouldn't be my dogs vet , i tend to pick smarter folks than me for such services ...........
 
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outside really is a big deal , but if you don't have a pen to keep him in that he's acclimated to , myself personally I think the stress of moving him around outweighs any possible benefit to the limited outside exposure he'll be getting , stress is unhealthy for a healthy animal , it's deadly to an unhealthy animal ……. the best sun for them is morning early afternoon ……. keep him hydrated and warm 80-85 degrees , humidity will benefit him ….. when i read "never" give them a vitamin shot , myself personally i shake my head ....... vitamin deficiencies such as B and A can in themselves be fatal , just as to much can be .......personally I think a b shot might perk him up , that along with hydration............. the fact he hasn't opened his eyes is worrisome , if the infection is bacterial and hasn't been let go to the point it has damaged organs , i'd guess he will survive ........ the carrot soak is new to me , from here , but if he's drinking it sure sounds like a good idea , oral vitamin A is absolutely safest ……..he probably hasn't eaten in a long time , I would think he's probably a candidate as to having some deficiencies going on ………… I read on this board quite often that a vet is the last resort , and then folks are blaming their vets for their animals death , which to me is more than a bit illogical , it's like wondering why a doctor getting his patients from hospice has such a high death rate ........ i have many dog vets and have had quite a few exotic vets , if one of them didn't know a dog is different than a turtle they wouldn't be my dogs vet , i tend to pick smarter folks than me for such services ...........

So you’re saying if he doesn’t have a pen outside we shouldn’t bring him outside at all? Your wording confused me. In terms of our vet that wasn’t last minute at all I called the vet for an appointment within the first 4 days of getting Iroh but I was only able to get my appointment 3 days after that. Since we are near the end of the antibiotics and he still hasn’t opened his eyes I actually set up another appointment yesterday. Unfortunately she couldn’t take me until this coming Friday.
 

mark1

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my thoughts on the advice i read here quite often towards vet help was not at all aimed at you ....... i think you did exactly what i'd have done ........ as far as outside , i wouldn't be stressing him out to get him there , in his condition sunlight is not his foremost concern ....... put his cage near a window with natural sunlight , just make sure it doesn't get to warm and he isn't stuck in the sun , both of which are stressful themselves ........ as far as dr. wendt , her fathers name was dr. wallace wendt , google him along with cleveland zoo , she been around this stuff her entire life , she won't do anything she doesn't think is necessary and helpful ....there is no doubt in my mind , the more invasive the intervention a vet has to do , the more likely the outcome will not be good ........ good luck with your guy ........
 
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my thoughts on the advice i read here quite often towards vet help was not at all aimed at you ....... i think you did exactly what i'd have done ........ as far as outside , i wouldn't be stressing him out to get him there , in his condition sunlight is not his foremost concern ....... put his cage near a window with natural sunlight , just make sure it doesn't get to warm and he isn't stuck in the sun , both of which are stressful themselves ........ as far as dr. wendt , her fathers name was dr. wallace wendt , google him along with cleveland zoo , she been around this stuff her entire life , she won't do anything she doesn't think is necessary and helpful ....there is no doubt in my mind , the more invasive the intervention a vet has to do , the more likely the outcome will not be good ........ good luck with your guy ........

Thank you so much, I will take all this into account and I’ll definitely be looking up her father!
 
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Update: we took Iroh to the vet again yesterday (Saturday) she said he infection is almost completely gone. The issue of his eyes not opening has also gotten better. She gave us some sort of gel to rub on his eyes (forgot the name of it). We clean them with a q-tip daily then place a small bit of the gel right on the crease of his eyes. Worked very well I’d say. This morning is left eye was completely open for the first time in nearly 4-5 days. Right eye is still closed, but looking better. Iroh is still not eating. She suggested force feeding with a syringe and some type of purée but she didn’t specify what we should be giving him? Any suggestions for force feeding? Also she gave him a vitamin shot while we were there and just by chance I happened on to another post where everyone was saying absolutely NO vitamin shots. I am not worried. Why do people advise against them?
 

ascott

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Update: we took Iroh to the vet again yesterday (Saturday) she said he infection is almost completely gone. The issue of his eyes not opening has also gotten better. She gave us some sort of gel to rub on his eyes (forgot the name of it). We clean them with a q-tip daily then place a small bit of the gel right on the crease of his eyes. Worked very well I’d say. This morning is left eye was completely open for the first time in nearly 4-5 days. Right eye is still closed, but looking better. Iroh is still not eating. She suggested force feeding with a syringe and some type of purée but she didn’t specify what we should be giving him? Any suggestions for force feeding? Also she gave him a vitamin shot while we were there and just by chance I happened on to another post where everyone was saying absolutely NO vitamin shots. I am not worried. Why do people advise against them?

I would be wary of force feeding....very stressful and very invasive...especially if the tort has not begun to open eyes....soak and offer smelly favorite treat foods---bite by bite by hand if necessary.....also, vitamin A can kill a tortoise...especially a small tortoise.
 

Yvonne G

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I don't know why, but SOME vets tend to give too much vitamin A in the injection. Too much causes the skin to slough off. If you follow my driections about soaking in Gerber strained carrots/warm water (50/50) the eyes will open in three days.
 
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