Question about swelling

LaLaP

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My Russian, Diego has been looking slightly puffy around his front arms and neck for a couple weeks now. It’s slight so I’ve just been waiting and watching. Not much change. It’s possible it’s mostly in my head but I don’t think so.

So my question is this ; when swelling occurs due to kidney issues does it happen slowly sometimes? All of the old posts I’ve been reading seem to be a sudden swelling and fairly pronounced.

Any opinions on wether I should take a deep breath and keep watching or call the exotics vet?

I’ve been trying to take a photo this morning but he’s all sprawled out and looks fine. It’s only noticeable when he is pulled in slightly.

Here’s the photo I got... just cause he’s cute. 459EAEFA-1F8A-4227-812A-03D975E280E6.jpeg

Obviously he’s feeling great... or he’s dead.
 

LaLaP

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E85D577E-2E99-49ED-8A0B-262492D2F541.jpeg

You can see it a bit here. It’s more if he is on the ground with legs near his body but he won’t cooperate for a good photo.
 

method89

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looks ok to me (no expert). any chance you have a photo before you think the swelling began?
 

Tom

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What size is the indoor enclosure? Has it been warm enough for outside enclosure time? How big is that enclosure?

What have you been feeding?

How often do you soak him?
 

LaLaP

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Perhaps he is gaining weight.
I thought about that but he weighs right in the middle of what he always weighs. In the last year he has fluctuated from 437 to 448. He is 443 right now. He’s also eating slightly less than his average which is normal this time of year for him. He usually starts eating a lot in mid summer.

Which makes me wonder another question; if he’s retaining fluid wouldn’t that be reflected in a weight gain?

Just hoping someone knows some specifics about kidney issues, fluid retention, etc so I know wether that is a possibility. I’ll gladly take him to the exotics vet but don’t want to do so blindly and wind up with a tort pumped full of vitamins and antibiotics, sicker than before.

@Yvonne G could you bestow some of your wisdom here? I’m sure you’ve seen your share of puffy tortoises!
 
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LaLaP

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What size is the indoor enclosure? Has it been warm enough for outside enclosure time? How big is that enclosure?

What have you been feeding?

How often do you soak him?
Hi Tom
Thanks for your reply. His indoor enclosure is 5.5x6.5ft. Outdoor enclosure is 6x50ft. He is outside about half the time right now on sunny days over 70 degrees. He eats weeds. Plantain, dandelion and other chicories, cats ear, nipplewort, clover, sow thistle. Mazuri once a week at most. I recently cut down on soaking from every 4 days to once a week due to my work schedule.
 

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