Are you leaving basking light on or one of thise ceramic heat and no light bulbs?
Sick Russian Tort
- Thread starter CathyNed
- Start date
He is not really dragging them. He is moving the back legs and bending them. His rear end just isnt raised off the substrate when he tries to walk.
Hector108
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- Mar 29, 2016
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Could be kidney problem. You say he doesn't pick his rear end off the ground right?
Not picking rear end up. Its as if he hasnt got enough strength in back legs. Has been peeing regularly when soaking. Urates also and not solid but a bit gritty. Has pooped twice in past week.very solid and large but no sign of kidney stones or anything. What would i/vet need to do to confirm or rule out a kidney problem? Thanks for the input.
Do you have night heat like a ceramic heat emitter? (these just give heat without light as torts need darkness to sleep).
You are right about coiled bulbs being very risky, so you may be better with a mercury vapour bulb (MVB) which gives heat light and uvb in one bulb for day use if it is too cold in your part of the world to put him outside for natural uvb from the sun. Where are you located?
You are right about coiled bulbs being very risky, so you may be better with a mercury vapour bulb (MVB) which gives heat light and uvb in one bulb for day use if it is too cold in your part of the world to put him outside for natural uvb from the sun. Where are you located?
Im in Ireland so yes the actual sun doesnt shine too often and when it does it is still cold. The enclosure is 4 foot by 2 foot. I have an exo terra 50W daylight basking spot bulb that i leave on from 8.30am to about midnight. Heats to 32-35 degrees.I also have a heat mat in place under the bark substrate. I wasnt sure about putting this back in but the tort has had one for last 8yrs so i kept it. Have never had any problems regarding him peeing on it or anything.I have an exo terra 13w reptile uvb 150 bulb.ive broken a light fixture while chamging the enclosure around so at the minute im swapping between basking and the uvb for a couple hours a day which isnt ideal. I only got a new coil type beacause i already had the fixture set up for it and wanted it running asap and now ive broken that. I had already decided to swap from coil to a tube type and got a 60cm 20W repti glo 10.0 uvb tube type but i am waiting for a fixture for this type to arrive. Does this set up sound ok once i get the tube uvb up? He will have the 20W 10.0 uvb tube, the basking 50W and mat. I will also get a ceramic heat lamp to leave on at night to keep temps up.
Update pooped and peed again today in his bath. Seemed more energetic and lively when he was out of the enclosure. The min he goes back in he heads to basking lamp and sleeps....
Tried him with some solid food today. Lambs lettuce and dandelion....he was very interested....i kept putting it at a distance from him and he kept coming to it slowly but surely and then snapping eagerly. Most movement i have seen in a while and the most interest he has shown in food. Hopefully he is on the mend. I didnt let him have much as he seemed to have difficulty swallowing it the last time as i mentioned in earlier post. Also didnt want to overdo it since he hasnt eaten much solid food in a while. Hopefully the improvement will continue although the minute he is back in his enclosure he is fast asleep....any ideas why this might be or should i just put it down to him just being weak at the moment?
Hector108
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Him not being able to pick up his rear leads me to the possibility of kidney stones. And it depends on the severity of the problem
I found that wood bark got stuck in my tort's shell behind a leg. It also can give splinters. Check him closely and maybe switch his substrate to ground coconut shell. That helped mine immensely!
Hey guys. Update. Tort had a big appetite tonight compared to usual. Dont wanna let him eat too much and let him ease back to normal.seemed to be a little more keen to walk around and explore too. Doing both these activities outside of enclosure. When left in enclosure he still just sleeps under basking lamp....
Checked his shell just incase. No sign of a problem.Think I may change to coco coir though as he sounds a bit clunky on the woodchip. Im thinking it may be hurting him as his rear plastron is touching it when he walks.What form does it come in? It might be gentler to walk on?
Hi CathyNed, Why do you leave his light bulb from 8:30 am until midnight? In my opinion this is way too long. Tortoises need rest at night in a dark place. Maybe his circadian rhythm is not right and this is why he is being lethargic? 12 hours of light is just enough. I do this with my torts and in the morning they are very vigorous, half and hour of basking and ready to go and destroy the enclosure. Also, a heat mat is not the best choice as this is just not a natural way of heat distribution. Russians need heat coming from above
Of course I am not saying this is the cause of weakness in his back legs. Like others have said, it might be kidney problems. Also if there is any blockage in his digestive tract (the coco coir that he consumed for instance and that is causing constipation)the intestines may expand and there may be some pressure on the nerves. Was he injured or anything? If there is a damage in his spine he may have difficulties walking. But first of all I think you should have blood work done to see what's happening with the kidneys.
Tortoises tend to become lethargic in their enclosures when they are too dull. Maybe some new elements would bring the explorer out of him again?
Of course I am not saying this is the cause of weakness in his back legs. Like others have said, it might be kidney problems. Also if there is any blockage in his digestive tract (the coco coir that he consumed for instance and that is causing constipation)the intestines may expand and there may be some pressure on the nerves. Was he injured or anything? If there is a damage in his spine he may have difficulties walking. But first of all I think you should have blood work done to see what's happening with the kidneys.Tortoises tend to become lethargic in their enclosures when they are too dull. Maybe some new elements would bring the explorer out of him again?
No reason in particular only that i am up at 8.30 and its the first thing i do and i go to bed around midnight and turning it off is the last thing i do.He is sleeping through all day whether light is on or off. He only comes to life when i take him out and let him wander outside enclosure and bathe him. The minute he gets back into enclosure he is asleep again. Since he began having problems i have replaced all bulbs anf updated my enclosure. After lots of reading i have a feeling uvb light is the problem as i did not realise the bulbs needed to be replaced or they lost their uvb potential. He has probably been without proper uvb ..through my own fault. With the tube feeding to help bring up his weight, 2 daily soaks, better uva/uvb, good heat temps i am hoping he will improve. Would he have difficulty pooping/peeing if it were a kidney problem? He has been doing both regularly. Vet at the animal hospital didnt mention or suggest anything about bloodwork. Im not sure how regularly he treats torts though or how knowledgeable he is with regards torts but he examined torts mouth, eyes and shell for softening. I have been tube feeding for 1 week and in last 2 days seen a big improvement in appetite/interest in food. More inclined to explore but only outside enclosure as i said which makes me think maybe the wood chip is painful to walk on. I had said that i would give it about 10 days and take him back to vet to see what he thinks of the improvement. I will mention bloodwork and maybe xray then. I want to do eveything i can. Also i want him to check his weight gain. He has gained about 50g.Hi CathyNed, Why do you leave his light bulb from 8:30 am until midnight? In my opinion this is way too long. Tortoises need rest at night in a dark place. Maybe his circadian rhythm is not right and this is why he is being lethargic? 12 hours of light is just enough. I do this with my torts and in the morning they are very vigorous, half and hour of basking and ready to go and destroy the enclosure. Also, a heat mat is not the best choice as this is just not a natural way of heat distribution. Russians need heat coming from above
Tortoises tend to become lethargic in their enclosures when they are too dull. Maybe some new elements would bring the explorer out of him again?
If it were a kidney problem he could possibly have difficulty peeing. As to pooping I don't really know and don't think so. Could you post some pictures of him and his enclosure? Kidney problems are often manifested as swelling of the legs and generally puffy appearance.
The woodchip is not painful to walk on, but if it is the only substrate it may be like walking in quicksand. I personally use soil or turf and this works best for my torts and it's a stable support for their legs.
For the lights and UVB I would use a programmable timer and set it to 12 hours. The tort needs more sleep than you and he should be sleeping in appropriate conditions (dark). I really hope he improves, all the best to you both!
The woodchip is not painful to walk on, but if it is the only substrate it may be like walking in quicksand. I personally use soil or turf and this works best for my torts and it's a stable support for their legs.
For the lights and UVB I would use a programmable timer and set it to 12 hours. The tort needs more sleep than you and he should be sleeping in appropriate conditions (dark). I really hope he improves, all the best to you both!
I agree, make your life easy and buy a 24 hour timer from a hardware store. Have it come on and go off at the same time each day for a 12 hour period.
Your tort will be much happier for it and you can have a lie in or go out without upsetting his routine
Your tort will be much happier for it and you can have a lie in or go out without upsetting his routine
Update. Have been soaking twice dail about 20mins each time. He is alert after spak and more curious.yesterday in his bath he had difficulty passing large poop and prolapsed his penis. After a further 30-40 min soak and 20min soak in sugar water it didnt go back by itself so i pushed it back gently. It looked very aggrivated red and painful which i assume is from straining to poop. He ate some dandelion and lambs lettuce later lastnight.
I recommend getting an X-Ray done to check for kidney stones and a blood test to check his calcium levels. This will help narrow down the problem. I'm glad he has an appetite again. Continue soaking him and keeping him warm.
When was the last time you saw him pee?
When was the last time you saw him pee?
He pees every day several times. Always in or straight after his soak. He did it just there a minute ago in fact. Clear liquid. Sometimes urates aswell but those have been becoming less. I dont think the vet i brought him to last time had much experuence of torts. When i told him all the symptoms he never mentioned blood test or xray or anything which i would have thought would be normal to do if there was a problem. I emailed another vet to see if they deal with tortoises and if they had equip to do xrays /bloodwork they havent gotton back to me. They are about an hour and a half away from me.
He pees every day several times. Always in or straight after his soak. He did it just there a minute ago in fact. Clear liquid. Sometimes urates aswell but those have been becoming less. I dont think the vet i brought him to last time had much experuence of torts. When i told him all the symptoms he never mentioned blood test or xray or anything which i would have thought would be normal to do if there was a problem. I emailed another vet to see if they deal with tortoises and if they had equip to do xrays /bloodwork they havent gotton back to me. They are about an hour and a half away from me.
