Hello,
I have a 1 year old Hermann's tortoise. I took him to the vet tonight because his eyes have been swollen shut for a few days. He has not seemed his normal self for about two weeks but I assumed it was due to the colder temps. He lives in a 3ft by 2ft open top wooden table with coco coir substrate. He has a plant saucer with fresh water that he drinks from and soaks in by himself. I also soak him daily. He has a 60 watt MVB which is on 14 hrs a day. Basking temp is 92.5 cool end is 70. I am not using any heat at night. Temps drop to about 69 over night. He had a garden outdoors in the summer. I live in upstate NY so going outside is not an option anymore (high of 42 degrees today). He eats a variety of weeds and grocery store greens such as endive, raddichio, escarole, kale...etc. He has spider plants, clover and dandelion growing in his habitat. He also gets Mazuri 2x a week and butternut squash 1 or two times a week. Calcium powder 2x a week, cuttlebone in enclosure. He weighs 50 grams. The vet thinks it is an eye infection and I am treating w/ antibiotic drops 3x a day for 10 days. If he does not seem to be getting better, I am supposed to bring him back for antibiotic injections. I left a stool sample for a fecal test just in case. She also recommends I increase the soaks to 2-3 times a day for now. I feel upset because I am not sure how he has gotten sick and I would like to make sure I am doing everything right. I had been thinking about hibernating him but I have had him just under a year so decided against it. Now I am just feeling unsure about my care for him because he is sick. Should I move him to a smaller "hospital habitat"? If the drops are working, how soon should I see a change? Will the drops work if I am applying them while his eyes are shut?
Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.
I have a 1 year old Hermann's tortoise. I took him to the vet tonight because his eyes have been swollen shut for a few days. He has not seemed his normal self for about two weeks but I assumed it was due to the colder temps. He lives in a 3ft by 2ft open top wooden table with coco coir substrate. He has a plant saucer with fresh water that he drinks from and soaks in by himself. I also soak him daily. He has a 60 watt MVB which is on 14 hrs a day. Basking temp is 92.5 cool end is 70. I am not using any heat at night. Temps drop to about 69 over night. He had a garden outdoors in the summer. I live in upstate NY so going outside is not an option anymore (high of 42 degrees today). He eats a variety of weeds and grocery store greens such as endive, raddichio, escarole, kale...etc. He has spider plants, clover and dandelion growing in his habitat. He also gets Mazuri 2x a week and butternut squash 1 or two times a week. Calcium powder 2x a week, cuttlebone in enclosure. He weighs 50 grams. The vet thinks it is an eye infection and I am treating w/ antibiotic drops 3x a day for 10 days. If he does not seem to be getting better, I am supposed to bring him back for antibiotic injections. I left a stool sample for a fecal test just in case. She also recommends I increase the soaks to 2-3 times a day for now. I feel upset because I am not sure how he has gotten sick and I would like to make sure I am doing everything right. I had been thinking about hibernating him but I have had him just under a year so decided against it. Now I am just feeling unsure about my care for him because he is sick. Should I move him to a smaller "hospital habitat"? If the drops are working, how soon should I see a change? Will the drops work if I am applying them while his eyes are shut?
Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.