unlikelyrussian
New Member
Hi, I adopted a Russian tortoise earlier this month that had clearly been neglected for some time and was living mostly on sand in a 50 gallon tub. Since then:
Sand was replaced with deep orchid bark and I gave him an upside down plastic tub with an entrance to be a hide.
He has visited an exotics vet and had beak trim and bloodwork, which showed elevated white blood cells and severe hydration. He's also anemic.
Because of his blood results, we did a stool/fecal analysis, which apparently showed several parasites at loads that the vet deemed worth treating (she had previously said they often did not treat unless the worms seemed to be causing a problem).
He's gotten doses of metronidazole and Panacur. And the vet has put him on a course of antibiotics that I inject.
I am doing twice daily soaks. After his soak he is getting salads with a mix of grocery greens from approved Turtle Table list, and he eats them. Also trying to get him to eat Mazuri but he doesn't seem that interested in it.
He did not have a UVB light. I have ordered a Arcadia PRO t5 fixture with a 12% bulb. And was planning to have it on for a couple of hours midday. Does that sound appropriate? I am worried about suddenly exposing him to UVB when he hasn't had it in probably a decade--should I introduce it gradually?
He has a basking lamp that is around 95 degrees beneath it, then temps taper out to room temperatures which are around 72.
We are going to build him a big turtle table and are currently researching it and making plans and will have it completed by the end of the month so he can start the new year in a new world. Other than eating, he currently wants nothing more than to bury himself. Is there anything else I can be doing to improve his lot?
Sand was replaced with deep orchid bark and I gave him an upside down plastic tub with an entrance to be a hide.
He has visited an exotics vet and had beak trim and bloodwork, which showed elevated white blood cells and severe hydration. He's also anemic.
Because of his blood results, we did a stool/fecal analysis, which apparently showed several parasites at loads that the vet deemed worth treating (she had previously said they often did not treat unless the worms seemed to be causing a problem).
He's gotten doses of metronidazole and Panacur. And the vet has put him on a course of antibiotics that I inject.
I am doing twice daily soaks. After his soak he is getting salads with a mix of grocery greens from approved Turtle Table list, and he eats them. Also trying to get him to eat Mazuri but he doesn't seem that interested in it.
He did not have a UVB light. I have ordered a Arcadia PRO t5 fixture with a 12% bulb. And was planning to have it on for a couple of hours midday. Does that sound appropriate? I am worried about suddenly exposing him to UVB when he hasn't had it in probably a decade--should I introduce it gradually?
He has a basking lamp that is around 95 degrees beneath it, then temps taper out to room temperatures which are around 72.
We are going to build him a big turtle table and are currently researching it and making plans and will have it completed by the end of the month so he can start the new year in a new world. Other than eating, he currently wants nothing more than to bury himself. Is there anything else I can be doing to improve his lot?
