tedthetortoise2
New Member
Can you guys help me diagnose what this is? My tortoise has recently had a lot of problems emerge at once. Thanks.
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Swelling on Legs
- Thread starter tedthetortoise2
- Start date
That's fluid retention. We have no way of knowing why this is happening. You should take the tortoise to a qualified tortoise vet for testing.
tedthetortoise2
New Member
Good news. The pet store I got him from is taking him to their vet and are examining him and curing him. I want to make sure this never happens again. Just so I can see to make changes, can you guys help me? I have a large glass terrarium with good ventilation and the sides covered so they dont run into walls. The humidity is around 60. I use reptibark substrate. I must it every day. I soak my tortoise everyday. The hot side is at 90 and the cool around 80. I have an adequate hide and food and water bowl. I use a compact uvb (changing to tube soon). I feed fresh greens every morning with vegetables and fruit rotated in. I have calcium supplement two times a week. Am I doing anything wrong?
Well, that tortoise is an almost full grown Russian tortoise, so you don't need all that much humidity. Plus, the enclosure was much too hot for that size Russian. They can have room temperature at night, about 100F directly under the light, and a big enough enclosure that he can go to the other end and it will be room temperature, or about 70F or so. Russian tortoises should not be fed fruit. He needs a pretty big area and we recommend about 8'x4'.
Make sure you get good honest answers (lol) from the pet shop that is "taking him to their vet" who are "examining him and curing him". Right. Find out who "their vet" is and follow it up in person with their vet. There's a lot of stuff goes on that should not. This tortoise needs to see a qualified experienced reptile vet, like Yvonne said, and she knows.
I agree with Yvonne this is possibly a swelling from fluid retention issue. It can sometimes be related to filter organ problems but as already noted above, there is really no way for us to be able to tell what the true issue is based on online photos. I recommend a blood panel that looks at liver enzymes and kidney function when you get to the vet. Be sure to let us know how it goes!
tedthetortoise2
New Member
It's from petsmart but they have exotic pet reptile vets that are taking him back. I'm technically returning him but if they cure him I'll get him back. He looks in pain and his tail does not look normal. I'm hoping he can be cured but I'm afraid he had a bad infection.
That tortoise needs a qualified exotics or reptile vet not the store vet......
Definitely. Please get ur tort to an experienced vet yourself. Many conditions take follow up and interim care--and most pet shops can't/ won't do that.
If you want a healthy tort back, take it back and get it the true care he/she might need.
If you want a healthy tort back, take it back and get it the true care he/she might need.
