What is wrong with my Russian tortoise?

Sheldonsspot

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
HOUSTON
Because of the shell, it can be very difficult to tell if a tortoise or turtle is dead or alive. Dead tortoises usually have the head and all four legs outside the shell. They often appear limp, and feel limp when you touch them. Eyes may be sunken, but that can also be a sign of dehydration in a livingtortoise.

I got this from Google :( I'm so very sorry...to see if he is still breathing put a water droplet on his nostrils, a breathing tortoise will cause bubbles to appear, wipe it off if nothing happens

There were no bubbles :'( I tried three times
 

C. Nelson

Active Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
135
Location (City and/or State)
Grand Junction, CO
I got a Russian tortoise online almost 3 months ago. The breeder obviously neglected him because when he arrived, his shell is covered in different dents and scratches from what I can only assume was a bad environment. Anyways, everything was going smoothly until about a week after I got him he developed an eye infection. I cleaned it twice a day until the infection went away and he was fine.

Everything was fine until about a little less than 2 weeks ago when his eye infection came back in both eyes. I had eye drops but I wanted to make sure there wasn't any dirt or anything that could be rinsed out. I waited two or three days before administering drops. I put drops in his eyes for five days, gently using the corner of a towel to wipe the gunk (which was a greenish brown goop that was stuck to both of his eyes and matted them shut) and his eye infection has gone away. He wouldn't eat when he had the infections both times so I assumed he would be eating by now but he hasn't eaten at all. I feed him lettuce, aloe, and squash usually because money has been tight but I have been trying to mix up his diet. However, he hasn't been eating and now his poop is liquid (he wasn't pooping when he wasn't eating so I dont know what's going on). It's a brown liquid that is slowly coming out and won't stop. I only noticed it about 30 minutes ago and I immediately started soaking him. With the rate the liquid is coming out of him, i think it had been coming out of about an hour when I found him.

What do I do? How do I get him to eat? How do I get him to stop pooping? Is he okay? Please help me!

Here's some other information that may be helpful:
-Substrate: his enclosure is divided into two parts that he can come and go in as he pleases, half is peat moss and the other is sand
-I do have him on uv light but only on the peat moss side and I only have a heat lamp on the sand side
-He doesn't move alot so I generally have to move him to the peat moss side in the morning and I let him sleep under the heat lamp at night
-His food and water is on the peat moss side
-I have a large aloe vera plant planted on the peat moss side
-I try to take him out side for ag the very least 30 minutes a day if the weather is nice, I'm in Missouri so it changes constantly


I rescue tortoises and one thing I've noticed is that they have weird diarrhea poo with a terrible smell when they have been on an all lettuce diet. The average person has no idea what tortoises are supposed to eat, or that they should be soaked. So when I get them on a healthy diet, they still have to expel all the rotten food that was in there before. That part clears up within a week.

Yvonne is the person that has taught us all about baby carrot food soaks for sore eyes. Check that out here on the forum.
 

MichaelL

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2018
Messages
983
Location (City and/or State)
Ocala, Fl
Thank you! Why must I have a heat lamp that emits light?
I am late and I really hope your tortoise is doing okay, but the tortoise needs some light because if it is all dark then it won't have an appetite and they associate darkness with sleeping and hiding so it will not be as active, even if it has heat.
 

churlishcurls

New Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2019
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Minnesota
Thank you! Why must I have a heat lamp that emits light?
Not just any light, but UVA and UVB light. They need it to grow properly. It's like sunshine.

I use this light and it works wonderfully for 007. Just remember to change the bulbs every 6 months or so, because even if it doesn't burn out it will stop emitting the UV rays that are essential for the tortoise.
 
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