What is wrong with my Russian tortoise?

[TechnoCheese]

Thank you! Why must I have a heat lamp that emits light?

Russians are hibernating tortoises, so having low lighting can lead them to believe that it’s winter and be less active. Having light also helps them to know where to bask. For example, I have a ceramic heat emitter and a heat lamp with my Sulcata, and even though the CHE gets slightly hotter, he basks under the light.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome!

You definitely have a wild caught adult. Whatever your “breeder” told you I would immediately forget about it and move on with the better information you can get here.

 

[dmmj]

So any update on your tortoise?

 

[Sheldonsspot]

So any update on your tortoise?

He's not doing great. He's exhausted and stiff. He still won't eat and I have to wait until tomorrow to get everything he needs which really sucks. Right now, I'm just trying to make him comfortable. I've soaked him 3 times today and there is still liquid coming out of him. It has slowed, but he's not doing good. However, I'm trying to be optimistic and I do have almost everything I need ordered and I will be going to the store to get everything else

 

[Sheldonsspot]

Russians are hibernating tortoises, so having low lighting can lead them to believe that it’s winter and be less active. Having light also helps them to know where to bask. For example, I have a ceramic heat emitter and a heat lamp with my Sulcata, and even though the CHE gets slightly hotter, he basks under the light.

Oh okay! That makes a lot of sense, thank you!!!

 

[Sheldonsspot]

Welcome!

You definitely have a wild caught adult. Whatever your “breeder” told you I would immediately forget about it and move on with the better information you can get here.

I wish the people I ordered him from was more honest. I ordered him and paid Express shipping and they took 2 weeks to send him to me and the company gets all their animals from a "private breeder." I definitely had a lapse in judgement from buying from them Haha but I love my tortoise anyway

 

[Sheldonsspot]

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 just checked on him and he hasn't moved or even blinked in the past couple of hours. Is he dead?

 

[TechnoCheese]

I just checked on him and he hasn't moved or even blinked in the past couple of hours. Is he dead?

Pull on his leg. Does it go back in or move at all?
Soak him in warm water and see if he moves at all, if he doesn’t pull his leg in.

 

[Sheldonsspot]

Pull on his leg. Does it go back in or move at all?
Soak him in warm water and see if he moves at all, if he doesn’t pull his leg in.

He was very stiff earlier this evening, so I soaked him and no movement. His eyes are open and I gently dripped some water on his head and I saw some got in his eye and he didn't even move. I'll try the leg thing

 

[Sheldonsspot]

He was very stiff earlier this evening, so I soaked him and no movement. His eyes are open and I gently dripped some water on his head and I saw some got in his eye and he didn't even move. I'll try the leg thing

There was a lot of resistance. His legs are stretched back so I moved them forward and I could feel the resistance

 

[Sheldonsspot]

I really think he's dead. He hasn't closed his eyes in hours I can tell because his eyes are just the same as they were earlier. His head hasn't even moved. I always rub his chin and he'll poke his head out but he's not doing it. His head just stays in the same spot.

 

[TechnoCheese]

His limbs are completely stiff? Are his eyes sunken in?

Keep him in a warm bath, and don’t take him out. You may have to put the soaking container under or near your ceramic heat emitter.

If he’s completely stiff and his eyes are sunken, he’s likely gone . In the case that he’s not (which CAN happen), the soak can help.

 

[Sheldonsspot]

How long should I soak him until I know hes gone?

 

[TechnoCheese]

How long should I soak him until I know hes gone?

That, I don’t have much experience on. I’d say an hour for now, but I’ll get back to you soon after I check a few things.

 

[Sheldonsspot]

Thank you! Here's some pictures of what he looks like right now

 

[TechnoCheese]

Alright, after the soak, put him right under his ceramic heat emitter, or near it if you think it’s above 100 degrees. I would not do anything with him (bury him, etc.) until he starts to smell. There have been cases of tortoises seeming completely dead, and then waking up like nothing happened.

Try touching his eye to see if he reacts.

 

[Sheldonsspot]

I poked both of his eyes and he didn't react, his eyes didn't change at all

 

[TechnoCheese]

I poked both of his eyes and he didn't react, his eyes didn't change at all

He’s likely gone, but still put him under his ceramic heat emitter after the soak just in case

 

[dmmj]

Sadly he sounds like he is gone? But I don't bury till they start to smell

 

[TortillaTheTortioise]

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