I am still a new as a tortoise keeper, but I am trying my best to help them and be a better keeper. I have two greek tortoises and one of them is extremely sick.
Lately my young greek tortoise (5 months old) has been sick. First symptoms:
- inactive
- eyes closed and swollen
- soft under shell and between arms and legs
I live in a country with no vets specialised in reptiles, so I have been self researching and asking my friend who is a student at a vet university outside my country. My tort symptoms seemed like an infection with a calcium/sun deficiency. Even though he eats plenty of calcium resources, give him calcium additives and has a uvb light. So my friends professors theorize that the uvb light is not working so I started to put him in the sun. After multiple searches I find a vet that knows a little about reptiles. I have been treating him for infection and been given fluids.
Yesterday hit rock bottom with my tortoises, he is being completely inactive, eye swollen and closed, shell softer in the sides, and lots of discharges with an awful smell. Now I think he has kidney failure and is progressing. The vet can't test him from blood since he is too small, and we don't know what to do. I know that kidney failure is dangerous and he has it for a while, but I don't want to lose him. Is there anything I can do by myself to not lose him? Is there a way to test him for kidney failure without bloodwork?
I have attached photos of how they eyes look, the side shell, and how to discharges look.
Housing information:
My tortoises have an enclosure with soil bedding, have a ceramic heat bulb that is 24/7 working with a uvb light that's working at least 12 hours a day, sometimes more.
For humidity I give them daily baths for 15 minutes, they have a water dish and I spray their enclosure with warm water every day when I go past them.
Lately I have been putting them to the sun from 7 to 10 am and 4 to 6 pm, my country heat is too much that reaches 43 Celsius easily. So I keep an eye on them every half hour and never let them out at noon.
The mostly eat green leaves such as lettuce and spinach, I give them tomatoes rarely, cucumbers and peppers, but they mostly eat lettuce. I have calcium added to their food and give the multivitamins in their daily baths.
Lately my young greek tortoise (5 months old) has been sick. First symptoms:
- inactive
- eyes closed and swollen
- soft under shell and between arms and legs
I live in a country with no vets specialised in reptiles, so I have been self researching and asking my friend who is a student at a vet university outside my country. My tort symptoms seemed like an infection with a calcium/sun deficiency. Even though he eats plenty of calcium resources, give him calcium additives and has a uvb light. So my friends professors theorize that the uvb light is not working so I started to put him in the sun. After multiple searches I find a vet that knows a little about reptiles. I have been treating him for infection and been given fluids.
Yesterday hit rock bottom with my tortoises, he is being completely inactive, eye swollen and closed, shell softer in the sides, and lots of discharges with an awful smell. Now I think he has kidney failure and is progressing. The vet can't test him from blood since he is too small, and we don't know what to do. I know that kidney failure is dangerous and he has it for a while, but I don't want to lose him. Is there anything I can do by myself to not lose him? Is there a way to test him for kidney failure without bloodwork?
I have attached photos of how they eyes look, the side shell, and how to discharges look.
Housing information:
My tortoises have an enclosure with soil bedding, have a ceramic heat bulb that is 24/7 working with a uvb light that's working at least 12 hours a day, sometimes more.
For humidity I give them daily baths for 15 minutes, they have a water dish and I spray their enclosure with warm water every day when I go past them.
Lately I have been putting them to the sun from 7 to 10 am and 4 to 6 pm, my country heat is too much that reaches 43 Celsius easily. So I keep an eye on them every half hour and never let them out at noon.
The mostly eat green leaves such as lettuce and spinach, I give them tomatoes rarely, cucumbers and peppers, but they mostly eat lettuce. I have calcium added to their food and give the multivitamins in their daily baths.
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