What is wrong with my russian tortoise?

Hello all. I have a 9 year old female russian tortoise named Oreo that I have had for almost a year now. She has had no health problems until today, no runny nose/watery eyes, regular appetite, no lethargy, and using the bathroom regularly. She has not had any environmental changes, care differences or stress causes. She has no parasites and the vet cleared that she was healthy except for a slightly soft shell and shedding problem due to inadequate care before i got her, so she has a calcium supplement daily and 50-60% humidity as recommended by her vet. Her basking spot stays around 90-95°F, the cool side of her cage around 74-80°F, and the warm side is around 80-85°F. At night it stays at 65-75°F. Her enclosure is 5 feet by 4 feet, which I know is the minimum size but i take her out a lot so she gets a lot of exercise.
Today, actually about an hour ago, I decided to let her out for exercise and she has been almost completely unresponsive. She has one eye that is watering a ton and the other eye she is keeping closed. One of her nostrils is also clogged and her nose is running. Her breathing sounds normal, however. Her beak also looks a little “fragile”, if thats the word. (There is green on her beak but it is just kale juice from her eating kale.) However the most concerning is how she is unresponsive. She doesnt pull back when i pull on her legs, she ignores her favorite lettuce that she usually runs to eat, i even held her upside down for 3 seconds and she didnt do anything when she usually starts flailing. She has also been asleep all day and sleeping very restlessly. She wouldnt wake up for at least 30 minutes, and now shes awake (still unresponsive) but falls back asleep whenever i leave her alone for more than 5 minutes. Im about to give her a bath and see if that helps her. I will try to attach photos later, my internet is bad right now.

 

Sorry I don’t have experience with those tortoises but I would recommend to get her to a vet ASAP

 

Sorry I don’t have experience with those tortoises but I would recommend to get her to a vet ASAP

Agreed

 

I’ve had a Russian for about 5 years now. It’s normal for them to be lethargic when the seasons change, but not like this. Try to get the basking spot up to 105. This should increase activity slightly. Does she have constant acces to clean water to drink? When you say that she gets a calcium supplement daily, do you mean you dust her food every day? Does the supplement have vitamin A or D3 in it? Can you name everything you usually feed her? What is her substrate? Do you provide UVB lighting? And finally, this may be a weird question, but what does the poop look like? Is it runny and gross, hard and dense, or right in the middle? I need more information to give you a good diagnosis.

 

I’ve had a Russian for about 5 years now. It’s normal for them to be lethargic when the seasons change, but not like this. Try to get the basking spot up to 105. This should increase activity slightly. Does she have constant acces to clean water to drink? When you say that she gets a calcium supplement daily, do you mean you dust her food every day? Does the supplement have vitamin A or D3 in it? Can you name everything you usually feed her? What is her substrate? Do you provide UVB lighting? And finally, this may be a weird question, but what does the poop look like? Is it runny and gross, hard and dense, or right in the middle? I need more information to give you a good diagnosis.

yes she always has access to clean fresh water, i clean out the bowl every morning and night. Yes i dust her food with a supplement called ReptiCalcium that has calcium and vitamin D3. I usually give her either kale, mustard greens, chard, dandelion greens, or a leaf of romaine lettuce once a week since its her favorite. Her substrate is cypress mulch. Yes she has UVB lighting. Her poop was probably about right in the middle until just now, as im writing this she just pooped and it was very runny. Sorry i didnt provide enough info in the original post.

and update: i gave her a bath, which she normally hates and tries to run around and escape from but she hardly even reacted. I gently rinsed her face a little and unclogged one of her nostrils but it was still runny. A few times she moved around, but hardly at all and she mostly stayed unresponsive and limp. I put her back under her basking lamp and had to leave for a little bit. I came back and she is in the same spot. She is still refusing to eat and has both eyes open but she is just staring through and past everything, its like she doesnt even see anything. Her right eye is still watering and the third eyelid is half closed (i think). Her right nostril is also running more than the other and her nose is bubbling. Her breathing doesn’t make any noise however. Shes still limp and unresponsive and not doing anything.

Also i can try to get her into the vet but they probably wont have an opening for a while, and there are no emergency tortoise vets around, the closest one is new jersey (for reference im in northern ma). So yea she cant see a vet for a month id guess? Thats usually the wait for an appointment at her vet

Also how do you recommend i get the heat up to 105? Her lights aren’t adjustable and i dont think i can bring the house temperature up by 20°.

And i just took the temps: her basking spot right now is 99°F, warm side is 89°F, cool side is 79°F

And for the sake of it i took the temp of her shell/legs/skin/face and shes about 80° based off of that

edit. she pooped again and it was still just as runny

 

Usually it doesn’t need to be an emergency vet to get them in fast if you give them a call and explain what’s happening they can usually get you in quicker are you close to any of these?

 

Usually it doesn’t need to be an emergency vet to get them in fast if you give them a call and explain what’s happening they can usually get you in quicker are you close to any of these?
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No im not close to any of these im in northern Massachusetts but her vet (the odd pet vet) doesnt do that

Guys please hurry shes gotten so much worse over like an hour i have no idea if shes even alive at this point shes 100% unresponsive shes not even blinking i only know shes not dead because she moved one limb a tiny bit i think im calling the vet tomorrow please help what can i do im scared

 

For the bulbs, you should be able to simply exchange the current one for a slightly stronger one. This may be an overdose of D3. There’s lots of differing information on how often to dose, but I’m fairly certain that every day is too much. D3 can become very harmful in overly large amounts. I’m really getting scared for her now as well. I suggest making an account on tortoiseforum if you want more knowledgeable advise. My name on there is sulcata96. I’ll be checking in if you can make a post there. I can’t tell you how fast they’ll respond, but I sure hope it’s fast. I hope you can get her through this!

 

For the bulbs, you should be able to simply exchange the current one for a slightly stronger one. This may be an overdose of D3. There’s lots of differing information on how often to dose, but I’m fairly certain that every day is too much. D3 can become very harmful in overly large amounts. I’m really getting scared for her now as well. I suggest making an account on tortoiseforum if you want more knowledgeable advise. My name on there is sulcata96. I’ll be checking in if you can make a post there. I can’t tell you how fast they’ll respond, but I sure hope it’s fast. I hope you can get her through this!

Yeah that’s true D3 in to much quantity is bad for reptiles D3 should only be dusted once a month the rest of the time should be normal calcium.

Guys please hurry shes gotten so much worse over like an hour i have no idea if shes even alive at this point shes 100% unresponsive shes not even blinking i only know shes not dead because she moved one limb a tiny bit i think im calling the vet tomorrow please help what can i do im scared

I’m sorry but there’s really nothing we can do anymore. Only a vet can help because they are the only ones with the equipment to help. I’m so sorry

 

I’m sorry but there’s really nothing we can do anymore. Only a vet can help because they are the only ones with the equipment to help. I’m so sorry

Not necessarily. My tortoise was in a similar condition once (not caused by D3 though) and we brought him back to health. He’s now a perfectly healthy tortoise. Russians can bounce back from a surprisingly low point. I’m not saying she will, but there’s a tiny chance that she could.

 

Theres only emergency vets in rhode island and i cant even go there because coronavirus. Im like 99% sure she wont make it through the night. If this is an overdose of vitamin d3 i dont even know how im gonna handle it, because its my fault.

 

Theres only emergency vets in rhode island and i cant even go there because coronavirus. Im like 99% sure she wont make it through the night. If this is an overdose of vitamin d3 i dont even know how im gonna handle it, because its my fault.

Let’s all hope she pulls through and just think of it as a learning experience. If you decide to get another you know now to not only use D3. And I’m not trying to live your life for you but I really hope you decide to get another one if she doesn’t make it, life is to short to dwell on the past. One of The biggest mistakes I’ve ever made was selling all of my chameleon equipment when I lost mine. It hurts at first but eventually you realize there’s more to life than that. Don’t end up like me regretting a decision I made years ago. I really hope she makes it and I’ll be praying for her tonight

 

It wont let me set up an account it said the account resembles spam
I feel like im gonna throw up my baby is gonna die i love her

Ok i found an emergency vet near me im about to head there
Please pray for her i need my baby to live i dont even know if shes still alive

 

I’m so sorry. You didn’t know, and I don’t think it’s your fault. There is a surprising amount of misinformation out there on tortoise care. I kept mine with no UVB eating nothing but romaine, kale, and carrots for the first three months that we had him. I only found out that it was bad after reading about MBD for the first time. Luckily, my guy didn’t have it. You had all of the care right other than the basking temp and the supplements, which isn’t easy information to find anyway. Don’t blame yourself. As AggressiveAquatics said, you should use this as a learning experience and move on. I too truly hope that you get another when you feel ready. I’ll be thinking of her!

 

Ok i found an emergency vet near me im about to head there
Please pray for her i need my baby to live i dont even know if shes still alive

Ok I will I really hope she makes it. Keep us updated when you can

Man why are there tears in my eyes lol. I don’t even cry that much when I lose my own pets

 

Man why are there tears in my eyes lol. I don’t even cry that much when I lose my own pets

Same. When I lose my own, I get really sad, but I don't cry. With this, I'm actually crying despite the fact that I usually don't.

 

Thank you all for everything you’ve done and all the advice. I’m outside the emergency vet waiting for them to give an update on her. I’m hoping she doesn’t die while waiting for the doctor, they just brought her inside just now and said they’re pretty busy. I know even if she dies i did all i could for her in her life and i loved her. I’m hoping she’ll be okay but I’m ready to accept it if she dies. I think shes alive when I brought her inside because, while there was no resistance when i gently pulled her legs, there was with her head i think which im hoping means she’s alive. However I’m ready to dismiss that as delusion and am telling myself shes dead so its easier to accept if she is. Again thank you all very much and I will keep you updated on whether she lives or not. Thank you for everything.

Omg they just called me back and i was scared that she was dead and it was all done but they were just having me give them info to register to the hospital thank goodness omg that scared me lol
But like why do they need to know her color dont they have eyes

 

Omg they just called me back and i was scared that she was dead and it was all done but they were just having me give them info to register to the hospital thank goodness omg that scared me lol
But like why do they need to know her color dont they have eyes

I hope that she makes it. I prayed for her so I hope that helped.

 

But like why do they need to know her color dont they have eyes

As someone who works at a vet hospital, when it's busy, the receptionists don't always see the pets! I apologize for LOLing at that, because it's a good point. Hoping the best for you though I know nothing about tortoises.

 

As someone who works at a vet hospital, when it's busy, the receptionists don't always see the pets! I apologize for LOLing at that, because it's a good point. Hoping the best for you though I know nothing about tortoises.

That makes more sense lol
And thanks

Okay update: SHE STILL HAS A HEART RATE OMG but apparently shes very pale and she has to get x rays shes certainly not in a great place right now they said and that it could go either way and that she may pull through or die overnight but that tortoises at her age are very resilient and that its a good thing we didnt keep her home overnight they’re gonna try to warm her up and theyll call me back and discuss options

Edit: okay so that paragraph was not very coherent so heres whats happening: shes alive but her pulse is low and shes under hydrated (she did have water she just wasnt drinking it), there is some fungus growth on her somewhere (i swear i saw nothing??? now i feel bad) and shes cold (she did just go on a 50°F 30 minute car ride) so they will warm her up, do some x rays and test the fungus and see whats wrong with her and that she will either die overnight or pull through but that tortoises her age are fairly resilient so i have hope. And at least ill get info on what i did wrong. Theyre going to keep her overnight then admit her to the hospital.
Im so glad you guys convinced me to take her instead of keeping her overnight she so wouldve died

On another note now i have anxiety because my cat got surgery and she has to wear a cone to not lick the staples out but now I remembered i forgot to put the cone on her in my rush to get out the door and if she is bleeding when i get home then idek what im gonna do im dreading the cost lol

 

Okay update: SHE STILL HAS A HEART RATE OMG but apparently shes very pale and she has to get x rays shes certainly not in a great place right now they said and that it could go either way and that she may pull through or die overnight but that tortoises at her age are very resilient and that its a good thing we didnt keep her home overnight they’re gonna try to warm her up and theyll call me back and discuss options

Edit: okay so that paragraph was not very coherent so heres whats happening: shes alive but her pulse is low and shes under hydrated (she did have water she just wasnt drinking it), there is some fungus growth on her somewhere (i swear i saw nothing??? now i feel bad) and shes cold (she did just go on a 50°F 30 minute car ride) so they will warm her up, do some x rays and test the fungus and see whats wrong with her and that she will either die overnight or pull through but that tortoises her age are fairly resilient so i have hope. And at least ill get info on what i did wrong. Theyre going to keep her overnight then admit her to the hospital.
Im so glad you guys convinced me to take her instead of keeping her overnight she so wouldve died

On another note now i have anxiety because my cat got surgery and she has to wear a cone to not lick the staples out but now I remembered i forgot to put the cone on her in my rush to get out the door and if she is bleeding when i get home then idek what im gonna do im dreading the cost lol

I’m glad she is alive still. When I’ve kept reptiles the main issue I’ve had was them not drinking I don’t know why I would see them ever once and a while but then they just wouldn’t. I really hope she makes it.

 

Okay update: SHE STILL HAS A HEART RATE OMG but apparently shes very pale and she has to get x rays shes certainly not in a great place right now they said and that it could go either way and that she may pull through or die overnight but that tortoises at her age are very resilient and that its a good thing we didnt keep her home overnight they’re gonna try to warm her up and theyll call me back and discuss options

Edit: okay so that paragraph was not very coherent so heres whats happening: shes alive but her pulse is low and shes under hydrated (she did have water she just wasnt drinking it), there is some fungus growth on her somewhere (i swear i saw nothing??? now i feel bad) and shes cold (she did just go on a 50°F 30 minute car ride) so they will warm her up, do some x rays and test the fungus and see whats wrong with her and that she will either die overnight or pull through but that tortoises her age are fairly resilient so i have hope. And at least ill get info on what i did wrong. Theyre going to keep her overnight then admit her to the hospital.
Im so glad you guys convinced me to take her instead of keeping her overnight she so wouldve died

On another note now i have anxiety because my cat got surgery and she has to wear a cone to not lick the staples out but now I remembered i forgot to put the cone on her in my rush to get out the door and if she is bleeding when i get home then idek what im gonna do im dreading the cost lol

I’m so glad that she’s still alive. I was really, really worried about this tortoise that I’ve never met belonging to this person that I’ve never met.

I’m glad she is alive still. When I’ve kept reptiles the main issue I’ve had was them not drinking I don’t know why I would see them ever once and a while but then they just wouldn’t. I really hope she makes it.

My bearded dragon is slightly underweight now because she refuses to eat vegetables out of a bowl. I can’t feed her strictly insects, so I just have to wait until she decides to eat the veggies. She’s gotten better at it, but she’s still not the best with her vegetables. It’s annoying.

 

My bearded dragon is slightly underweight now because she refuses to eat vegetables out of a bowl. I can’t feed her strictly insects, so I just have to wait until she decides to eat the veggies. She’s gotten better at it, but she’s still not the best with her vegetables. It’s annoying.

Oof that sucks with the bearded dragon, i hope she will eat her veggies lol shes being like a picky toddler

 

True, she is like a toddler.

 

Also btw guys just an update, she is officially staying the night and they said they will call if anything bad happens
I think if theres any chance of her living its the best with them since tufts is the best veterinary university like ever

 

Also btw guys just an update, she is officially staying the night and they said they will call if anything bad happens
I think if theres any chance of her living its the best with them since tufts is the best veterinary university like ever

Alright I’ll probably go to bed in an hour or two so if there’s no updates before then I really hope I wake up to good news

 

Alright I’ll probably go to bed in an hour or two so if there’s no updates before then I really hope I wake up to good news

Same.

 

Also btw guys just an update, she is officially staying the night and they said they will call if anything bad happens
I think if theres any chance of her living its the best with them since tufts is the best veterinary university like ever

How is she! I understand the worry TRUST ME! It gonna be ok! Look in her eyes and you will see hope!

 

Okay, and once again thank you all, I probably would’ve been freaking out too much to even bring her to the vet without you! Thank you so much! (And i know they’re not here but thank you to the vets that are staying late to treat her!)

 

Okay, and once again thank you all, I probably would’ve been freaking out too much to even bring her to the vet without you! Thank you so much! (And i know they’re not here but thank you to the vets that are staying late to treat her!)

Np, keep us updated!

 

Okay good morning (or evening or afternoon depending where you are) everyone! Good news, the vet didn’t call overnight and they said no news is good news, so hopefully everything is going okay!
I still have no idea what fungus she would have i feel bad did i do something wrong what did i do wrong

 

Okay good morning (or evening or afternoon depending where you are) everyone! Good news, the vet didn’t call overnight and they said no news is good news, so hopefully everything is going okay!
I still have no idea what fungus she would have i feel bad did i do something wrong what did i do wrong

Can you come by anytime to see how she’s doing or only if they say you can come?

 

Good! I was so worried! I’ve seen that tortoises can get fungus on their shells. Not sure what it’s caused by, but I don’t think it’s any fault of the keeper’s.

 

She’s dead
Thank you all, you did all you could to help me. And i know the doctors did all they could too.
But shes dead my baby is dead she was my best friend and always will be but shes dead theres now way she cant be she was alive just a few hours ago but shes dead

 

Again thank you all, even though she died you convinced me to go to the vet, and that was the best I could’ve done for her. I loved her and gave her a good life-not the best she could’ve had for sure, but the best life I could-and i will love her into the afterlife. If you guys want i can tell you what she died of when they finish figuring out what happened. Im going to keep most of the equipment I think, but for a different kind of pet because I know that I’m not getting another tortoise. Thank you all so much, there’s nothing more I could’ve done.

 

She’s dead
Thank you all, you did all you could to help me. And i know the doctors did all they could too.
But shes dead my baby is dead she was my best friend and always will be but shes dead theres now way she cant be she was alive just a few hours ago but shes dead

I’m so sorry. I love my tort, and I can’t imagine losing him. You clearly loved her a ton. She was lucky to have you as her owner.

 

Well I thought; my 2 older fry are just barely 3 months & still pretty small, I figured they'd all be fine together! Lol guess not

She’s dead
Thank you all, you did all you could to help me. And i know the doctors did all they could too.
But shes dead my baby is dead she was my best friend and always will be but shes dead theres now way she cant be she was alive just a few hours ago but shes dead

nooooooooooooooo! I am SO sorry! Please, it will be okay I understand as I have lost my pet rats before...I would recommend getting another tortoise! Where did you get your baby from?

 

I'm am so sorry about your pet
& I'm sorry my post is quoted up above from another post- not sure if it's a glitch issue or something.

 

nooooooooooooooo! I am SO sorry! Please, it will be okay I understand as I have lost my pet rats before...I would recommend getting another tortoise! Where did you get your baby from?

I got her from a pet store near my house, but im not getting another tortoise. Maybe another reptile someday (i doubt it) but 100% not a tortoise. Thank you though
If i somehow change my mind, i know for a fact that im never getting another russian tortoise. They look too similar it would feel like replacing her

I'm am so sorry about your pet
& I'm sorry my post is quoted up above from another post- not sure if it's a glitch issue or something.

Thank you

 

I got her from a pet store near my house, but im not getting another tortoise. Maybe another reptile someday (i doubt it) but 100% not a tortoise. Thank you though
If i somehow change my mind, i know for a fact that im never getting another russian tortoise. They look too similar it would feel like replacing her


Thank you

I understand. She lived a great life