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My Russian Tortoise,,

22 16:07:20

Question
I have a russian tortoise that is about a year and a half old, I also have another one that I just rescued, my baby seems to have an eye infection, everytime she will go to sleep she won't be able to open her eyes back up, i've been taking a warm cloth and gently wiping them, theres nothing on them, but there are slightly turning pink around the edges. She still has a good appetite. I just recently lost my 9 year old to a respiratory infection and I really don't want to lose her. Is there anything at home I can do or should I take her to the vet?
Thanks so much,
Shelby

Answer
Hi Shelby,

I need more information so I can help you.  I need to know what kind of enclosure your tortoise is in, the substrate you're using, what you're using for heat and UVB, temperatures in the basking area and cooler area, and diet.  Eye issues typically are due to husbandry problems, usually from being kept too dry.  Poor diet is another reason.  There's also the possibility there's some kind of infection, but let's review how you're keeping her first.

Anytime you bring a new tortoise in you should quarantine for at least three months in case the new tortoise is ill.  This isn't a guarantee that the new tortoise isn't carrying something that will show up later, but it will catch anything like respiratory infections and heavy parasite loads.  Also, if your tortoise really is only a year and a half old, it would be very small in comparison to an adult (somewhere around 150 grams compared to 400-1200+ grams for an adult).  If this is the case, I would keep them separate until the smaller one has caught up in size.  If you got your tortoise at a pet store and they just told you she was that age, it's not likely to be true.  Virtually all pet store Russians are wild caught and at least five years old or older.  If you got her from a private breeder, then the age is probably correct.

If you can get back to me with the information I asked for, I'll post again as soon as I can.  In the meantime, here's a couple of links with further information on care:

www.russiantortoise.org
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/RussianTortoise/ (this is a Yahoo group and really helpful)