russian tortoise help

Question
hello, i purchased a russian tortoise from a local pet store 3 days ago.  today i noticed a tick on his skin kinda hidden under the front top of his shell.  i picked it off and am now worried if there could be more hidden inside. can they make him sick?  will he get more? what should i do? thank you very much for any help you may be able to offer

Answer
Hi Rebecca,

If the mouthpiece of the tick was removed than likely there will be no further problem for the tortoise. The way I remove a tick is with tweezers and I place them at the mouth piece of the tick where the mouth penetrates the skin. I steadily pull the tick away from the skin until the tick is freed. Its best not to crush the tick as this can release fluids into the tortoise.

The tortoise could no doubt get another tick if its kept outdoors, but simply removing them and close inspection of all the folds of the tortoise will likely prevent any adverse effects from the tick.  Its rare, even in humans to get sick simply from having a tick.