hiya,

i was wondering if anyone could be kind enough to help me please i have a 15mths approx not to sure on the age to be honest horsefeild girl tortoise called pebbles.x i was given her as the previous owner couldnt look after her no more she was kept in viv but when i come to bring her home i noticed her eyes are all swollen and gummy and dont open properley she will not come out of her shell at all,i tried rubbing underneath to get her out but no luck i had her for a week or so i bath her daily and still she want come out her shell so i splash lightly inside her shell with warm water to try and get to her eyes that way and wash away the gunk and hope for the best there heal then i place her under the heat bulb in her tort table (she is with other horsefeilds aswell and there all fine) but i really dont know what to do to get her out of her shell to get to her eyes to bathe them and get her back to normal please please help me im so worried and scared.x

thankyou so much for taking your time to read this i really hope someone can help me very soon.x

i will keep you updated

all the best for 2010

tammy.x

Hi Tammy,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your tortoise. Although there is a tendency for new tortoises to be quite shy when they first arrive, I'm afraid to say that this little guy doesn't sound too well to me. The bathing is good but I really think in circumstances like this that the tortoise needs to see a vet with experience with tortoises. They are able to give the tortoise a good look over. The crusty eyes can usually be fixed using drops prescribed by the vet but it may be that the tortoise has another problem causing the lethargy. I personally think it would be a good idea to seperate this tortoise from your others if possible, there is always a risk of cross infection.

Sorry if this doesnt give you any easy answers but sometimes a vet visit really is the best thing. There are a list of recommended vets here http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/157.asp  if none are local to you, let us know where you are and we may bwe able to recommend someone. 

Hello Sorry to hear of your sick little one, A worrying time I imagine....I do believe there is a TPG vet here, The name is right on the tip of my tongue....Kevin I think...I agree litte one should see a vet soon. Good luck and wishing your Tortie a speedy recovery Claire&Teddy

 thankyou so much for your advice im going to look into the site given and see what i can do and find a vet close to home wish me luck :) xxx

but i think i will leave it for a couple more days and see how she gets on as i have noticed everytime i put her under the heat bulb a little while after she toddles off and gets into a hide and berrys herself under the soil (as horsefeilds do i know) haha but i think the heat is helping her as i checked her eyes a hour ago and they seem to be little a clearer but still not 100% so maybe its worth me carrying on with the baths each day and keep her under heat lamp even though she prefers to hide and berry as all the other torts do as they dont seem to like the heat that much horsefeilds.x (im guessing)

just wondered do you think its a idea to bath her then place her in a box under heat lamp so she cant crawl away for a hour or so and see if that will help? just a idea as if i could do all i can for her then i will before she goes to vets and gets pulled about everywhere which im sure she will hate as shes still settling into her new home with the family here.xxx

advice will be very much greatful for.xxx

thankyou so much for taking your time to read this tammy.x

ps. i will keep you informed on her progress.xxx

sorry just a silly question i wanted to ask how long does it take for torts to settle in or does it just depend on tort as i had my other spur thighs for years and i cant remember how they was when i first got them,.x thankyou.xxx

Hi Tammy,

Settling in differs from one tortoise to the next really. I wouldn't try your box  under the lamp idea, the tortoise could easily overheat, they should always have the choice of being where they want to be. What temperature do you have under the basking spot and how long is the lamp on for each day please? Any other info on your setup may help.

The lethargy could be caused by worms so I still think a vet visit is in order. Keep up the daily bathing in warm water.

 hello me again.x

i just thought i keep you updated i just gone to give pebbles a bath and found her under the heat lamp with others head and legs out sound asleep so i woke her up with a stroke on the head and she didnt hide away i then gave her daily warm bath and again her head was still out she done a lovely big poo...ooohhh haha and shes very active in the water by moving around and rying to climb out which is really good as she has never done this before.x i then got her out and was talking to her softly and strocking underneath and top of head and she was coming out more and more i just had good look at her eyes and they seem to be cleared up no more watery eye and opening and shuting lovely.x thank god!!! so she seems to be on the mend maybe she was very shy also but her watery eyes didnt help im guessing,but im still going to keep bathing her daily and keep close eye on her but it seems to me i got a healthy tort back,i just checked her just now again and shes walking around climbing over her hides and tunnels which she never did before.x SO IM A VERY HAPPY LADY AT THE MIN...thankyou for all your help and advice all. i will keep you al informed in the next week or so as things are looking up in the torts family over here,haha

i will send in somes pics of them all aswell but dont know how do it can you please help me on this thankyou.xxx

Thats good news.

On posting pictures, you can put the photos in the members gallery. Instructions here:

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/142.asp

If you then want to add them to a post, right click on the picture in the gallery and select "copy". You can then right click in your post and select "paste".

Just for future reference though it is always advisable to quarentine new tortoises away from any others for a period. This allows you to monitor the health of the newcomer but also to make sure none of your existing tortoises have a problem that could be transmitted to the newcomer. Anything from 6 to 18 months is recommended as some tortoise illnesses are very slow to come to light.

 thankyou so much for that im going to get uploading :)

 thankyou so much dave for all your help you have been great and i will take that in for any new comers in the future,i totally understnad and thanks again for all your help.x :)  im just glade my worry over i may have been worrying to much but i cant help it when it comes to my babies.xxx