sulcatta tortoise- eyes shut, soft shell, 2 inches long, HELP!!?

Question

they are approx 9 months old, eyes arent opened and they have soft shell. any suggestions?

allright. they are not mine, actually they are in care of the pet store that i work for. i just noticed the ones eyes are starting to peek out a wee little bit, but we have the uvb and uva lighting, i would take it to the vet but our owner wont allow it. weve been giving them the vitamin supplaments, we just started a new supplament by mouth feeding, hopefully that will fix the vitamin problem. i just want something else to help them. grr. it makes me so upset.

yeah. i agree with you on the not being able to take them to the vet, he says " if we had to rush every animal to the vet if or if we thought they were ill we'd go bankrupt." yeah we have the uva/uvb penetration and the heats high as well. weve been doing the eye drops twice a day, and the little guys arent wiping them off so thats a good thing. thank you for your help. ill update with anything else. THANK YOU!

Answer 1

It sounds like you have some very sick tortoises! Eyes that won't open or are stuck shut could be caused from a viral or bacterial infection or vit/min deficiency. The soft shell is BAD and indicates a lack of vit. D and calcium in the diet. It sounds like they are not getting a proper diet, nor proper lighting. They require a UBV/UVA basking bulb, and sunlight regularly if possible.
Please take these to a HERP vet ASAP! They need medical attention and a change in the care they have been receiving!

That is HORRIBLE that the owner won't let you take them to a vet! They need medical attention! In the mean time..make SURE they are getting adequate lighting and that they are warm enough! If their tank is too cool, they can become sick too. Soak them in clean, warm water twice a day. Pull some turtle eye drops off the shelf and use that twice a day also. Make sure they are being offered a large variety of fresh fruits and veges with extra vitamins and minerals given to them! Baby food from a syringe may have to be the case for now, until they are feeling better!
The biggest reason for ill health in captive turtles/tortoises is improper lighting and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Answer 2

I had this happen to me when I got a Red legged tortoise. To be honest he probably was not started rioght and was shipped to you too early. You have to make sure they are eating good befoe shipping or they will just get worse and worse. Theres not really much you can do aside from get them to a vet. They need Subcutaneous fluids. They sound like they are very dehydrated. This will kill them if not fixed. 100% kill them. Water absorbed through the skin and even drank will not be enough. Their eyes are most likly swollen due to dehydration or inffection. Thei body does not have enough moisture left in it to create tears the turtles natural eye lubricant. Their organs have probably already started to fail if they are this far along. Most eyedrops only have vitamin A in them you can get in the stores, and this really won't do anything. They need to be rehydrated by a vet period.
Maybe if you tell them they will die and he will loose all the money they cost him he will rethink that. And a vet should be able to teach you how to do SubQ shots yourself to releive someone the money part. I mean if your ok with that, I promise they are really easy.

Mine started doing that (they eyes, very soft shell, squishy)in its last 2 weeks. I spoke with countless breeders and took him to the vet and gave him everything and he still didn't make it.

If they aren't started right they normally don't.

Tell him not "if you thought they were ill" Tell him they will die. Because to be honest....without vet treatment.....they will.

Answer 3

I don't know anything about tortoises but I do know that not all pet store owners know how to take care of every animal. Like a pet store chain told someone to feed his new snake crickets. The snake almost died. I'd get on the net and look up what the thing eats and all the variables it needs in it's tank.

Answer 4

This is actually a fairly easy, although tedious, condition to treat. A good site for these guys (which make TERRIBLE pets for most people because of their adult size) is http://www.sulcata-station.org

This is probably a combination of diet, heating, humidity, and lighting. The diet should be pretty grassy- here is a good link: http://www.sulcata-station.org/diet.html

Start providing the proper cares, as outlined at the site above, and you should see an improvement in a week or so.

Answer 5

you can feed it normally just smaller than what the food is really like.meanwhile treat it with love and care.don't be too mean to it it's still a baby so treat it like one!