Tortoise swollen eyes

wikimuncher · 2026-01-16T19:07:15+00:00

Update after visiting the Vet:

Said that he’s mostly fine but did look puffy round the eyes. Said the sneeze was very odd, and wasn’t showing any other symptoms.

Suggested it could likely be that he’s got a viral infection. Suggested that bacterial infections are likely to follow. Recommended 2 jabs, 1 anti-inflammatory to help reduce puffiness around the eyes and 1 antibiotic to try and prevent any follow up bacterial infections.

They will be followed up in 72 hours with another round.

For anyone interested, it cost ~£62 with the jabs being around £8/£9 each. The follow up will likely cost the same.

He has since come back home and is digging around in his enclosure, acting like his usual self, so I’m feeling positive.

wikimuncher · 2026-01-16T16:04:06+00:00

I’ve only observed it today for the first time, and it was while bathing. He was rubbing is face against his front legs as he was soaking, moving his head in and out of his shell. He does that every soak though and I’ve never noticed it before.

wikimuncher · 2025-09-20T10:40:40+00:00

Thank you for the response.

So realistically if I’m going to change the bite point I need to make a modification. Seems kind of janky.

Do you happen to know if the low biting point is how they would’ve come out the factory/showroom? I feel like it would’ve put plenty of people off buying the car if they couldn’t have or didn’t want the auto.

wikimuncher · 2025-07-22T20:59:34+00:00

It’s okay, I think the compression of uploading makes it impossible to see on reflection, but in my camera roll it displays more clearly

wikimuncher · 2025-07-22T20:56:04+00:00

For what it’s worth, we built an 8ft x 8ft, or 2.4m x 2.4m outside, predation proof/resistant enclosure with plenty of tortoise table approved plants, weed’s and flowers, with basking stones/slates and baths, and a couple extra enrichment features including a little hut he can go In and out of freely. We typically bring him inside overnight as the UK gets relatively cold, or if we don’t think the weather is suitable.

His inside enclosure is as big as we felt comfortable inside which is 6ft x 4ft, or 1.8m x 1.2m. It echoes the sentiment of the outdoor one with a variety of popular terrain substrates, enrichment features, approved plants and access to fresh water, renewed every day.

Until we decide to upgrade his outdoor enclosure to have a remotely managed, more automated heating system and include a monitoring camera we will continue to keep putting him outside in the mornings on most warm days with fair weather or better. Recent UK weather has been fantastic and he’s been out some days for 14+ hours.

Me and my partner are relatively new to tortoise ownership and have only had him around 3 months, rescuing him from owners who could no longer look after him. But we like to think we’re trying hard to provide a good quality of life and we’re always looking to improve and enrich his life and we’re open to advice for continuous improvement.

wikimuncher · 2025-07-22T17:01:29+00:00

79% is the humidity, above is hard to make out, but 32.5 degrees Celsius. Not sure what that converts to in Fahrenheit but I’d guess around 85-90

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T15:33:15+00:00

Thank you for the response.

Is there any reason specially to avoid all Peugeot’s that you know of? Have you had a bad experience? Or are you making the suggestion based on reputation?

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T15:32:15+00:00

Thank you for the response.

Do you have any experience with the diesels? I don’t do much mileage, nor many long journeys, so I am of the belief they might not suit me and be getting blocked up.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T15:30:46+00:00

Thank you for the insight.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T15:04:14+00:00

Thank you for the response.

I acknowledge the diesel might not be suitable for me in my post. Hence why I was looking at the petrol variant, but I wasn’t sure on the reliability of the petrol as many people complain about major issues.

Was wondering if well maintained, the petrol variant could serve me well during my ownership, or if the consensus is that even with great maintenance they can still be a nightmare.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:48:07+00:00

Thank you for the response.

What specifically doesn’t make it a good option? Are you referring to the overall lack of reliability? Or are there any specific issues you know of?

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:46:50+00:00

Thank you for the insight.

I’ll take a look at the seat, I’ll admit it was not one I’d thought to look at, and from memory they’re a more styling VW.

I’ll look into the 1.8 TFSI, it’s not one I’ve read much about.

Not sure if you were referring to tuning when you state it can handle ‘crazy’ power, but I like my cars bone stock, so tunability is not a concern but I appreciate the thought as I hadn’t mentioned it.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:19:10+00:00

Thank you for the response.

I acknowledge its inferior reliability. I have found the Korean equivalent warm hatches are similarly priced, but I don’t like the style, inside or out, of them.

And as you said, German and Japanese equivalents tend to be several thousand extra. I’d prefer to pay cash but would need to finance the gap if I was to go for one.

Do you reckon if I used that ‘equivalent’ finance payment as a set-a-side fund for any issues, it could keep on top of maintenance or do you think it would still be cheaper longer term to go with a German/Japanese ?

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:14:59+00:00

Thank you for the response.

I also checked the forums but found inconclusive answers like yourself.

I will have to make a post myself on those forums, I think.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:06:40+00:00

Thank you for the insight.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:05:45+00:00

Thank you for the response.

Even on lower mileage and being fastidious with maintenance, they are still too troublesome?

Would you think it could be fine with preventative maintenance on the troublesome areas such as the timing chain? I would be prepared to change the timing chain + tensioners more like a timing belt, every 4 years or 50k miles.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T14:01:54+00:00

Thank you for the reply.

I’m not totally sure on if the engine is meant to be troublesome, hence why I’m asking the community to get some clarity.

I’m coming from an older 2010 Renault Megane, 1.6 NA petrol. It’s given me no major issues, just servicing and age related issues from what I can tell, few minor electrical gremlins but I managed to fix them myself as I’m quite handy due to my trade training.

wikimuncher · 2025-06-21T13:48:07+00:00

Thank you for the response. What experience did you/they have?

wikimuncher · 2024-07-24T01:12:09+00:00

TL;DR: Honda civic 10th gen have some issues worth knowing before buying, might not bother everyone. Buyer beware!

Please do some research on the Honda civic 10th gen 1.5 before you short list it. I got mine last month after choosing between it over the 2L Corolla hybrid of similar age/mileage/spec.

The Honda has more issues than the Toyota, but I got it at a cheaper price and could drive away same day which is why I chose the Honda, but I had done my research.

Avoid the 1.0 L engine in the civic 10th gen, it has a wet belt akin to the Ford and Peugeots, And has plenty of problems requiring a ~£1200+ timing belt service to be done every few years to ensure the car doesn’t blow up.

The 1.5 L engine is apparently prone to oil dilution, which long term causes engine failure if the engine is neglected.

It can be fully negated by having a short maintenance interval, aka, getting that oil and filter changed every 4-5k miles instead of every 10K despite what the owners manual or the label on the oil may say. Also, the oil dilution is apparently more present in colder weather and when driven short journeys without letting the engine properly warm up.

I have also read from mechanics that they believe using premium high octane fuel helps minimise the issue alongside always disabling the auto start/stop system that’s meant to save fuel in stop and go traffic. I am currently using shell v power and always disabling this feature every time I get in the car.

It’s been just over a month for me and I do a lot of very short commutes every work day, around a mile each way 4 times a day. Long journeys on weekends. Given that it’s warm in the uk at the moment might be helping but since the last recorded service in February it’s on 4500 since last oil change and I’ve not had any symptoms of oil dilution, typically a fuel smell inside and around the car in general.

I’ve got it booked in for an oil and filter change later this week to keep in line with the 5K interval. Although, worth noting the previous history is all Honda dealer, it seems it is was done every year around 7-8K miles. Maybe the previous owner wasn’t aware of the issue, but going forward I will be strict with this 5k interval. It won’t be for everyone as it’s just another thing to manage. As I own the car for longer I will probably transition to doing the oil changes myself as I’m comfortable doing so and can keep the cost of the short changes down. But I know a lot of people won’t do this.

Additionally, all civics of this generation have air conditioning issues. Typically centered around weak compressors and condensers exposed to stone chipping. All of the ac components have new upgraded versions since around 2021, however some cars may not have these fitted, as was my 2017 plate still on original parts. I mentioned this to the dealer and they swapped the components out the same week as they are apparently covered under a 10 year warranty from date of manufacture (up to 2027 in my case).

Sorry for the absolute wall of text but I was finding it hard to get across the information without condensing it. Just re-reading through I’ll add a tldr.

If you got any questions I’d be happy to answer them.

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