Alicia

My Russian Tortoise is very sick. I just got back from school for winter break and saw him for the first time in a few months. I noticed he is wheezing, has an orangish crust on his bottom jaw, has his mouth wide open and refuses to close it and his tongue is as white as a ghost. I was alarmed when I saw this and immediately looked the symptoms up online. Many sites were suggesting it could be either a respiratory infection or some sort of mouth rot. The latter shocked me.

My main question is, besides the basics (steam, cleaning the tank, etc.) are there any other home remedies I can use to help him out? As I am a college student, I am too broke to take him to the vet as I can't even take myself to the doctors because I can't afford the copay. My parents are refusing to help with the tortoise because they feel it's my responsibility. (Which it definitely is.)

Thanks.