What could this be?

by Kalyssa Roddewig
(Livermore, CA, United States)

I have had my Russian Tortoise for about five years or so. The past couple months he was not wanting to eat or drink...or even move around! He wasn't acting right at all, so I took him to the vet and they gave me a medicine to give him in his mouth. I gave the medicine to him for a couple weeks, as told. They also told me to try feeding him baby food, so I was. I would put food in front of him and he wouldn't bother. I had to place him in shallow water to soak or he would of died of dehydration I'm sure. I gave him his medicine and baby food (vegetables/fruit) through a syringe and he was eating it. He still would not move much or eat himself. I was worried, called the vet again. Then he started getting white, crusty hard stuff near his eyes. Soon after that, he passed away. I was in shock and cried my eyes out! The vet just told me he had an infection and the medicine should get rid of it no problem. He was eating the medicine. I want to know what he could have had that caused his death/what those symptoms are signs of? Was it some kind of disease? He also had hard, bigger legs the past few months..probably worse from not moving around much. He was my lil buddy...I really need to know what this could have been that he had, please.