# Ca desert very puffy body?



## Yamahadave (Oct 12, 2009)

I recently aquired a female Ca desert tortoise, and she is super puffy- so much so that she cant even pull her head in all the way.
Any ideas?

David


----------



## Meg90 (Oct 12, 2009)

Please post a picture. That will help us figure out whats going on.


----------



## Laura (Oct 12, 2009)

She could be fat or she could have something serious. like kidney issues.. find out all you can about her history, post a pic, keep her warm and dont let her hibernate.. and find a good Vet. 
How long has she been that way? What was her diet? how was she kept?


----------



## Crazy1 (Oct 13, 2009)

David, as has been said before a pic is worth a thousand words. I had a hatchling that was like very puffy and found she had a bladder stone, which caused kidney issues. I have seen others that are just over wt. How is the rest of her behavior? If you have difficuty posting a pic please let us know so we can help. 
And Welcome to the forum.


----------



## Yamahadave (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks so much for the replies.
I dont have much history, but this is what I was told by the Ca desert tortoise rescue people, which is where I adopted her from.

She is aprox 65 years old.
She had lived in the same burrow for the past 30 years.
She was not really provided much food and was basically left to fend for herself- yard/garden had many plants.

Since I have had her (couple months), I havent been able to get her to eat anything but lettuce.
She moves very slowly compared to my male, and she has been puffy as long as I have had her.

Lets see if I can attach some pictures....







[/img]




[/img]


----------



## Crazy1 (Oct 14, 2009)

I just don't know. A trip to a vet may be your best bet for some x-rays.


----------



## Yvonne G (Oct 14, 2009)

There are a few different kinds of water turtle that do this on purpose to make themselves look bigger and more threatening. However, I've never seen a tortoise do it. Because the front end of your tortoise doesn't look as puffy as the back end, my first thought was that she's in some sort of renal failure. The only one who can really tell you, though, is the vet. Since the tortoise has only been grazing for the past 30 years or so, I strongly doubt she's over weight.

Yvonne


----------



## egyptiandan (Oct 14, 2009)

It looks more like fat deposits to me.  Usually skin that is retaining water (such as renal failure) gets to be lighter in color and doesn't stay normal skin colored.
Makes me wonder about her diet, if you can only get her to eat lettuce. It sounds like the people that turned her in weren't quite truthful with how they were keeping her. 
Like Yvonne said, if she was outside and eating whatever was growing in the yard she would be eating anything and everything you put in front of her. Just eating lettuce means she was fed lettuce and probably other things she wasn't supposed to have.
I think a trip to the vets is in order, to get x-rays and blood work done to find out whats going on with her.

Danny


----------



## Stephanie Logan (Oct 14, 2009)

Whatever the condition of her "figure", she has a noble, beautiful face and evocative eyes. She looks to be a venerable matron, indeed.

I wonder if she really is over 60? Danny, if you get on this thread again, how does one tell a tortoise's age?


----------



## Madortoise (Oct 15, 2009)

Well said, Stephanie. She seems like a friendly tort. Hope she gets better soon.


----------



## egyptiandan (Oct 16, 2009)

Always hard to tell a tortoises age Stephanie once they become adult and aren't growing any more. It's also harder to tell a CB tortoises age as there aren't periods of low to no food supply that would stop growth.
She looks like a WC tortoise and has a bit of wear on her shell, so it's quite possible she is 60 or there abouts.

Danny


----------



## Laura (Dec 26, 2009)

How is she doing? less puffy?


----------

