Has anyone lost a tort?

[Sosakan]

Hello everyone,

I have a sick Tortoise and I am afraid he might not survive. His name is Einstein. He is my first and only tort. I raised him since he was three weeks old and now he is 1y6m old and becoming blind due to a problem with his eyes. You can follow our struggle at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/help-please-hermanns-tortoise-eye-problem.147622/#post-1395878

I have never had a pet before and I am rather a daft person, I sometimes "forget" him, but I try to do my best. The thing is I love the lil bastard and don't know if I could live with his death on my hands. If you have lost a tort how have you dealt with it? I'm to the point that I will never again have a pet if Einstein dies.

I need some help to confront what may happen in the near future.


Thanks in advance.

Sosakan

 

[wellington]

@Yvonne G @HermanniChris take a look at the thread linked above, last post shows torts eyes/face. Any advice on what could be going on and what could be done.

 

[wellington]

Can I safely assume that you have taken and applied all the suggestions in your other thread?
I would still lower the basking spot to 95-100 and raise the all over temp to 80 day and night. Be sure you are taking the temps at tort level.
I would also soak him twice every day in warm water and put baby food carrot purée and flavorless piedialyte in the soaks every day. Don't forget about him, this is a crucial time. Hooefully Yvonne and/or Chris has some ideas. You may also need to just take him back to the vet.

 

[Sosakan]

Can I safely assume that you have taken and applied all the suggestions in your other thread?
I would still lower the basking spot to 95-100 and raise the all over temp to 80 day and night. Be sure you are taking the temps at tort level.
I would also soak him twice every day in warm water and put baby food carrot purée and flavorless piedialyte in the soaks every day. Don't forget about him, this is a crucial time. Hooefully Yvonne and/or Chris has some ideas. You may also need to just take him back to the vet.

@wellington, the basking lights were adjusted, I use a laser thermometer to check the temps of the ground, I hope that's ok. I have been soaking him everyday, will start adding purée and pedialyte to soak asap tomorrow. I am calling the vet every three days and consulting him, will probably take him in for another appt. on Thursday unless vet doesn't advise it. The lowest temp is 75 and am working to raise it, I have covered half his enclosure with foil and have been spraying everywhere to keep moisture up and adding a che at night to keep temp up

Thanks for the help!

 

[wellington]

The laser temp gun is good. Still try to get the 75 temp up to 80 day and night all over, except the basking spot 95-100.
Adding the carrots and piedialyte won't hurt and hopefully will help. Keep up the vet contact. Is he eating? Keep doing everything suggested. That's all you can do, is what your doing.
Sometimes when things like this happens, it has nothing to do with what we, the owners are or have done. Sometimes it has all to do with how they were started before we ever got them. Some show problems at a few months, some later like yours. It's a hard thing to go through, but that's why this forum is here, to help you through. I have not lost a tortoise, knock on wood, but have read where many have. When you do everything possible to save them, you can't blame yourself, if it doesn't work. Someone doing all they can to save them, like you are doing, should be a tortoise parent! Good luck, fingers crossed for the both of you. Keep us informed.

 

[Sosakan]

The laser temp gun is good. Still try to get the 75 temp up to 80 day and night all over, except the basking spot 95-100.
Adding the carrots and piedialyte won't hurt and hopefully will help. Keep up the vet contact. Is he eating? Keep doing everything suggested. That's all you can do, is what your doing.
Sometimes when things like this happens, it has nothing to do with what we, the owners are or have done. Sometimes it has all to do with how they were started before we ever got them. Some show problems at a few months, some later like yours. It's a hard thing to go through, but that's why this forum is here, to help you through. I have not lost a tortoise, knock on wood, but have read where many have. When you do everything possible to save them, you can't blame yourself, if it doesn't work. Someone doing all they can to save them, like you are doing, should be a tortoise parent! Good luck, fingers crossed for the both of you. Keep us informed.

The problem is that he can't SEE the food to get it. I see him going through the motions, but an inch away from the food. I have tried to put it directly in front of him, but with limited success. Now, with the baby food idea, I will try picking him up and feeding him like a baby and see how that goes. Thanks for the pickmeup, I've been feeling rotten about this for a month.

 

[wellington]

The baby food goes into the warm water soaks. So does the piedialyte. They will be able to absorb it. Leave him in his soaks for 30 minutes, keeping it warm the whole time. You can try feeding him the baby food too. I would chop his greens up real small. Mix a little baby food carrot in it, to make it stick together. Then put the food into a pile and set the tort right in front of it. If he's able to eat it, keep pushing it into a high pile if it gets flattened.
I hope I helped. Stay positive. Tortoises are tuff little buggers and some can and have made big turn arounds. It's just usually not a quick fix.

 

[Sosakan]

The baby food goes into the warm water soaks. So does the piedialyte. They will be able to absorb it. Leave him in his soaks for 30 minutes, keeping it warm the whole time. You can try feeding him the baby food too. I would chop his greens up real small. Mix a little baby food carrot in it, to make it stick together. Then put the food into a pile and set the tort right in front of it. If he's able to eat it, keep pushing it into a high pile if it gets flattened.
I hope I helped. Stay positive. Tortoises are tuff little buggers and some can and have made big turn arounds. It's just usually not a quick fix.

@wellington yes, you have been a great help and have given me hope. I don't care about a quick fix, just a fix I will follow your advice to the T.

Thanks again!

 

[sibi]

Have you tried hand feeding him some mazuri? I would try putting his favorite things to eat right to his mouth. He can smell it and maybe he'll try to take a bite. Also, there's a critical care package that can be given to your tort especially since he hasn't eaten in a while. Keep him hydrated, warm, and humid. What is your vet doing for him? I believe the eye problem is from his substrate and lack of humidity. Spray down his substrate but keep it warm. If it falls below 80degrees, you may have to deal with a respiratory problem as well. You don't want that. Also, if you have hay in his enclosure and it gets wet, under cold conditions, mold can begin to grow in his enclosure. You don't need that to happen on top of everything else. I would remove any hay since he's not eating it anyway. Use cypress mulch mixed with fertilizer free soil (50/50). You have got to keep the temps Inside his enclosure under control. Hide should be around 95 degree, no hotter. The only hot spot (95-100) should be the basking area. No spot should be below 80 degrees since he's sick.

 

[Sosakan]

 

[Sosakan]

Well, I talked to the vet last night and I'm afraid it doesn't look good. The vet says that it may be a congenital disease, like @wellington said. We are going to try a different Eye ointment and cross our fingers. If this doesn't work, we have one more option then the vet says we might need to put him down if he doesn't die by then.

Thankfully? The vet says this is likely not something I have done, but rather something he was born with or developed, this eases my guilt, but doesn't make possibly losing Einstein any easier.

Thanks for the support, I'll keep these threads updated

 

[Gillian M]

View attachment 189862

He's gorgeous!

Wishes for Einstein to get well soon.

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @Sosakan . Let's keep our fingers crossed, and hope for the best. "Hope is the last thing to die" as is said. With @wellington 's advise and the eye ointment IF needed, hopefully Einstein will recover.

Am praying for him.

Please keep us updated. And good luck.

 

[worried]

heya, howz the Einstein now..

 

[worried]

heya, howz the Einstein now..

 

[Yvonne G]

I posted this on the other thread:

"Hi Chase:

Your tortoise's problem isn't his eyes. The eye is the result of other problems, more than likely husbandry. I can help you treat his eyes, but unless you correct the husbandry problem, he's not going to get any better.

Please re-read our Hermanni care sheet: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

Read it with an open mind, and change anything that's different from the way Chris advises us to care for them.

Mix Gerber baby food strained carrots 50/50% with warm water in a tall sided bowl with a small footprint and soak the tortoise in this mixture for at least 30 minutes daily (longer is even better). I place the bowl back into the habitat in order to keep it warm. You should see his eyes open after about three days.

You can also apply ointment to help sooth the eyes, but neither of these things will fix the tortoise's problem. You MUST change your husbandry."

He won't eat until you get his eyes open. The above baby food 'fix' will get his eyes open.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The problem is that he can't SEE the food to get it. I see him going through the motions, but an inch away from the food. I have tried to put it directly in front of him, but with limited success. Now, with the baby food idea, I will try picking him up and feeding him like a baby and see how that goes. Thanks for the pickmeup, I've been feeling rotten about this for a month.

Place him in the center of a shallow plate full of cut up greens. This way, he can't miss when he chomps down.
Any nutrition that you can get in him will keep him stronger and he can fight whatever is wrong with him longer.

 

[Markw84]

@Sosakan

Hopefully you can update us as I see you haven't checked back in to the forum since Dec 1.

Can I ask how high you used to have the mercury vapor bulb above the tortoise level? You stated it was giving you a 125F reading directly underneath, and to get that hot, the bulb was probably way too close. Since it was a new bulb, the UVB output would be good, so at that distance it could have definitely caused the problem.