Kandisa612
New Member
Hello all,
I have some health concerns for my Sulcata Luna.
The last two days Luna has not eaten and it appears to have something to do with her mouth. Her lower jaw quivers/shakes, and it appears as though she cannot actually bite down on anything. Before she was able to take bites from a big leaf, but now she has to have things cut small for her or she cannot eat. This has been since the issues with her mouth, which she was seen for about two months ago and treated with pain medication. She was also tested for several viral and bacterial causes for respiratory disease and oral ulcerations all tests came back negative. She had a bowel movement on 2/03/21 and 2/5/21. She urinates everyday after her soaking, but there has been no observed urination for several days.
The next concern I have is with her skin. Her skin appears to be cracked as if it is going to fall off. Some areas have fallen off and it does look like healthy skin underneath. She also has flaky skin under her head and around her neck. She appears to have small bumps on her skin as well. The bumps are different then the yellow spots that she was treated for in October 2020 with two corses of antibiotics. She also has a large crack by her tail. I have attached photos below. It appears that her legs are stiff and she cannot walk. She will lift her front left leg and shake it like she wants to move but cannot.
She weighed 85 grams today.
She is in a closed chamber enclosure that is 36x24x18. She has a 60 watt ceramic heater that is on 24/7, and a 60 watt day light that is on from 8am - 8pm. The humidity gauge reads about 70-75% humidity, and her digital thermometer reads 100°F during the day and 80° F at night. The substrate I use is Zoo Med eco-earth compress coconut fiber expandable substrate which I mix with Zoo Med premium reptile bark. Her diet consists of weeds and Bermuda grass from the backyard. All of the weeds I feed her, I have looked up and per thetortoisetable.org are all “safe to feed”. Fresh grocery store food I feed her consists of mustard greens, kale, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, and spineless prickly pear. All of the foods are chopped or shredded for her or she will not eat. The only supplement she has is a turtle bone, I do have calcium powder without D3 but when I sprinkle that on her food she does not eat it, so I just stopped using it and put the bone in her enclosure instead. I take her outside 3 times a week for 30min - 1hr. for natural sunlight. Some weeks, with the recent rains and cold days, I have not taken her out. I already mentioned, but will emphasize that I soak her everyday for at least 30 min.
I have an appointment scheduled for her, but the soonest is 2/10/21. I just wanted to get some advice.
Thank you all in advance!
I have some health concerns for my Sulcata Luna.
The last two days Luna has not eaten and it appears to have something to do with her mouth. Her lower jaw quivers/shakes, and it appears as though she cannot actually bite down on anything. Before she was able to take bites from a big leaf, but now she has to have things cut small for her or she cannot eat. This has been since the issues with her mouth, which she was seen for about two months ago and treated with pain medication. She was also tested for several viral and bacterial causes for respiratory disease and oral ulcerations all tests came back negative. She had a bowel movement on 2/03/21 and 2/5/21. She urinates everyday after her soaking, but there has been no observed urination for several days.
The next concern I have is with her skin. Her skin appears to be cracked as if it is going to fall off. Some areas have fallen off and it does look like healthy skin underneath. She also has flaky skin under her head and around her neck. She appears to have small bumps on her skin as well. The bumps are different then the yellow spots that she was treated for in October 2020 with two corses of antibiotics. She also has a large crack by her tail. I have attached photos below. It appears that her legs are stiff and she cannot walk. She will lift her front left leg and shake it like she wants to move but cannot.
She weighed 85 grams today.
She is in a closed chamber enclosure that is 36x24x18. She has a 60 watt ceramic heater that is on 24/7, and a 60 watt day light that is on from 8am - 8pm. The humidity gauge reads about 70-75% humidity, and her digital thermometer reads 100°F during the day and 80° F at night. The substrate I use is Zoo Med eco-earth compress coconut fiber expandable substrate which I mix with Zoo Med premium reptile bark. Her diet consists of weeds and Bermuda grass from the backyard. All of the weeds I feed her, I have looked up and per thetortoisetable.org are all “safe to feed”. Fresh grocery store food I feed her consists of mustard greens, kale, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, and spineless prickly pear. All of the foods are chopped or shredded for her or she will not eat. The only supplement she has is a turtle bone, I do have calcium powder without D3 but when I sprinkle that on her food she does not eat it, so I just stopped using it and put the bone in her enclosure instead. I take her outside 3 times a week for 30min - 1hr. for natural sunlight. Some weeks, with the recent rains and cold days, I have not taken her out. I already mentioned, but will emphasize that I soak her everyday for at least 30 min.
I have an appointment scheduled for her, but the soonest is 2/10/21. I just wanted to get some advice.
Thank you all in advance!