Tort not eating and grayish tongue.

Greta16

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Hi, sorry I haven't been on here in a while. It's been a rough few years for personal reasons. Hermie (E Hermanns)has been doing great until about a week ago. My uncle who was staying with us noticed she hasn't eaten for a few days but was still moderately active. It's gone down hill. She's not moving a whole lot now and she hasn't eaten anything in about a week. A few days ago in the bath she opened her mouth a bit and as I had just picked the first dandelions I thought that may entice her. I saw her tongue it wasn't pink like usual, more a grayish color and I hate to admit I put a baby dandelion green in her mouth. She acted like she was trying to throw it up. This is getting long now. It's 100 under her heat lamp, 70 on the cool side. She's going to the vet tomorrow. I'm going to try and soak her as long as possible thus afternoon to get a fecal, which may not happen as she hasn't eaten in a week. I'm so damn sad. Any ideas what it could be before we head to the vet tomorrow?
 

Bee62

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How old is your Hermie ? Do you have other tortoises or was Hermie in contact with other tortoises ?
schild-2-300x113.jpg
Was the mouth looking like on this picture ? It could be herpes virus of tortoises.
 

Greta16

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How old is your Hermie ? Do you have other tortoises or was Hermie in contact with other tortoises ?
schild-2-300x113.jpg
Was the mouth looking like on this picture ? It could be herpes virus of tortoises.
She's 2.5, I don't have other torts but I do have a bearded dragon. Could I have unknowingly transferred something? I try to be super diligent about washing my hands between touching them. The outside of her mouth looks okay to me. She's still pretty little, 50 grams. If she was full grown I'd try and get a look in her mouth.
 

Bee62

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She's 2.5, I don't have other torts but I do have a bearded dragon. Could I have unknowingly transferred something? I try to be super diligent about washing my hands between touching them. The outside of her mouth looks okay to me. She's still pretty little, 50 grams. If she was full grown I'd try and get a look in her mouth.
Bearded dragons can get sick with herpes virus but I don`t know if it is the same herpes virus that makes tortoises sick. For example a human herpes virus can`t make tortoises sick.
How is the temperature and the humidity in the enclosure of your tortoise ? To help a sick tortoise you can increase temp and humidity. With higher temps you can support your sick tortoise.
Please keep us updated what the vet said.
 

Cheryl Hills

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At 2.5 years old, I believe, that is way underweight. What are you feeding her? Can you post pictures of her and the enclosure? What are the heat settings, type of bulbs,ect? With this information we may be able to help more.
 

Greta16

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Hermie spent 3hrs at the vet being observed, she had an ex-ray too. Lungs looked good, which I thought as no signs of pneumonia. We couldn't get a poop sample either. So due to my budget constraints the vet came to the conclusion that it's a deficiency and or infection. She prescribed baytril once a day and supplemental herbivore food. If it is a deficiency I'm not sure what I could have done differently. In the spring-summer-fall she gets a wide array of weeds and in the winter she gets store bought. I also supplement with Mazuri pellets once a week in the winter, dust greens with calcium 2-3 times a week. She may be small but she's always been a great eater and has slowly gained since I got her 2 years ago. Any advice on the baytril before I start it? Also what should I raise temps to? It's normally 96-100f under the heat lamp.
 

Greta16

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How do i get her to take her medicine orally if I can't get her to open her mouth?? I've tried all the tricks I've read on here, holding her legs back, holding her upright. As soon as she puts her head out she pulls it in immediately when she sees my fingers coming. Any ideas?
 

Greta16

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I came home from work ready to try and feed Hermie only to find her passed on. I'm pretty sad right now.
 

lymcBoris

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I came home from work ready to try and feed Hermie only to find her passed on. I'm pretty sad right now.
Oh no, so sorry for you and little Hermie. You did all you could for her by the sounds of it. Feeling very sad for you. It's so painful losing a beloved pet. [emoji45]
 

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