Baby food soak

[Kitkat1989]

How do you go about doing a baby food soak and when would u recommend doing one, I have a friend with a Russian who isn't eating and I was looking for answers on hear and thought that might be worth ago? Any info on baby food soaks would be good, like flavours etc. thanks

 

[Tom]

First and foremost the reason WHY your friends russian is not eating needs to be discovered and corrected. We'd be happy to help with this. We'll need to know the four temps, substrate, climate, UV source, enclosure size and location, etc...

Simply mix warm water with carrot or yam baby food and soak the tortoise in this mix as you would normally soak with plain water. Rinse the tortoise with warm water when finished.

I hope we can help.

 

[Yvonne G]

Just let me be clear about something...baby food soaks are for turtles and tortoises that haven't eaten in a while and that have swollen shut eyes. It does absolutely no good to soak a healthy turtle or tortoise in baby food. It is for sick animals that have stopped eating.

 

[Kitkat1989]

Yeah he isn't eating and his eyes are swollen shut. I know she has a vets appointment today but any one have any experience on what this could be?

 

[Yvonne G]

The most common cause is because they had stopped eating and are suffering from a vitamin A deficiency. BUT - PLEASE don't allow the vet to inject vitamin A. It is very easy to get the vitamin into the tortoise through his food or the baby food soaks and the injection can be very dangerous.

Another cause of swollen shut eyes, not as common, is a respiratory infection.

 

[Yvonne G]

The most common cause for a tortoise to stop eating is because he isn't warm enough. So have your friend clear their mind of everything they thought they knew about caring for Russian tortoises and start fresh with an open mind and re-read the care sheet, making tweeks and adjustments to their care as needed.

 

[johnreuk]

Hope the tortoise was seen at the vets and something is being done for him.

Just picking up on something though..... There is a lot of scaremongering that goes on about tortoises receiving vitamin A injections, with people saying "don't allow the vet to do it"....... Yes, vitamin A can be overdosed, and in such situations it can be very damaging and even fatal. However, if a tortoise or terrapin does truly have vitamin a deficiency, then it is the best way to administer it..... Gut absorption of vitamin a will be extremely poor when the animal is suffering from hypovitaminosis A, since it is an important factor for a lot of linings within the body, including the gut. The gut cells will not be healthy because of the hypovitaminosis A, in addition to the fact the tortoise is likely to be generally debilitated, and prolonged anorexia will have damaged the gut further. Therefore, oral supplementation, although it will help.... will take a very long time.

So anyway, my point is, yes, vets have overdosed vit a by injection. However, if the tortoise or terrapin actually needs it, and the dose is calculated correctly, then it is the route of choice.

Furthermore, just because a tortoise has swollen eyes does not mean it has vit A deficiency...... Hypovitaminosis A is actually very uncommon in tortoises. Terrapins are a different matter, they very commonly suffer from hypovitaminosis A, and if I saw a terrapin with swollen eyes (among other things), vit a deficiency would be high up on my differential list.

I'm not saying don't question your vet by any means. You should, and a good reptile vet should be happy to answer any queries or concerns you have... But I wouldn't suggest that forbidding a vet to administer a potentially life saving treatment is really a good idea...

Hope that's interesting/helpful
Kind regards
John