Baby in distress....

[Saleama]

I have a small, one year old Three toed boxie that has had health issues for about six months now. He is lethargic with swollen eyes and a deformed body. Everyone I have asked says he looks like their babies that were supposed to be twins and formed into one body. He had been getting up every morning and going to the pool and then I would find him eating his chicken or eggs and berries, now he just sits there and does not move much at all. I started baby food soaks with liquid calcium and liquid vitamins on Monday. He gets his UVB from a bulb that is about two feet away and pointed at my house plants and not directly at him and also from the Sun when it is ok to put him outside. My question is, is there any hope for my baby or am I being selfish in keeping him alive? I am starting to feel like he would be better off in Turtle heaven. I need some opinions from others who have cared for these types of babies.

Oh, he is about two inches and weighs in at 20 grams which has been steady for a month, up from 18 grams last month. He is in an indoor garden with a basking area at 95 - 100 and a cool side at room temp (72 - 75). Constant water available as well as plenty of plants and damp substrate.

 

[edwardbo]

Show some pics ,if he was ok ,he can be ok .is this the turtle with no face,eyes? I can not stop thinking of that turtle, every day. I would have liked to make that turtle T.T. Official mascot . Really ,that picture is burned in my head. If it's not that turtle , see if he can be cured ,offer him to someone else (we can have a turtle charity to pay for shipping) .where there is life there is hope. Turtle heaven ,phuey . I know it can be stressful . But you need to be clearer with your intent .

 

[Saleama]

bump....

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My intent, as is clearly stated in my first post, is that I love this little guy more than all my others combined but if he is in pain and there is no hope, as I have been told by others with babies born this way, then I might be being selfish for keeping him alive. I have been told before that babies born like this usually don't live more than a few weeks. He is not the eyeless turtle by the way. And under no circumstances is the stress having any bearing at all on this decision. I spend about an hour on him each morning and an hour or more when I get home. He gets his soaks and special food if he will eat. Something that he has not done in a few days. Also, he would not survive shipping, at least, I don't think he would, otherwise I would pay to ship him myself. I would also pay to drive him and his home to anybody close enough that can make me feel secure in their ability to rehabilitate him.

 

[ascott]

If you stay diligent then life will do what it is suppose to do....so, keep on trying and he may do well and he may not---but you know you did your part, you know what I mean? Also, who is to say that someone else will be able to do any better than you ---I mean after all, he was placed in your hands for a reason....and the heart can be a wonderful motivator....sometimes we need a coat tail of will to ride on until our will is strong enough to carry our own weight....

I would think though that if you tilt the light a bit more (uv rays) so the turtle can get a bit more direct exposure that likely would not hurt anything and if you have all temps set then let him run his course, no matter what that may be....stress free is a calm thing....so, give yourself a break---give the little one a moment and see what happens....

 

[Saleama]

He actually appears to be responding a bit to the baby food soaks. My worry is he is not supposed to make it and he is in constant pain. He actually tried to eat yesterday and got a few bites of chicken baby food down. We shall see. I hope one day to report his first babies! LOL...

 

[diamondbp]

I think you are on the right road to recovery but sometimes all our efforts can't force life to continue. The baby food soaks are great. Always soak after feedings with young fragile boxies because if food gets in their throats and drys out they are pretty much done for. I would up the amount of time it spends in warm water and baby food soaks to double what its doing now.

Best of luck to you

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What state are you located in?

 

[mike taylor]

If your uvb is two feet away it's not doing any good . It needs to be 12-14 inches to be affective. Sorry to hear about this poor little fellow . I wish I could help but thats all I know is the light needs to be closer. Hopefully he will put out of it . It sounds like your doing everything you can for him .

 

[Saleama]

I think you are on the right road to recovery but sometimes all our efforts can't force life to continue. The baby food soaks are great. Always soak after feedings with young fragile boxies because if food gets in their throats and drys out they are pretty much done for. I would up the amount of time it spends in warm water and baby food soaks to double what its doing now.

Best of luck to you

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What state are you located in?

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I am in Dallas Texas area. I have upped his soak time to an hour and a half and then I put him in a shallow dish with a lighter solution. He stays in there as long as he likes and then crawls out or trys to and I help him out. His soak water is half spring water and half pedialite/baby food mix. I got a baby food low in sugar and high in protein (3 protein 9 sugar) His food right now is chicken baby food and salmon cat food (wet and gross) He nibbles but not much more. I am in the process of moving his room mate to his own habitat so I don't have to distub JSwatt to find Cush.

 

[lkwagner]

Can we please see pics of him and his enclosure?

 

[Saleama]

Can we please see pics of him and his enclosure?

I am at work and off to a party this evening but I will post when I can.

 

[terryo]

No one can do more than you are doing for him now. I would never ship him anywhere. Just keep doing what you are doing now. Keep up the baby food soaks, keep him very warm and moist and just hope for the best. Good luck to you. I have had a few like this that have turned around and are still with me, and others who didn't make it, so you never know.

 

[Saleama]

Thanks for the encouragement. I have been fighting for this little guy for a long time. He looked normal for the first month I had him and then he started getting really wide in the rear. Looked a little strange but he was still running around as well as the others. Then one day he couldn't seem to see the worms and if he did catch one, he couldn't eat it. Then he stopped even trying. He had 2 siblings in another persons care that were fine one day and both dead the next at about 3 months old and another sibling that did the same a month later. Of the three I got, there is him and Cush who is a bit small(2 inches and about 30 grams, is that about what a yearling should be?) but looking good and Dre who flipped over on the basking spot while I was at work and died. I have 2 of the ones born 2 years before him that are doing great and I have 5 that were hatched this month that are awesome. You may have seen the thread of the one with the zipper scutes?

 

[edwardbo]

I'm so sorry , on further thought , at a consultation with Nuro guys I brought up the subject of children with "issues"(autism ,turrets , comorbiditys.....) With CHILDREN (read as baby's ) there is never just one issue ,if something is wrong there is other big problems ( congenital heart , brain ,spine ,blindness...) you are right , your mothers intuition is kicking in , that baby is probably not going to make it . Like the mother dog that will not nurse one puppy, she knows something is wrong .i tell my wife (not an animal person) don't be shocked if our ***** rejects a puppy ,refuses to nurse, that the mother knows that this puppy is not viable . Nature can be harsh but it has worked for millions of years . Trust your instincts ,you were right ,do as you feel . Hospice , keep him comfortable. ....god bless you ,you did very good. Better than good ,think quality of life .thank you

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And ,yes if did see the zippered thread .your instincts are keener than you are aware of. Good for you . You will make a great mother ........read some Malcolm Gladwell,it's Nuro science ,.

 

[Saleama]

I just found out last night that out of 14 babies that were found (before I got involved) there are only 4 remaining. One my uncle has and three that I have. After questioning the people who got all the babies I was able to attribute 4 of the deaths to improper care. They had no UVB and no Heat light and were being fed box turtle diet with no live food. Of the other six, it would appear that the proper care was given, the babies were eating and appeared fine and then just went belly up. I can't be sure as I never saw them, but I think maybe the temps were to high during the hatching, it was the summer of 2012 and we had some 109 days here. I don't know, but I do know with the five I got that hatched last month I can already see a difference in behavior. These five bury normally and are out and about by the time I wake up. Patroling for food, drinking and bathing. I even caught one this morning that had hunted a worm all on his own. Cute little guy with a big snaggley egg tooth stuck on his nose! I hope these are healthier than last year's clutches. I will post more pics after NASCAR weekend!

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I also want to add that these babies represent the first cluthes that have ever hatched out of this herd (or whatever you call a group of box turtles) The females are all prety young, less than 15 years I would guess. Not sure if that has any thing to do with it.

 

[Saleama]

J Swatt passed this weekend. He was lying in his garden with his head out gasping when I got home from work. I gave him a warm soak in baby food and pedialite and placed him under his light to keep warm. He closed his eyes and laid his head out and appeared to not be able to pull it back in. I placed him in his favorite spot under his leaf. When I got back from the NASCAR truck race a few hours later, he was gone. I miss the little guy but I know he is no longer in pain. I preserved his body in case I can find someone to do an autopsy to confirm why he died and if not, at least I can return him to the Garden where he was born. I had him one day short of a year. I got him the day of the Truck race last year. R.I.P. little guy. Thanks everyone for the help with him. His brothers will all benefit from all the good advice!

 

[Kara]

Very sorry for your loss.

As I understand some of the earlier posts, most of his siblings didn't survive nearly as long. Hopefully, you can take comfort in knowing you did everything right, everything you could. His short life was a really, really good one.

~Kara (& Lea)

J Swatt passed this weekend. He was lying in his garden with his head out gasping when I got home from work. I gave him a warm soak in baby food and pedialite and placed him under his light to keep warm. He closed his eyes and laid his head out and appeared to not be able to pull it back in. I placed him in his favorite spot under his leaf. When I got back from the NASCAR truck race a few hours later, he was gone. I miss the little guy but I know he is no longer in pain. I preserved his body in case I can find someone to do an autopsy to confirm why he died and if not, at least I can return him to the Garden where he was born. I had him one day short of a year. I got him the day of the Truck race last year. R.I.P. little guy. Thanks everyone for the help with him. His brothers will all benefit from all the good advice!