Bubbles Galore

W Shaw

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When I rescued Ronan, he would mostly drag himself with his hands. Could stand and walk but wobbly, and preferred not to. After two months, he stands solidly and walks now. Still sometimes prefers to "sit" while he's eating, and he's not super active but he always stands up and walks properly now. I didn't do anything specific about it. Just better diet and temps and UVB and opportunities to exercise. He does have some deformity in his limbs, but the vet felt that the issues he had with walking were primarily just weakness from malnutrition.
 

Anyfoot

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Bubbles update
The greatest improvement so far has been her use of back legs. Still splayed a little , and not fully on feet -she still uses a bit of the forearm. but she moves all over w/o problems. Shell is completely off the ground when she walks. I no longer do the water ( swimming ) therapy since she is outside and has hills & valleys to climb. She climbs in and out of water by herself. I bring her in at night when it drops below 70f.

Weight gains are slow. But plastron is firm. Eyes bright and eats well.

The little trooper is going to be just fine :) small , like a pine cone , but fine all the same. :)
Excellent work Mike.
 

Joseph K

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I'm so happy to hear about Bubbles' continued progress! I hope she realizes how lucky she is to have you!
My little Anna still has such a sense of entitlement.
 

MPRC

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Dead thread resurrection time! How is Ms. Bubbles?
 

Alaskamike

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Doing very well - it may be a long time before much growth is seen
Thank you
She is inside much of the time now - nights especially. But I have her out in enclosure today. It's 75f & sunny !

I'll be posting more photos soon. Just been lazy :(
 

allegraf

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Great job! They are resilient little critters. Glad you could help save her.
 

Alaskamike

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Update on bubbles.
Found her passed away this morning. No idea why, she was fine yesterday.

Very hard to make assumptions , and won't have a necropsy done, so will never know.

But her last year was good. Had freedoms & a great environment. Never completely overcame the MBD & still walked funny with slated legs. But got around.

I have no regrets trying with her. None.

Some internal damages from atrocious care take a toll on longevity , no matter what we do.

Keep educating keepers - so we can have fewer of these deformed suffering torts to rescue.

ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1463236877.129201.jpg
RIP baby
 

Yvonne G

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Aw geez, what a shame. It's really too bad that happened.
 

Anyfoot

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Update on bubbles.
Found her passed away this morning. No idea why, she was fine yesterday.

Very hard to make assumptions , and won't have a necropsy done, so will never know.

But her last year was good. Had freedoms & a great environment. Never completely overcame the MBD & still walked funny with slated legs. But got around.

I have no regrets trying with her. None.

Some internal damages from atrocious care take a toll on longevity , no matter what we do.

Keep educating keepers - so we can have fewer of these deformed suffering torts to rescue.

View attachment 173490
RIP baby
Damn. :(
 

MPRC

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Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. She was a little fighter. I'm glad she got to spend her final year with you.
 

Joseph K

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I saw this update on Saturday morning and have been grieving the loss of Bubbles ever since. You did a heroic job, AlaskaMike; if even 10% keepers demonstrated your love, patience, compassion empathy, fortitude, discipline, the list goes on, in taking care of their wonderful tortoises, the world would be a so much better place. At the very least, you should feel assured that, because of YOU, Bubbles lived.
 

crimson_lotus

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I'm so sorry!! :( I loved checking up on this thread to see how she was doing.

I also think you did an excellent job with her, and it's absolutely wonderful you went so far to help her. I'm sure she enjoyed the last year of her life with you.
 

jockma

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I'm so sorry for your loss. What a sweet girl, she was lucky to have you as her owner. She passed in a comfortable and humane environment. In their own way, they can appreciate that.

I met a herp enthusiast downtown a few months back that had recently gotten her first tortoise, a 7 year-old sulcata. She had fostered many reptiles with MBD so she knew basically what to do, but the original owners that had had the sully since she was a hatchling knew what MBD was, knew she had it, but said the tort "just looks kind of funny" and dropped her off and split. Her situation was very similar, shell looked crushed, hind limb paralysis, bone deformities, all of it. Passed after two months. It's one thing to know about MBD, it's another thing entirely to actually do something about it. We need to keep educating folks about MBD, but also educate folks to know when to give up before it's too late and give the tort a chance for a happy, healthy life. Devastating that this happens so frequently...I'm just glad people like you step up to help.
 

Pearly

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I am so sorry for your loss. I loved checking on your Bubbles thread. The story was such an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. You have done remarkable work with her. You must be one remarkable young man. Again, please accept my deepest condolences.
 

Rutibegga

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I've been off the forums a few months and came back to this. RIP Bubbles. I'm so happy you gave her such a fantastic last year. She was a lucky tort.
 
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