I resued Dave a week ago. He was kept in a Guinea pig cage with no added humidity / a 125 watt heat bulb that kept his temp in the low to mid 70's . He is about a year old the woman who had him said and kept this way the whole time (low humidity / low temp / no uvb). He has not eaten since I have had him and has not pooped either. He seems alert but lathargic. He now has a mvb / 60-75% humidity /100+ basking 80's ambient temp. His back legs drag behind him but do have very limited use I assume mbd. He is 125 grams now (seems small for a 1 yr old to me). My vet has had me syringe feeding him (3 days now)/ babyfood soaks / and twice daily baytril (just got that today) for ri. My question is when would I expect to see any improvement ? I do realize he may not make it but am hopeful!
Dave is sick!
- Thread starter J H
- Start date
They recover slowly. Hope you can help him. Best of luck to you.
I'm just wondering is it a week / a month ect on average? Also with calcium + D3 and uvb do the legs normally recover some what or am I just hoping to stop further deterioration? ( he can pull rears in and extend but can not put any weight on them. He drags them behind)
Months. Years. I believe they can recover some strength, but may never be 100%.
it's possible the legs may be result of MBD but it could just be a simple weakness from not being used. they get sick slowly they recover slowly. tortoises are survivors those so odds are you'll make it. never give up never surrender my motto. with him being on antibiotics he's probably not going to eat for a while
It could be nerve damage and not just MBD. Whatever it is, it takes a very long time for those legs to recover. Don't be impatient. With good care, hopefully he'll make a full recovery.
