Devastated please read/ help!

[Scoffy20]

Hi everyone I unfortunatly have terrible news. I came home tonight to find Rex more tortoise that i have cared for and loved for such a short time, barely a month, has died. I dont understand what has happened. He has been fine now eating moving drinking soaking. I did post about a eye issue last night but that has only happened in the last few days ( 3) and it seemed to be better once I washed out his eye with warm water. He is stiff from death but what bothers me is his eyes are half open and his mouth open as if he choked to death... there is green goo that looks like vomit with partly digested greens and something yellowish that looks sort of hard? the picture are attached please tell me what you think. I feel like I failed Rex. I am heart broken especially because his personality was just starting to show through. Should I get a new tortoise? I feel nervous because I don't want this to happen ever again. I expected Rex to be with me and my girl friend for a long time...

 

[Zamric]

Im sorry for your loss!

I'm no expert and I'm not sure what I'm looking at so I will save all comments to those who know better.

 

[wosman]

oh man that's awful. Sorry buddy

 

[yoda3106]

Sorry to hear this

 

[l0velesly]

Hearing this news just breaks my heart. That picture is so sad.. he still looks alive. I wish I knew what happened. Sorry to hear of your loss. Could you have fed him the wrong food?

 

[*Barracuda_50*]

Awww thats very sad sorry for your loss, just seeing the pic is heartbreaking..

 

[Scoffy20]

thank you all I just dont know what happened. Was it me? was it actually choking? Was he ill?

Here's my setup info:

40g breeder tank
repti bark mulch
100wat basking bulb that kept tank at 85-90 on one side and 75 on other ( I temp check it twice a day recently with a zoo med inferred thermometer)
30" zilla dessert UVB bulb ran 12-14hrs a day
He was fed T-Rex dry food, fresh watercress, endive, spring mix, escarole, kale, timothy hay, 1 slice of cantaloupe when he first came home, apple slice, escarole.
Given daily soaks because he looked slightly dehydrated around the eyes a week ago.

Please leave any and all feedback. Any reassurance is also appreciated

 

[Vincentdhr]

What species was Rex?

 

[CactusVinnie]

Poor Rex... sorry for you, Scoffy...
A Russian- and any tortoise- should stay outdoors. Soil, grass, rocks, sun. I would see that substrate as dangerous, maybe he swallowed a piece of bark??

 

[Scoffy20]

Poor Rex... sorry for you, Scoffy...
A Russian- and any tortoise- should stay outdoors. Soil, grass, rocks, sun. I would see that substrate as dangerous, maybe he swallowed a piece of bark??

Thanks for your response. I agree outdoors is best but people have been keeping these creatures indoors for decades successfully. As for the substrate It doesn't look as if he choked on it. It is always a possibility but He don't you think he would notice it? Ive never seen him eat it or even try to pic it up. Ive seen him dig through it though to get at some buried timothy hay. So unless it was some how mixed into his greens maybe from him walking through it, I dont think he would try to eat it.

 

[AustinASU]

The only thing i can think of is some sort of parasite to kill that fast and with no warning signs.

 

[dmmj]

I doubt it was parasites, of course without a necropsy it will be impossible to tell. But with the vomiting and half eaten food, I suspect he got a hold of something toxic and it sadly killed him. Just because he did not throw it up, does not mean something was not ingested that was bad for him. I see what looked like aloe vera, where did you get it from?

 

[Scoffy20]

What species was Rex?

A russian tort

 

[Talka]

I would take his body to a vet to run an autopsy of sorts.
Remember, torts are not immune to heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, and other issues that humans have as well. He may have been born with a heart disease that caught up with him, or it could be something as simple as the substrate (though I doubt it - reptibark isn't recommended for Russians but I've never heard of it killing one). Without a vet looking at him, you'll never know. But your setup sounds fine, certainly not deadly. It's not your fault.

 

[Scoffy20]

I doubt it was parasites, of course without a necropsy it will be impossible to tell. But with the vomiting and half eaten food, I suspect he got a hold of something toxic and it sadly killed him. Just because he did not throw it up, does not mean something was not ingested that was bad for him. I see what looked like aloe vera, where did you get it from?

Honestly i haven't given him anything that hasn't been recommended by someone from this site or from my russian tortoise guide. He's eaten endive, kale, organic watercress from my local farmers market, bib lettuce, romaine, red leaf lettuce, mustard greens, spring mix dry food formula for tortoise from petco. Could he get Aloe from the endive or watercress? Also is a necropsy costly? It might make me feel better knowing if it was something I did wrong or he was actually sick/ vomit/ choking.

I feel so awful right now

 

[dmmj]

It looked like aloe vera, but since you have only been feeding stuff from the farmers market, I doubt you fed him aloe vera which is safe for russians to eat. A necropsy may or may not pick up what killed him, it may only rule certain things out, I haven't ha done doe yet, but I hear they can be costly. It is possible something from the farmers market killed him. It could have happened during harvest, storage, planting something could have come into contact with his food. Remember these are just guesses. His diet sounded good though.

 

[Laura]

can you look into his mouth? He either choked or it was something sudden like a heart attack.
do you have any history on him? age?

 

[Scoffy20]

Ot ;looked like aloe vera, but since you have only been feeding stuff from the farmers market, I doubt you fed him aloe vera which is safe for russians to eat. A necropsy may or may not pick up what killed him, it may only rule certain things out, I haven't ha done doe yet, but I hear they can be costly. It is possible something from the farmers market killed him. It could have happened during harvest, storage, planting something could have come into contact with his food. Remember these are just guesses. His diet sounded good though.

So in your opinion was it something I could have done wrong or prevented? and would you say I should or should not try again?

 

[Angi]

When my torts were hatchlings I found one chocking on a piece of grass that didn't get chewed up. It sounds odd, but had I not been there to see it he could have died. So sorry for your loss

 

[dmmj]

That is just it I don't know what happened, these are only guesses. I can't say if you did or did not do something that caused it. I am just saying it looks like to me that it could have been something toxic. Lets say hypothetically it was something from the farmers market (my most likely suspect) how could you have known something was wrong? You can't test all the food that comes in. As for getting another tortoise that is something only you can answer for yourself. When people who own a tortoise (their first one) some people try again right away, others wait a while and some never try again, no answer is right or wrong. I realize these answers may not be helping much but they are the only ones I can give you right now.