HELP!!! (dead?)

Schumi

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Feb 18, 2021
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I got my leopard tortoise 2 weeks ago and he wasn’t eating (only ate very little twice) but he was very energetic. Yesterday, I took him out and he was walking up and down, and today when I tried to take him out for his daily walk in the garden, he wouldn’t move (legs and head are in the shell) and underneath his was a brown liquid discharge with a very bad smell.. he isn’t moving.. my tortoise is probably dead but I want to make sure before burying him.. :/
 

Yvonne G

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When a tortoise is moved to a new home he goes through relocation stress. The energetic movement you saw was him trying to find a way to escape and find his way back to where he came from.

Please explain for us how the tortoise was kept in the two weeks you had him - lights, temperature, food, etc
 

Avuwyy

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That’s for sure.. do you know what that liquid foul smell discharge underneath him might be? Is it decomposition or some kind of illness?

It could be that they defecated, sometimes it can smell quite foul. Tortoises can urinate/defecate when they are scared, I find that if I pick up my leopard tortoise he becomes startled and has a few times urinated due to that, so it’s best only to move your tortoise when and if they need it, as it could be interpreted to them as being taken off by a bird or some other larger predator.

Check to see if their legs are moving at all, their limbs will usually move with their breathing, or when they are curious. Or give their limbs a light poke to see if they retract further, don’t try and pull at the limbs as you may cause some damage.
 

KarenSoCal

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Put him in a warm soak, making sure to hold his head above water. Make sure to wash the awful discharge off of him.

A very gentle tug on his leg should be met with resistance. If there is none and the leg pulls right out, he's probably gone. Also, his eyelids will sink in, like if there was no eyeball.

If he is dead, I'm so very sorry. You didn't say if he is a hatchling, but if so, sometimes babies just don't do well, despite good care.
 

ZEROPILOT

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That’s for sure.. do you know what that liquid foul smell discharge underneath him might be? Is it decomposition or some kind of illness?
It could be poop.
It could be decomposition.
Its sure strange for a "healthy" tortoise to be dead in 24 hours without an obvious cause of death
 

Radamila

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Oct 21, 2020
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I think it is very stressful for Tortoise or even any other reps to be picked up, moved by hands, suddenly grabbed... When I want to soak my Tortoise or take her outside for a walk/exercise, I talk to her, calling her by her name, with gentle voice, I sing for her... She looks at me, we communicate (I treat all my Animals as I want to be treated), then I put her in the large box and take her where I need her to be! This way it is less stressful for them to be in the box, rather than in your hands! Stress can be very harmful and even kill them! Imagine living in constant fear of unknown pressure and disturbance! We have to understand Nature and treat all living creatures with respect!
Tortoise are not like our Dogs or Cats, who like to be petted, they need different interactions...
 
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