help, tortoise stopped eating , vomiting and diarrhea

[enchilada]

Hi
I have this radiata since hatchling for 5 years . Raised outdoor during the day and brings indoor after sunset everyday. The indoor enclosure is around 80-90F and 60-90% humidity constantly.

since July , his appetite starts reducing and completely stopped eating last Monday after the vet visit . He vomits if drinking water for too long, but if I break drinking time into several 5 sec sessions then no vomits .
I soak everyday. I observed couple very soft poop since last Monday . Beginning last Thursday , he only poops jelly like or glue like things out . His eyes are socketed in a lot and vet told me he is under weight . 7 inches weigh around 1250 to 1350g . X rays shows no blockage but empty belly .

The vet took stool samples but still no results yet . I fed him some probiotic pills dissolved in water today .
What should I do during the mean time ?


Anyone had experienced similar cases ?

 

[Hamiltondood]

What are you feeding him? I don’t have as much experience radiateds, but I’ll try to help you. @Tom @Yvonne G @Sterant

 

[Tom]

Have you ID'd and confirmed safe every plant that it has access to in the entire enclosure? Including any neighboring trees that drop leaves, flowers, or seeds into the enclosure? No new weeds popped up this year?

Did the vet draw blood? I wonder if anything might be learned there?

Have you done the cloacal swab to test for all these new tortoise diseases going around?

Added any new tortoises lately?

 

[enchilada]

Have you ID'd and confirmed safe every plant that it has access to in the entire enclosure? Including any neighboring trees that drop leaves, flowers, or seeds into the enclosure? No new weeds popped up this year?

Did the vet draw blood? I wonder if anything might be learned there?

Have you done the cloacal swab to test for all these new tortoise diseases going around?

Added any new tortoises lately?

plants in the outdoor enclosure : lemon tree, banana tree , hibiscus tree and sweet potato vines . same random weeds being around forever. no pesticides or fertilizer because i have to eat those too.

vet only did stool sample. nothing else

i did add a smaller radiata from local breeder in july. but the vomiting started Feb or march before the new tortoise introduced(appetite was normal so i didnt pay much attention to it ).
the reduce in appetite did coincide with the timing of new tortoise showing up
(now they are in separated enclosure)

in june i found he was chewing on a live snail one day. there are a lot bugs and toads in the enclosure.

 

[enchilada]

What are you feeding him? I don’t have as much experience radiateds, but I’ll try to help you. @Tom @Yvonne G @Sterant

home grown hibiscus flowers, sweet potato leaves,grape leaves, mixed greens, mazuri .
fruits and turtle food occasionally .

2 or 3 weeks ago he stopped eating other stuff, only interested in mazuri

 

[AgataP]

In general potatoes vines are harmful to the dogs (I am an experienced dog owner currently own 4 large dogs) so maybe there is a side effect on a tort as well? I personally would remove them just to try. Maybe some stress from the new baby ?

 

[enchilada]

In general potatoes vines are harmful to the dogs (I am an experienced dog owner currently own 4 large dogs) so maybe there is a side effect on a tort as well? I personally would remove them.

not potato. Sweet potato.

StackPath

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the leaves are edible. its a common vegetable in asian countries.

 

[AgataP]

not potato. Sweet potato.

StackPath

.


the leaves are edible. its a common vegetable in asian countries.

Was thinking they are related to morning glory

Browse and Search the Tortoise Table Plant Database

Browse and Search the Tortoise Table Plant Database

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

 

[AgataP]

Was thinking they are related to morning glory

Browse and Search the Tortoise Table Plant Database

Browse and Search the Tortoise Table Plant Database

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

But I am no expert was just trying to come up with some possible ideas.

 

[Tom]

plants in the outdoor enclosure : lemon tree, banana tree , hibiscus tree and sweet potato vines . same random weeds being around forever. no pesticides or fertilizer because i have to eat those too.

vet only did stool sample. nothing else

i did add a smaller radiata from local breeder in july. but the vomiting started Feb or march before the new tortoise introduced(appetite was normal so i didnt pay much attention to it ).
the reduce in appetite did coincide with the timing of new tortoise showing up
(now they are in separated enclosure)

in june i found he was chewing on a live snail one day. there are a lot bugs and toads in the enclosure.

Those random weeds, have you ID'd all of them? Just because they didn't nibble on them in the past doesn't mean they won't ever. I get new ones popping up from time to time. Some of them are toxic. Lots of horse weed this year.

 

[enchilada]

Update

today the fecal test result came back negative. No parasite .

I dissolved probiotic pill in water and made him drink it . He starts eating some lettuce.

the vet wants to sedate him and get him on feeding tube . Is it too risky ? I’m concerned about stress weaken the immune system more .

 

[Sterant]

Well taking it to the vet was the right move but is this a reptile vet experienced with tortoises? What is your vets reasoning behind tube feeding without knowing the cause of the issue?

Other than toxic foods, parasites or a pathogen passed by your new tortoise, I have no other ideas. @zovick has seen it all - maybe he has some ideas for you...

 

[zovick]

Well taking it to the vet was the right move but is this a reptile vet experienced with tortoises? What is your vets reasoning behind tube feeding without knowing the cause of the issue?

Other than toxic foods, parasites or a pathogen passed by your new tortoise, I have no other ideas. @zovick has seen it all - maybe he has some ideas for you...

@enchilada
Vomiting for no apparent reason could be a sign of Cryptosporidia. The vet should be able to see the oocytes in the stool samples, but since they aren't shed all the time, it is often necessary to check several stools at different time intervals to see them. It also could indicate Intranuclear coccidiosis (INC), but it probably isn't that, because the tortoises usually die within a few days after you notice the symptoms.

Feeding tubes are well tolerated by tortoises and they are a very good way to get medications and food into a tortoise without stressing it out trying to pry its mouth open. and get it to swallow foul trasting goop, etc. If the vet thinks he/she is capable of placing one, I would say to let him/her do it. If you don't, you may just have to continue watching your tortoise gradually weaken and die a slow death due to malnutrition and starvation.

There is a good exotics vet at VCA Animal Hospital in Los Angeles. Her name is Dr. Laila Proenca. She is the head of their exotics programs in southern CA. She has treated my tortoises here in GA before she moved to CA to take the job with VCA a few years ago

 

[enchilada]

Well taking it to the vet was the right move but is this a reptile vet experienced with tortoises? What is your vets reasoning behind tube feeding without knowing the cause of the issue?

Other than toxic foods, parasites or a pathogen passed by your new tortoise, I have no other ideas. @zovick has seen it all - maybe he has some ideas for you...

this vet clinic is specialize in reptiles and birds. The reason is because he is underweight . He is only 1250 to 1350g . My friend has a similar size radiata weighs 1700g

 

[enchilada]

@enchilada
Vomiting for no apparent reason could be a sign of Cryptosporidia. The vet should be able to see the oocytes in the stool samples, but since they aren't shed all the time, it is often necessary to check several stools at different time intervals to see them. It also could indicate Intranuclear coccidiosis (INC), but it probably isn't that, because the tortoises usually die within a few days after you notice the symptoms.

Feeding tubes are well tolerated by tortoises and they are a very good way to get medications and food into a tortoise without stressing it out trying to pry its mouth open. and get it to swallow foul trasting goop, etc. If the vet thinks he/she is capable of placing one, I would say to let him/her do it. If you don't, you may just have to continue watching your tortoise gradually weaken and die a slow death due to malnutrition and starvation.

There is a good exotics vet at VCA Animal Hospital in Los Angeles. Her name is Dr. Laila Proenca. She is the head of their exotics programs in southern CA. She has treated my tortoises here in GA before she moved to CA to take the job with VCA a few years ago

I have another visit tomorrow for blood test and maybe feeding tube .
I did manage to get him eating again with the help of probiotic water (I guess ) . Although the amount he consumes is quite small .

I’ll try Dr Laila If my current vet can’t handle it . They do have experience with tortoises

 

[qiangzhu]

plants in the outdoor enclosure : lemon tree, banana tree , hibiscus tree and sweet potato vines . same random weeds being around forever. no pesticides or fertilizer because i have to eat those too.

vet only did stool sample. nothing else

i did add a smaller radiata from local breeder in july. but the vomiting started Feb or march before the new tortoise introduced(appetite was normal so i didnt pay much attention to it ).
the reduce in appetite did coincide with the timing of new tortoise showing up
(now they are in separated enclosure)

in june i found he was chewing on a live snail one day. there are a lot bugs and toads in the enclosure.

Suggest to use tortoise table to check the safety of the plants. I usually only plant the plants around Tortoise enclouse or feed the plants to tortoise which are marked as safe to feed or feed in moderation in tortoise table. And this "feed in moderation" should not be due to some hazard ingredients in the plant like high oxalic acid (easy to cause kidney stone when high), eugenol (cause liver damage when high),goitrogen (which can cause thyroid problems). After excluding those things, there are still a lot of plants left and they are enough to build a variety diet for tortoises.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi
I have this radiata since hatchling for 5 years . Raised outdoor during the day and brings indoor after sunset everyday. The indoor enclosure is around 80-90F and 60-90% humidity constantly.

since July , his appetite starts reducing and completely stopped eating last Monday after the vet visit . He vomits if drinking water for too long, but if I break drinking time into several 5 sec sessions then no vomits .
I soak everyday. I observed couple very soft poop since last Monday . Beginning last Thursday , he only poops jelly like or glue like things out . His eyes are socketed in a lot and vet told me he is under weight . 7 inches weigh around 1250 to 1350g . X rays shows no blockage but empty belly .

The vet took stool samples but still no results yet . I fed him some probiotic pills dissolved in water today .
What should I do during the mean time ?


Anyone had experienced similar cases ? View attachment 304277View attachment 304278View attachment 304281View attachment 304282

I'm not good at reading x-rays, but to me it looks like he's full of sand/little rocks.

 

[enchilada]

Update
After spending $700+ on vet bills , numerous x rays and antibiotic injections, turns out the vet did nothing but drained out my pocket and stress out the tortoise,
turns out it was round worms from another radiata i introduced in july . After discovering live round worms pooped out , i cured both of them with $20 worth of goat Panacur bough from amazon .

 

[TeamZissou]

Glad you got it solved anyhow.

So was the vomiting a separate issue? You said that vomiting started in Feb and the new tortoise was introduced in July

 

[enchilada]

Glad you got it solved anyhow.

So was the vomiting a separate issue? You said that vomiting started in Feb and the new tortoise was introduced in July

vomiting is gone. whatever that was, Panacur probably took care of it