Help! Yellow Discharge from RT?

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doowah14

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I have a RT that has not been eating well. We took him to the Vet Hospital at UGA, and then did x-ray and blood work and found nothing at all wrong with him. The Vet said that while he is not eating well, he shows a growth ring, and no ill effects in his tests. It is possible he is eating the coconut media or timothy hay I had in his hide. Today I checked on him and found this (picture). I have never seen a yellow discharge like this before. I don't think its diarrhea, because the vet found no sign of a parasite infestation. Can anyone offer any help?
 

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Miss_Kat

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kinda looks like puke to me, but I dont know.
 

doowah14

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I have been feeding him Romain mostly, once in a while dandelion, green leaf or other various greens. I have two other RT that are eating well and appear 100% healthy. There are not getting any different treatment than the one in question. I have removed the hay and replaced his media with repti-carpet to try and narrow down what may be causing it (in case he was eating either one). His vet visit was last monday, and he got a clean bill of health and the vet was stumped.
 

Fernando

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doowah14 said:
I have been feeding him Romain mostly, once in a while dandelion, green leaf or other various greens. I have two other RT that are eating well and appear 100% healthy. There are not getting any different treatment than the one in question. I have removed the hay and replaced his media with repti-carpet to try and narrow down what may be causing it (in case he was eating either one). His vet visit was last monday, and he got a clean bill of health and the vet was stumped.

I would try endive or escarole instead of Romaine. Purchase Santa Barbara mix or Sping mix from the grocery store. The more you can get them to eating weeds (probably broad leafed) the better his digestive system will be.
 

dmmj

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It does look like puke to me. It is possible he ate something that did not agree with him. has his eating habits changed?
 

doowah14

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dmmj said:
It does look like puke to me. It is possible he ate something that did not agree with him. has his eating habits changed?

Over the last month or so he has barely eaten any greens I gave him. We've first thought he may have had an intestinal blockage so we soaked him often and he defecated frequently (although in small amounts). So from that I assume he is eating something. The vet found nothing wrong internally or with his bloodwork (kidneys were fine, no sign of infection etc.) $300 in vet bills and we still have an anorexic tortoise. The temp in 95 and 73, he's been soaked daily, I've changed up the food we give him, removed his substrate and hay... but I'm about at wits end. The other two RTs are healthy, so I doubt its an environmental problem.

We've had him a year, so it couldn't be stress could it?

I just went out and got an organic spring mix as per FernandoM's recommendations, so we'll see how that does in the next day. If that doesn't work, my female will surely devour it.

I am honestly open to any suggestion. Between new bulbs, food, vet bills, etc. I think I've dropped ~ $500 trying to figure out whats wrong.
 

dmmj

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A year after, I highly doubt it is stress. Is he kept by himself? I always recommend hibiscus flowers ( if available) for picky russians I have never known a healthy russian to turn down a hibiscus flower.
 

doowah14

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dmmj said:
A year after, I highly doubt it is stress. Is he kept by himself? I always recommend hibiscus flowers ( if available) for picky russians I have never known a healthy russian to turn down a hibiscus flower.

I have not yet tried hibiscus, if the recommended spring mix doesn't work maybe I'll move on to that...

All three RT's are kept alone. We don't let the two males see each other to avoid stress. The sick one will try to mate with the female when we put them together, and he is active, just not hungry...
 

dmmj

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well active and amorous is good, what about temperatures? where are they at?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Doowah14:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name?

It looks to me like a flagellate infestation. You don't usually see those kinds of parasites in the regular stool test.
 

doowah14

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dmmj said:
well active and amorous is good, what about temperatures? where are they at?

The cool side is (~26C) ~77F and the basking side is (~37C) ~95F.

emysemys said:
Hi Doowah14:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name?

It looks to me like a flagellate infestation. You don't usually see those kinds of parasites in the regular stool test.

My name is Josh (I should add that to the signature). The sick little one is Maslow (Ironic if you know about Maslow's hierarchy of needs).

When I took him to the vet hospital they said they did a fecal, you say flagellate would not show up on that? If they could not test for that, how would I go about checking into it?

And to everyone that has offered there opinion, THANK YOU! All help is appreciated!
 

doowah14

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FernandoM said:
73-95 I believe he said. How often is he outside? Does he not graze at all when outside?

Yeah temps right now are 77 to 95, but depends on if its at night or in morning that I measure.

He has never been let outside. We live in an apartment building and don't have control of the lawn, and I don't want to risk him ingesting pesticides. His enclosure is 4 x 2.5.
 

Yvonne G

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Usually the vet is looking for the eggs of the worm-type parasites. Here's an article from the web:

Flagellate Organisms

Flagellate organisms are present in many healthy tortoises and turtles, however, if they are present in high numbers, they can cause severe intestinal problems. Flagellates are protozoans with the most common genus being Trichomonas. These small, highly motile, whip-like organisms live in the intestinal tract and can be easily identified through a microscopic fecal exam. Severe infestations of Trichomonas can lead to diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, and the passage of undigested food. The presence of these organisms in the feces does not always indicate an infection, and the veterinarian needs to determine if they are actually causing a problem before initiating treatment. The common drug used for treatment is metronidazole. While metronidazole is an effective drug, caution must be used to avoid killing off all of the good organisms in the intestinal tract resulting in a sterile intestine. Feeding yogurt, or in more severe cases, the feces from a healthy tortoise, may be necessary to re-seed the intestine after metronidazole treatment.
 

doowah14

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emysemys said:
Usually the vet is looking for the eggs of the worm-type parasites. Here's an article from the web:

Flagellate Organisms

Flagellate organisms are present in many healthy tortoises and turtles, however, if they are present in high numbers, they can cause severe intestinal problems. Flagellates are protozoans with the most common genus being Trichomonas. These small, highly motile, whip-like organisms live in the intestinal tract and can be easily identified through a microscopic fecal exam. Severe infestations of Trichomonas can lead to diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, and the passage of undigested food. The presence of these organisms in the feces does not always indicate an infection, and the veterinarian needs to determine if they are actually causing a problem before initiating treatment. The common drug used for treatment is metronidazole. While metronidazole is an effective drug, caution must be used to avoid killing off all of the good organisms in the intestinal tract resulting in a sterile intestine. Feeding yogurt, or in more severe cases, the feces from a healthy tortoise, may be necessary to re-seed the intestine after metronidazole treatment.

So if it is a Flagellate infection, would the vet be able to do another fecal and look for high flagellate count? Is anorexia a symptom as well?
 

Laura

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It looks mucosy to me. That is usually a sign of intestinal irratation. Parasites can cause that. Have you tried canned pumpkin? Butternut squash? Grated yam or carrot to entice him to eat? sometimes color will do that. He could have a blockage or some sort. You can try mineral oil on food when he does eat to help move things along.
 

doowah14

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Laura said:
It looks mucosy to me. That is usually a sign of intestinal irratation. Parasites can cause that. Have you tried canned pumpkin? Butternut squash? Grated yam or carrot to entice him to eat? sometimes color will do that. He could have a blockage or some sort. You can try mineral oil on food when he does eat to help move things along.

We tried pumpkin and he would not eat. When we took to the vet last week the x-ray showed no blockage, and his symptoms were around long before that. We tried aloe as well, which is supposed to be a natural laxative, and we had no problem getting him to defecate, but when he did it was a small amount (since he is not eating much). The vet also checked for parasites, but I don't know if that included Flagellates.

Maybe I'll try carrots or yam to see I can find SOMETHING he will eat...
 
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