I've been having problems with my tortoise the past few days. Its a seven week old that won't eat and is very inactive. I've noticed today that its shell has become very soft. Is there any coming back from this? Is it to late for a vet?
Help!!!
- Thread starter ace0066
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Yes, but it will take a lot of work, as there is no easy fix. One thing that I've learned from Egyptian Dan is that every time you soak a baby, you should be adding something to the water. In Dan's case, he uses liquid bird vitamins. This is a preventative solution, not a cure once the shell has become soft. But it won't hurt for you to start this right away. Your vet can give the baby an injection of calcium, but then you need to follow up with the UVB light. Calcium doesn't work unless the sun or UVB light shines on the baby. My sister has worked with soft babies, giving them a liquid calcium that she got from her vet. It takes a long time, but if caught soon enough, you CAN save this baby.
So, find an exotics vet and get there as soon as you can.
Yvonne
So, find an exotics vet and get there as soon as you can.
Yvonne
M
Maggie Cummings
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You need to go over your husbandry and figure out why and how this happened to a 7 week old tortoise. Is he warm enough? 90 to 95 degrees under the basking light. Do you provide him with a good UVB light? What have you been feeding him? Are you soaking him regularly? Those are just a few of the questions I can think of right now. There is no doubt in my mind that he needs to see a Vet tomorrow or he might die. I have received soft babies from my sister's rescue. My Vet puts them on a round of Calcionate daily. I feed the best of food and keep them very warm. I cut up the food in tiny pieces and after a long warm soak I put him right at the food. If he starts to walk away I put him back, I fan his nose with a piece of
radicchio , and I continue doing just that until he either eats or my arm starts hurting. Then in the evening I do the same thing again, a warm soak and fresh food. In the morning feed I try to pry open his mouth and drop the Calcionate in, but I mostly just put it on the lettuce. I have saved some and had some die but the big thing to me is I don't give up. I pay a Vet even tho I can't afford it, and I do as I described with the food and the drops and the lights...
How soft is he? Hatchlings normally have a soft feeling plastron but his carapace should be hard...
radicchio , and I continue doing just that until he either eats or my arm starts hurting. Then in the evening I do the same thing again, a warm soak and fresh food. In the morning feed I try to pry open his mouth and drop the Calcionate in, but I mostly just put it on the lettuce. I have saved some and had some die but the big thing to me is I don't give up. I pay a Vet even tho I can't afford it, and I do as I described with the food and the drops and the lights...
How soft is he? Hatchlings normally have a soft feeling plastron but his carapace should be hard...
The bin runs about 80 and the basking area runs about 95 to 100.maggie3fan said:
I got a hold of a vet and he said that he'll see him tomorrow. He was actually kind of mad to hear that a 7 week old was shipped to me.
Sleepless night here I come.
My recommendation would be to gte to a VET ASAP.
Hoping for a positive update, let us know what the vet had to say.
Kristina
Kristina
Greetings ~
That's great that you found a rep vet who will see him; however, you should keep in mind all of the questions Maggie posed to ya... she's a wise peep and advice from her should be considered weighty. You may want to write down all of the questions she posed to ya & then answer them. When you get to the vet, you might show him those answers & see if he feels your habitat is set up correctly so as to avoid this happening again..
Blessings to you & your lil' tort that he will come out of this alive and well.
Purpod
That's great that you found a rep vet who will see him; however, you should keep in mind all of the questions Maggie posed to ya... she's a wise peep and advice from her should be considered weighty. You may want to write down all of the questions she posed to ya & then answer them. When you get to the vet, you might show him those answers & see if he feels your habitat is set up correctly so as to avoid this happening again..
Blessings to you & your lil' tort that he will come out of this alive and well.
Purpod
Good luck with your little one, let us know what the vet says.
Wishing you and your little shelled one good luck with the vet. I too am curious as to where he was shipped from at this time of year?
I'll add my curiosity to that...also, why such a young baby? A lot of people have juvies available...did you have your mind set on a baby? They are so cute...especially leos. They are so round, like ping pong balls!
How is your little one doing???
How is your little one doing???
Yeah she's been helping me out on the Leo board and I've followed her words to a T.purpod said:
Well I wish that I had good news but I don't. My little one died this morning. When I called the vet to cancel we went down the checklist and I pretty much was following everything he said. He said that he really questions anyone that sells torts under 4" and said that its illegal in NY. He went nuts when he heard how it was shipped and said that any air holes in the box would offset a heating pack.
I'm really pissed and bummed. It didn't take me long to bond with the little one.
Oh Gosh! I'm so sorry!! It doesn't take very long to become attached to them, does it? This just might have been one of the babies that wasn't meant to live, and not anyone's fault. We keep a lot more of them alive than would live in the wild, so just take comfort in knowing that your baby was well cared for and loved during his short life!
Yvonne
Yvonne
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Maggie Cummings
Guest
Ace...please understand this was not your fault... It takes a long time for tortoises to show that they're sick and a long time to die. So I think this tortoise is one that was going to die no matter how good the care was.
I read somewhere that only 1% of all tortoise eggs laid hatch and out of that 1% only 1% live. Taking care of a baby is very different than raising a yearling or an adult...Ask Yvonne, she used to give all her babies to me to head start for her because I am good with babies and she is not. I love having babies to care for, but you have to be somewhat obsessive about it and pay a lot more attention to them. Also I think you have confused me with someone else, I personally have not been on any Leo board and helped you. I just made some suggestions here.
Purpod... I very much appreciate the compliment. I learned most of what I know from Yvonne, I picked her brain constantly for several years before I developed some confidence in my own ability. And I still call her with questions, but it's not as easy now, she hates to talk on the phone, so when she sees it's me she doesn't answer...so I try not to call to often...
I read somewhere that only 1% of all tortoise eggs laid hatch and out of that 1% only 1% live. Taking care of a baby is very different than raising a yearling or an adult...Ask Yvonne, she used to give all her babies to me to head start for her because I am good with babies and she is not. I love having babies to care for, but you have to be somewhat obsessive about it and pay a lot more attention to them. Also I think you have confused me with someone else, I personally have not been on any Leo board and helped you. I just made some suggestions here.
Purpod... I very much appreciate the compliment. I learned most of what I know from Yvonne, I picked her brain constantly for several years before I developed some confidence in my own ability. And I still call her with questions, but it's not as easy now, she hates to talk on the phone, so when she sees it's me she doesn't answer...so I try not to call to often...
I am very sorry for your loss.
Kristina
Kristina
I am really sorry for your loss. He was a lucky tortoise to have someone like you who cares for him. My thoughts are with you.
Ace I am very sorry for your loss. You might want to contact the seller and let them know what the outcome of your hatchling was. A lot of reputalble breeders will replace or refund if a hatchling who is well cared for expires within a short time. Again sorry for your loss.
Huge prayers to you so that you know that you did all that you could for your lil' Leo!! Surely, you can take a bit of comfort knowing who his new owner is ~ for altho many do not believe critters go to heaven, I personally do!
I'm glad to know that you went down the list with the vet & that he gave you the peace of knowing you were doing everything right for your lil' guy. I, too, would suggest that you contact the person you purchased him from to let them know what happened and that you are very disappointed with their biz practices.
You know, you may want to stick to local breeders or hit the Reptile Shows when they come to your area... I have gotten one of my leopards from a local pet store and the other from the Rep Show last year in Los Angeles. It was quite a drive to get to the show, but it was well worth it as my lil' babe is doing very well and was half the cost of the tort I bought locally.
Hopefully your love for your baby will give you strength to continue forward with this newly found "passion" for Leopard tort's ~ I remember the first one I "lost"; it was devastating, but I bounced back and now have some adorable personalities in my care.. you too can bounce back, Bud!
And to Maggie ~ Yeah, Yvonne is wonderful when it comes to helping others care for their tort's, and her knowledge is extensive; a great 'student' has learned much from her great 'instructor' ~ the compliment was true and still stands, dear.
Blessing, Ace ~ keep us posted!
Purpod
I'm glad to know that you went down the list with the vet & that he gave you the peace of knowing you were doing everything right for your lil' guy. I, too, would suggest that you contact the person you purchased him from to let them know what happened and that you are very disappointed with their biz practices.
You know, you may want to stick to local breeders or hit the Reptile Shows when they come to your area... I have gotten one of my leopards from a local pet store and the other from the Rep Show last year in Los Angeles. It was quite a drive to get to the show, but it was well worth it as my lil' babe is doing very well and was half the cost of the tort I bought locally.
Hopefully your love for your baby will give you strength to continue forward with this newly found "passion" for Leopard tort's ~ I remember the first one I "lost"; it was devastating, but I bounced back and now have some adorable personalities in my care.. you too can bounce back, Bud!
And to Maggie ~ Yeah, Yvonne is wonderful when it comes to helping others care for their tort's, and her knowledge is extensive; a great 'student' has learned much from her great 'instructor' ~ the compliment was true and still stands, dear.
Blessing, Ace ~ keep us posted!
Purpod
Yup... I contacted the breeder and I now have a Sulcata bulldowsing the area. To be honest the breeder seems to be a nice guy and has a care for the tortoises but really needs to go over his shipping methods. This tortoise was pretty much put in a sack and layed next to a heating pack. When I opened the box he was actually a little cold.Crazy1 said:
He seems to be eating well and is very active but does have the sniffles. I'll be taking him to the vet today with hopes that it isn't to big of a deal to clear up.
Thanks for all of the well wishes guys.
M
Maggie Cummings
Guest
He shipped you another tortoise immediately? Didn't your Leo just die on the 11th? And he shipped you a Sulcata in 24 hours? Am I missing something here?
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