Horsfield not using back legs

goldenbuddha777

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My tortoise has stopped using his back legs, it seemed to coincide with a period of constipation so I put it down to that. He now 'passes' regularly again but has stopped using his back legs entirely and relies on his front ones to drag himself around. He isn't paralyzed & no history of falls/injury, if I touch his feet he reacts and retracts them, he even has the strength to hold them in to stop me giving him some form of physio/hydrotherapy.

I took him to my vet who explained how he didn't think it was nerve damage because he could feel some strength, and he suggested an x-ray for a blockage, but it returned clean. He gave him a 'booster injection' but I have no idea what it was, it hasn't harmed his health otherwise though as he still eats daily, and is active but just drags himself creating tracks through his enclosure like a plough.

He did mention that it could be kidney problems but thought it was unlikely because he is still feeding/active and because I bathe him every other day. He said the only way to check would be to take a blood sample but he would only do it as a last resort because he is so small and there is a risk to it. (1 yr old horsfield).

Husbandry:
  • He lives in a 40"x40" custom built table.
  • I use topsoil as substrate misted daily, deep enough for him to burrow himself entirely. I use sphagnum moss for his humid area and hides.
  • I use an Arcadia Pro T5 12% suspended about 18" from substrate for UVB, a thermostat controlled Ceramic heater for temperature & an ordinary house lightbulb for light.
  • I aim for ~36C (97F) directly under the lamp measured by a temperature gun & thermometers.
  • The remainder of his enclosure/ambient temperature is about 24C (75F) (I live in Wales, UK)
  • The humidity ranges between 40 - 60.
  • I bath him every other day, for approx 15 minutes before the water gets too cold.
  • His diet usually consists of Romain lettuce, kale, spring greens, cucumber, dandelion, water cress & petunia petals. His food is dusted with calcium + D3 powder daily.

Some videos:

I've heard some people suggest taping something like a bottle-top to his underside to force him into using his back legs but am unsure if this would help.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
 

Tom

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Husbandry:
  • He lives in a 40"x40" custom built table.
  • I use topsoil as substrate misted daily, deep enough for him to burrow himself entirely. I use sphagnum moss for his humid area and hides.
  • I use an Arcadia Pro T5 12% suspended about 18" from substrate for UVB, a thermostat controlled Ceramic heater for temperature & an ordinary house lightbulb for light.
  • I aim for ~36C (97F) directly under the lamp measured by a temperature gun & thermometers.
  • The remainder of his enclosure/ambient temperature is about 24C (75F) (I live in Wales, UK)
  • The humidity ranges between 40 - 60.
  • I bath him every other day, for approx 15 minutes before the water gets too cold.
  • His diet usually consists of Romain lettuce, kale, spring greens, cucumber, dandelion, water cress & petunia petals. His food is dusted with calcium + D3 powder daily.
-Soil should never be used as tortoise substrate. It is potentially dangerous or toxic.
-Moss should never be used as it will be eaten and it can cause impaction. This won't show up on an x-ray.
-I initially though it might be MBD, but the Arcadia tube makes this unlikely.
-The diet needs improvement. Too much grocery store procure and not enough "real" food. Amendments are needed if you are going to use so much grocery store food.
-Calcium should only be supplemented twice a week. Every meal is too much. It can interfere with the absorption of other important mineral and trace elements, and cause an imbalance.

Here is the correct care info for review:
 

goldenbuddha777

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Wales, UK
-Calcium should only be supplemented twice a week. Every meal is too much. It can interfere with the absorption of other important mineral and trace elements, and cause an imbalance.
Do you know if it possible that too much calcium intake could be causing this?

I've never seen him even try to eat the moss, in fact he pushes most of it away, but I guess it is not impossible. I will rectify regardless, thank you.
 

ZEROPILOT

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My thought was also MBD.
Did the vet mention this possibility? Did he or she look for it in the Xray?
Have that tortoise always had that UVB tube?

What did they say the "booster" injection was?
 

goldenbuddha777

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Location (City and/or State)
Wales, UK
He never mentioned MBD, only that the x-ray was clear and didnt show any blockage.

I don't know what he injected him with, he described it as a 'pick me up' all I know is it went in his front via a syringe.

I was using a mercury vapour bulb until around June when I was informed of the dangers and so switched to an Arcadia tube which I have been using ever since.

Is MBD treatable?
 

Tom

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Do you know if it possible that too much calcium intake could be causing this?

I've never seen him even try to eat the moss, in fact he pushes most of it away, but I guess it is not impossible. I will rectify regardless, thank you.
On such a small tortoise, I suppose a lot of calcium every day over a long enough period of time could start to cause some problems. Unfortunately, I'm only guessing here. Some blood chemistry may answer this question.
 
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