I am worried

[Paige Lewis]

I think my tort may be ill, he is sleeping a lot more than usual, although he isn't atall week when i do have him out. He also isn't eating as much which concerns me, his weight has dropped slightly but i think that is just due to him not eating as much the last 3 days. Also his stools have been a little loose, i am going to book him an appointment with an exotics vet on monday but i think the vet only works at the vets near me on wednesdays. I hate knowing somethings not right and not being able to do anything about it until monday. I just don't understand whats caused this, could it be stress which has caused an inbalance of the bacteria, as he has been moved around quite a bit over the past two weeks, i feel so bad. Any ideas what could be causing it?

 

[Isa]

I am so sorry to hear your little one is not feeling good Has the temps suddenly changed where you live? Do you see bubbles comintg out of his nose? Are his norstils clear? Maybe he has parasites. Be sure to bring a stool sample to the vet when you go.
Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Tom]

Normally they are hibernating this time of year, so his body might be trying to slow down a bit. Try upping your temps a little and setting your light timer for 14 hours a day for a while and see if that helps, until you get him to the vet.

 

[Paige Lewis]

Thanks for your comment, there is no discharge from his nose or cloaca, it is just his stools and decrease in appetite concerning me, I just hope that he doesn't get worse before wednesday. I just don't understand what I have done wrong, the temps in his enclosure are the same. : (

 

[tortoisenerd]

I could understand the sleeping a lot and decrease in appetite this time of year (my tort sure suffers from that, but oddly enough he perks up every weekend when we're home all day). Loose stools I'd guess either change in diet or parasites. No need to worry quite yet. Hope you are able to book an appointment (take in a fecal sample). Good luck!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Tortoises hide the symptoms of sickness for a long time before the signs become evident. So I personally believe that if you are thinking he may be sick, he probably is and you need to take him to a Vet.
I took one to the Vet last Friday because he had slowed down on his eating and I was taking my bird anyway, might as well take the tort too. And the Vet put on these glasses that magnify things and she said there is clear liquid coming from both nostrils, and one nostril was blocked with dried mucous. I hadn't seen any of that, thankfully I just took him along. So she says he has an URTI. Discovered by accident. So my advice is to get him to a Vet. His eating has slowed so that means something...loose stools happen for a reason, and sleeping a lot is pretty close to lethargy...to me those are 3 reasons to worry...I'd say your tort is sick and needs a Vet. You should always take signs like that seriously and take the animal to a Vet...rather be safe then sorry...

 

[Paige Lewis]

Thanks for all the advice, there was no question in me taking him to the vet, i just couldn't stand the fact that i couldn't take him until possibly wednesday as that is when there is a exotics vet working but i am going to ring first thing tomorrow. It is just frustrating as well because i can't work what has made him ill, i can't wait to get him to the vets, i will let you know once i have found out whats wrong.

 

[Isa]

Good luck and please keep us updated.

 

[Paige Lewis]

I have got him an appointment with the exotics vet on wednesday morning, as expected that is the earliest the appointment could be, he is still eating and his weight has actually gone back up and he is still quite active so hopefully he will be alright until i get him to the vets.

 

[Isa]

I am glad you have an appointment on Wed Good luck!

 

[Paige Lewis]

Right so i went to the vets today with little Jimmy and the vet Lance Jepson was brilliant. We are still not entirely sure what the problem with Jimmy is as we couldn't get a stool sample but the symptoms are leading towards a bacterial infection, i am going to try my best to get a stool sample from him tomorrow morning and drop it off at the vets as he will also be working there tomorrow. He is being treated with antibiotics and given probiotics. His weight was had also dropped quite a bit but again the vet said if he hasn't been eating much then that isn't going to help. I went away the other week end and so i took my tort to my sisters and we reckon the stress of him moving back and forth could have caused a bacterial inbalance. On the upside he said my Jimmy's growth is really good and his shell looks good with rich colouring, i explained thoroughly his enclosure set up what plants were in there, his heating, what he was being fed, what he was being supplemented with, whether i bathed him and so on and he said i am doing everything correctly. He did say as well though that the shell is still to firm up slightly and that it should already really be totally hard by now but he couldn't work out why it wasn't already totally firm as i had explained everything and he said it was all good but he said there is definitely no other signs that would suggest mbd so he said just put more limestone flour on the food and use it every time i feed him. He asked me to go back at the beginning of march to see how Jimmy is doing and then take it from there. I should also mention that earlier i made his food more easily accessible and he ate it all right up which is good but slightly confusing.

 

[Isa]

Paige, I am so glad you find a good vet The stool sample will give you all your answers. It is very nice that he prescribed probiotic with the antibiotic, once my vet only prescribed the antibiotic and Hermy was so not feeling good, I had to go see another vet for a second opinion and they she prescribed the probiotic and told me it was very important to take it when on antibiotics. Good luck with your Little Jimmy and keep us updated I am sending plenty of positive thoughts your way

 

[Paige Lewis]

Thanks Isa for the support! So i took a stool sample in to the vet this morning and the vet did find some problems although he said that had he not known it was from an ill tortoise he would have thought the stool sample looked quite normal, it was well formed today for some reason. My poor little guy has flagellate parasites and one other type, i think he has been treated for them before when i first got him, the vet says he think they may be secondary to a bacterial infection which has suppressed his immune system and therefore caused the already there parasites to multiply which could explain why his shell still hasn't totally hardened up. So he has had medication to kill of the parasites and when i go back in 2 weeks he will get another dose ad he is also on medication to treat bacterial infection and then also has probiotics as well. The vet did say that it is good that Jimmy has eaten plenty the last couple of days and is basking and roaming around and fairly active as this is a good sign, so i think he feels quite positive that he will recover from this with the medication. He also said that this is only something he usually sees in wild tortoises (this type of parasite) so he thinks he has either been wild caught or mixed with wild caught tortoises before i got him which is sad if they have taken him from the wild, i do have the paperwork saying he is captive bred but who knows.

 

[Jacqui]

I am glad you have a positive attitude, I think sometimes that makes all the difference. Just wonderful hearing he seems to be doing better and that the Vet thinks the two of you have found the problem spot.

 

[Paige Lewis]

Thanks Jacqui, to be honest i feel pretty rubbish but i know that there is no more i can do at the moment and i know i need to stay positive because the thought of losing him is well, obviously really upsetting, plus he has had this problem before when he was only 4 months old and he pulled through then even though the vet wasn't sure he would make it so he is a little fighter and well to be honest he seems pretty well baring in mind what is actually wrong with him at the moment. I just hope once it is sorted this time that that will be it gone for good.

 

[Tom]

Good for you. I'm so glad to hear you found a good vet. They aren't always easy to find. I'm sure you and Jimmy will get through this just fine.

The soft shell concerns me a bit though. What do you use for UV? If he's getting the right diet and calcium supplements AND UV, he shouldn't be soft at all. Direct sunshine is the best cure for this, but I realize the impossibility of this in those UK winters. I have never found any of the florescent type UV bulbs to effective at all, despite what the mfgs and light meters say. MVBs are the only thing I've found that benefits them as far as UV is concerned. Most people here in the US just put them out in the sun as much as possible during favorable weather and then they hibernate in the dark all winter long. My point is that the UV/sunshine they get in the nice weather can usually carry them through the bad weather.

Hope this helps.

 

[Paige Lewis]

Thanks Tom, he has the t-rex MVB, and when it is summer he will be out as much as possible as he was last summer, to be honest i can't even feel that his shell is soft at all which may sound stupid but i really cant feel it although i also am reluctant to put much pressure on it as it scares me. The vet obviously picked up on the shell and he is going to review his overall health in 2 weeks, the soft shell thing concerned me the most to be honest out of everything but i have no idea why it hasn't totally firmed up and from what i have described to the vet to do with the care i am giving him he is not sure why it hasn't hardened either. Like the vet said his new growth looks really good so hopefully the shell will harden up especially once these horrible parasites are gone and he is no longer having to fight them for the food. Thanks again for your comment Tom, it is really nice to have people's support at times like this.

 

[Isa]

Paige, I am glad your vet is taking good care of your little Jimmy. I have a good feeling he will feel better after the antibiotic treatment and when the parasites will be gone! Good luck and please let us know how he is doing

 

[Paige Lewis]

I just thought i would give an update on Jimmy, he has improved a lot, he has gained 11 grams this last week, his stools are no longer loose and are well formed (although still not quite as firm as they should be), his appetite has increased although again still not quite back to normal and the biggest improvement i have seen is in his activity, he isn't very active in the evenings but for the first five hours of his lights on he is so active, barely stopping for a rest, so he is getting better, he has an appointment with the vet on thursday to get his next lot of medication for the parasites and also to see how he is doing but i am quite pleased with his improvements and at least feel positive that he will make a full recovery, i just need to give him time and stop panicking. Thanks for all the support.

 

[Isa]

Thanks for telling us the good news . I am so happy you are seing improvement! Good luck for Thursday and let us know what the vet says .