Input? Soaking and Nutrition

[W Shaw]

Did you mean "butternut" squash?

Yep. I know it's not normally the best thing for a Russian tortoise, but his vet recommends winter squashes and pumpkin as a temporary diet addition to put weight on seriously underweight ones. It seems to be working with Ronan. His weight was up 10% from his last visit

has your vet screened for intestinal parasites?

Yep, When I adopted him, I took him in for a complete exam, including x-rays and fecals. I expected him to have a load of parasites, given his background and the fact that he was being allowed to eat grapes, but that was the one piece of good news in the otherwise dismal assessment. No parasites.

 

[Tom]

...but that was the one piece of good news in the otherwise dismal assessment. No parasites.

Well they didn't see any in that sample, anyway.

 

[W Shaw]

Well they didn't see any in that sample, anyway.

True enough! How often do you recommend running fecals?

 

[Tom]

True enough! How often do you recommend running fecals?

I run fecals on newly acquired older tortoises as part of their quarantine period. I don't run them on hatchlings and I don't run them on any older tortoises unless there is an issue.

There is much debate about parasites and their treatment in tortoises. Some people think some amount of some types of "parasites" might be beneficial. This sort of defies the definition of "parasite", but worm movement in the gut is reported by some to have some benefit. Also, some parasites, like tape worm, are self eliminating over time. Combine this with the potential dangers and side effects of dosing tortoises with poisonous chemicals, and the whole thing becomes a bit blurry in my mind. Tortoises are not like dogs. That's for sure.

 

[W Shaw]

I run fecals on newly acquired older tortoises as part of their quarantine period. I don't run them on hatchlings and I don't run them on any older tortoises unless there is an issue.

That makes sense. I asked the vet whether he wanted to do another fecal, since Ronan pooped in his carrier while we were waiting. Poor baby! I didn't want to stress him any more than necessary, so I kept his carrier closed up to keep it dark and warm. When I opened it to take him out, he was hanging by his fingers from the seam around the zipper in a desperate attempt to avoid sitting in the big pile he'd made. I felt like the worst parent ever! Anyway the vet said he didn't feel it was necessary since his last fecal was clean and he wasn't having any issues.