The conversation this morning between my husband and I about who would go to the large supermarket by us to buy a toy and him refusing and me like "but it's for the health of Tortoise" and he is like "but they will have security tagged it so I'll have to take it to a cashier to get detagged and I'm not doing that!!!"
Is this tortoise actually ill?
- Thread starter LJL1982
- Start date
As for the toy, lol, they do have vibrators that are just neck/back ones. They don't look like the sex toy ones.
As for the food, pellets are fine to feed as long as its part of a variety of things.
As for the food, pellets are fine to feed as long as its part of a variety of things.
So @zovick @wellington @Cathie G @Tom
Tortoise had two further xrays today. The two stones are still in him and its clear they are in his stomach.
He's also had bloods but not had results back. The stones are no longer side by side.
Cost £481 total...that's 500 dollars.
A mini massager was procured from Amazon (my husband says its a vibrator) but it isn't. Its very difficult getting tortoise in position where I can keep him still long enough but have used it a few times in last 24hrs.
Vet suggested as stones are basalt that they may slowly dissolve in stomach hydrochloric acid.
Also suggested putting a camera down the hatch with a grab claw on end and trying to pull them out...
Or cut him and his shell open...
Positives were he is eating a bit...and might not be toileting much but he is not impacted or backed up with any faecal matter.
Cost was annoying but kept very upset as someone else in waiting room wanted to show me her tortoise...and I've never seen a tortoise so deformed and she was oblivious. Eyes were bulging and couldn't retract its neck.
I was horrified that a well respected vet hadn't given her better care advice, but she then said she had taken it for check ups its whole life from the garden centre she bought it from and had only brought to the vet as the garden centre said it needed its beak trimming and they couldn't do it.
Poor woman came out heart broken having been told it needed PTS. It really upset and angered me. I was speaking to her husband who said he didn't understand it had a lovely house and then showed it was 2ft x 2ft. The poor tortoise and to an extent poor owners given terrible advice by the garden centre
I really believe selling tortoises in the UK where space is a premium should be banned. I then went on a UK forum and challenged use of sand as a substrate and people were aggressive and defensive of keeping tortoises in horrible and inappropriate conditions. I just despair.
I'm feeling a bit down about all tortoise stuff really now.
Tortoise had two further xrays today. The two stones are still in him and its clear they are in his stomach.
He's also had bloods but not had results back. The stones are no longer side by side.
Cost £481 total...that's 500 dollars.
A mini massager was procured from Amazon (my husband says its a vibrator) but it isn't. Its very difficult getting tortoise in position where I can keep him still long enough but have used it a few times in last 24hrs.
Vet suggested as stones are basalt that they may slowly dissolve in stomach hydrochloric acid.
Also suggested putting a camera down the hatch with a grab claw on end and trying to pull them out...
Or cut him and his shell open...
Positives were he is eating a bit...and might not be toileting much but he is not impacted or backed up with any faecal matter.
Cost was annoying but kept very upset as someone else in waiting room wanted to show me her tortoise...and I've never seen a tortoise so deformed and she was oblivious. Eyes were bulging and couldn't retract its neck.
I was horrified that a well respected vet hadn't given her better care advice, but she then said she had taken it for check ups its whole life from the garden centre she bought it from and had only brought to the vet as the garden centre said it needed its beak trimming and they couldn't do it.
Poor woman came out heart broken having been told it needed PTS. It really upset and angered me. I was speaking to her husband who said he didn't understand it had a lovely house and then showed it was 2ft x 2ft. The poor tortoise and to an extent poor owners given terrible advice by the garden centre
I really believe selling tortoises in the UK where space is a premium should be banned. I then went on a UK forum and challenged use of sand as a substrate and people were aggressive and defensive of keeping tortoises in horrible and inappropriate conditions. I just despair.
I'm feeling a bit down about all tortoise stuff really now.
It is normal for them to swallow stones. If these are in the stomach and moving around, and the tortoise is eating, pooping and behaving normally, I wouldn't worry about them.
@zolasmum the stones had moved...but then they are in his stomach...not sure if it was the vibrating massager or not!
We had this conversation before @Tom and I'm certainly fairly adverse to any major surgery at the moment. Tortoise is his normal unstoppable self, and will feed albeit with some encouragement.
Tortoise was kept for some time in a closed box in a hirise flat with no lighting and was brought out for feeding to entertain visitors and younger family. He had a very soft jaw and only hand fed when I got him...he's much healthier now but still prefers to hand feed.
I have a Radiated I rarely interact with at all other than a quick lift into a bath and back out whilst this one needs constant interaction food wise.
I'm minded to think that he has lost a bit of weight due to hotter all day temps indoors and lots of activity for longer as a result with less food unless I specifically encourage him, and that its nothing to do with stones.
I agree with Tom. Just keep closer eye on him.
As for the UK forum, don't get discouraged, keep pushing. Send them here to see all the proof on here about how they are doing things wrong. If they see the proof, and all the info that is correct on here, they will either change things and improve the life of their tortoise or when the poop hits the fan for them because they did it wrong, they will know they had the right info and failed their tortoise and make the corrections then.
All we can do is keep pushing and hope they get it before it's too late.
As for the UK forum, don't get discouraged, keep pushing. Send them here to see all the proof on here about how they are doing things wrong. If they see the proof, and all the info that is correct on here, they will either change things and improve the life of their tortoise or when the poop hits the fan for them because they did it wrong, they will know they had the right info and failed their tortoise and make the corrections then.
All we can do is keep pushing and hope they get it before it's too late.
Their push for open enclosures for hatchling because "young uns need fresh air" is bonkers 😆
I went through the same thing when I got Sapphire. I'm really happy I found TFO. I had to follow my instincts for many years which was scaring me half to death. I was having nightmares about him and went searching on my new smart phone out of desperation.. I got him in 2007 and joined in 2018. I'd never really found a sight online like the TFO before so I joined on a fluke. Just to take a chance and I've never regretted it.🐢😘
I genuinely think some people think thinking and acting about tortoise care to be too much effort but honestly researching on a good site and fixing stuff is a real weight off my mind!
Agreed, but the most noteworthy one to me is the "Pets At Home" substrate sold over there with the limestone bits in it. It is literally sand and soil, both of which should never be used, and they put little white limestone pieces in it to encourage the tortoises to EAT their sandy substrate every time they have a calcium craving. Who thought that was a good idea? If you want to kill tortoises and end the hobby, that would be a great product to make and sell. If not, it doesn't make any sense.
Foods high in fiber will help those stones get out of the stomach and through the digestive tract. Incidentally, they aren't the kind of 'stones' that will dissolve in the gastric juices, like the vet told you, they are actual rocks the tortoise ate.
Yes and seeing what I've done right helps almost as much as what I've done wrong. I need all the input I can get. I have a little tort to care for 🐢 I need him to live for a long time. 😘 I bought him when I was 54 in 2007. He was probably around 5. The way I figure it I'll have to live until I'm at least 106 to outlive him 🤗if I've been doing good care and husbandry. Other wise I'll have to plan ahead for where he'll go if he outlives me. 😁I like plan A best.😉
I've just had someone take a bit of a pop at me about how hermanni live in sand and therefore obviously you keep them in sand. I did point out in the wild tortoises feed above the ground, from low hanging shrubs etc and are far less likely to ingest it, but they are fairly unwavering in there views.
Pets at Home have a whole range of things that are not suitable for tortoises. The biggest problem in the UK is the treatment of all reptiles as one and the care needs all being considered as the same. People with no care experience go into Pets at Home and are told "I use this for my lizard so...." and they buy it for their tortoise. Worse many reptile shops are the same and many are not reptile shops, they are garden centres/ Pets stores/ gift shops, that also sell reptiles.
It wouldn't hurt to give him a quick buzz regularly, to help prevent the stones settling in one place. He might grow to enjoy it !
There used to be a large tortoise sanctuary in Cornwall, which is now closed, and I was horrified at the state some of the tortoises were in when they arrived, and very angry that they could be allowed to get like that.
Angie (from Devon)
There is a "sanctuary" near me where when I visited I was appalled to see mixed breeds in enclosures, several males kept together, they also were unable to sex many of them, plus keeping them on hemp horse bedding which large chips in it, they looked hugely over crowded and effectively it is a private collector who has dominated one particular forum issuing out advice that is 40 years out of date. I imagine countless tortoises have suffered as a result of their presence in the area.
The one near St Austell was not like that at all - the woman who ran it had well set up enclosures and separated when appropriate, and was altogether a caring and knowledgeable person - she had a lot of troubles - family ones,health, and Cornwall council wanting to close it down , claiming it was a zoo ! Anyway, she was obliged to close it in the end - her health got worse, a lot of tortoises got a virus and died - and she couldn't cope.
She was a remarkable person, and we got very fond of her - Zola liked her a lot too -he sends her photos of himself now and then ! I don't think she gave me any bad advice, but it was all very basic. Since joining this forum, I have learned a great deal more, of course.
What is your stone-eating tortoise's name ?
Angie
TortoisesCarolina
New Member
It's sad because that's the exact advice I took for my baby and a decade later, he's not smooth. It's amazing how some people can be so stuck in their ways, even with better knowledge being accessible.
That's a sad story when people are genuinely trying their best for tortoises and the odds just stack against them. I bet she really appreciates the pics of Zola.
My stone eating tortoise is actually called Tortoise. My other Tortoise is called Little Tortoise (even though he is nearly bigger than Tortoise), my cats are called Tabby and Kitty. I'm afraid I've never been good with names...we tried to name Little Tortoise but gave up.
@zolasmum I might actually call Little Tortoise 'Bumble' because all she does is potter about, and also she is yellow and black like a Bumble Bee.
