Metabolic Bone Disease In Baby Russian

[Southernbellecn]

Hi all! I appreciate some of you who have responded to my recent posts about Mochi. Last Friday I got my hatchling Russian Tortoise from what I thought was a reliable source. He was captive bred and 1.5 inches in size. I took him to the vet today to make sure he had his first check up. They said he is at risk for metabolic disease, infection, and other organ problems based on the test results. He has a softer shell too.

So he is getting antibiotic and calcium shots each week for the next 5 weeks. ? so my question is, do you think he will be able to recover? Is this something that can't be reversed in babies?

They said he is maybe 8 weeks old. How he didn't have enough nutrients from his egg most likely indicating the mother wasn't healthy. However, they did say he is way more active than they thought he would be considering his condition. Even after his shots they said he would be sore and still for awhile. Hes done nothing but move around ? he is a strong little guy! Still eating every day and exploring his new home.

 

[Tom]

Hi all! I appreciate some of you who have responded to my recent posts about Mochi. Last Friday I got my hatchling Russian Tortoise from what I thought was a reliable source. He was captive bred and 1.5 inches in size. I took him to the vet today to make sure he had his first check up. They said he is at risk for metabolic disease, infection, and other organ problems based on the test results. He has a softer shell too.

So he is getting antibiotic and calcium shots each week for the next 5 weeks. ? so my question is, do you think he will be able to recover? Is this something that can't be reversed in babies?

They said he is maybe 8 weeks old. How he didn't have enough nutrients from his egg most likely indicating the mother wasn't healthy. However, they did say he is way more active than they thought he would be considering his condition. Even after his shots they said he would be sore and still for awhile. Hes done nothing but move around ? he is a strong little guy! Still eating every day and exploring his new home.

This sounds totally bogus. What tests did they do? Was there anything wrong with him before going to the vet? At risk for infection? Why? That makes no sense. At risk of MBD? All tortoises are "at risk" for MBD.

What does your tortoise weigh in grams? How old did the breeder say it was? It still has an egg tooth. They typically lose this by 6 weeks, which suggests your tortoise is younger than that.

I think this vet is taking you for a ride. What did they inject him with? Babies can't handle injections well and often don't survive them. All babies have a softer shell until they gain size and the plastron thickens up and calcifies. Babies this young don't get MBD. They have to go a long time with the wrong foods, no sun and no UV to start showing symptoms of MBD. I think this vet has no idea what he/she is talking about. I hope the "treatment" doesn't kill it.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Hi all! I appreciate some of you who have responded to my recent posts about Mochi. Last Friday I got my hatchling Russian Tortoise from what I thought was a reliable source. He was captive bred and 1.5 inches in size. I took him to the vet today to make sure he had his first check up. They said he is at risk for metabolic disease, infection, and other organ problems based on the test results. He has a softer shell too.

So he is getting antibiotic and calcium shots each week for the next 5 weeks. ? so my question is, do you think he will be able to recover? Is this something that can't be reversed in babies?

They said he is maybe 8 weeks old. How he didn't have enough nutrients from his egg most likely indicating the mother wasn't healthy. However, they did say he is way more active than they thought he would be considering his condition. Even after his shots they said he would be sore and still for awhile. Hes done nothing but move around ? he is a strong little guy! Still eating every day and exploring his new home.

Don't ever go back to that Vet. There's nothing wrong with that baby tortoise and those shots your giving are going to do far more harm than good.

 

[wellington]

OMG, that is a nut case of a vet.
Stop the shots and anything else they gave you. Do not go back there again except to tell them how much of tortoise uneducated jerks they are.
I bet they never seen a baby Russian or tortoise ever so they have no ideas about them.
I am so sorry you wasted your money there.
Follow the caresheet on this forum and your tort should grow up fine and to be old.
A whole lot of us never take our torts to a vet unless there is a reason too that this forum can't fix for us. I have had mine since 2011 they have never seen a vet.
The vets just know way to little or mostly nothing about tortoises.

 

[ZenHerper]

@Southernbellecn Please, please, please do not continue this course of treatment. I can't say strongly enough that this wee tort is being mishandled by the veterinarian.

What tests?

Hatchlings have soft shells and bones...that is completely normal and it will indeed harden with exposure to air, healthful foods, and uvb radiation. As long as you are feeding a varied diet of broadleaf weeds and providing healthful levels of uvb, it will thrive. Overdose of calcium is very serious (and can be deadly).

Unwarranted antibiotics will kill all of the fragile digestive culture in your pet's intestines. This will cause diarrhea and malabsorption of nutrients.

The breeder did nothing wrong. It's a beautiful critter!

Use the set up and foods described here and you'll do well with an active, hungry youngster:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[ZEROPILOT]

MBD doesn't happen overnight.
It's due to lack of UVB and the inability to process D3 for quite a while.
All tiny tortoises are somewhat soft.
I fully agree with the others.
Your vet should not be providing care for tortoises.
I hope that your tort can recover (from the treatment)