My tortoise seemed to have gotten into her soaking bin (i was dumb and left it somewhere she could.) Thankfully she wasnt submerged all night but in little standing water. She seems to be bleeding on her underneath, but there are no visible wounds. She is eating and moving around still but not sure if I should continue to be concerned.
My Tortoise got into her soaking bin overnight and seems to be bleeding
- Thread starter Pyro40
- Start date
Soaking tubs usually have high sides to prevent the tortoise from climbing out. If your tortoise was able to climb in, then you must be using something else? What sort of tub is it?
Resting in water over night should do no harm to a tortoise. Many people have forgotten a soaking tortoise overnight, and aside from the cold, it does no harm.
Might the "blood" be color from something in the water? Kind of like when you make tea? I would gently pat the underside of the tortoise with a clean white paper towel and see if you can determine where any blood might have come from.
The_Four_Toed_Edward
Well-Known Member
If you find any wounds, please do send us a picture!
There's a difference between 'soaking' and providing drinking water.
We add water to something similar to a dish pan (high sides) in order to place the tortoise in water he can't get out of. In that way we rehydrate a tortoise. This container is not left in the enclosure.
We use something like a clay plant saucer, sunk down into the substrate to provide drinking water (free choice) and this is left in the enclosure.
Is it possible your tortoise scraped the tender new growth seams on the rough edge of the waterer when he climbed into the waterer?
We add water to something similar to a dish pan (high sides) in order to place the tortoise in water he can't get out of. In that way we rehydrate a tortoise. This container is not left in the enclosure.
We use something like a clay plant saucer, sunk down into the substrate to provide drinking water (free choice) and this is left in the enclosure.
Is it possible your tortoise scraped the tender new growth seams on the rough edge of the waterer when he climbed into the waterer?
The first picture is her enclosure. The second picture is her soaking area, usually the water is in the lower left and the right high side is so she can move out if necessary. The third is her underbelly which has NEVER looked like this before. The blood seems to be coming from between 3rd and 4th sections.
I left the soaking tub in her enclosure by her big rock meaning to dump it after work. I believe she crawled off to get into it. She is still very active and very bright eyed but obviously I am very concerned about her belly =/
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Have you noticed this colouring on the tortoises plastron before?(circled in red), because I remember seeing a recent thread someone posted of their tortoises plastron that looked like bruising(3rd photo)
I could be wrong, but it looks similar to me in parts, have they had a potential fall or anything recently? Because I don’t see how being in their soak tub overnight would cause any potential bruising😕again I could be wrong, wait and see what the others think
I could be wrong, but it looks similar to me in parts, have they had a potential fall or anything recently? Because I don’t see how being in their soak tub overnight would cause any potential bruising😕again I could be wrong, wait and see what the others think
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No I haven’t noticed this before. I thought the same thing when I saw it and thought it was really odd. If she fell it couldn’t have been more than a couple inches though which I wouldn’t think would cause that sort of bruising
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
No I wouldn’t think a few inch fall would cause extensive bruising like that😕
If that colouring is new and just so happened around the time you’ve noticed blood, I can completely understand your concern here, it’s got me a little worried looking at the photos but hopefully someone can be along to help, in the meantime definitely keep a very close eye on their behaviour and appetite, try to monitor if they’re passing normal stool which will probably be easiest to tell during a soak time
Oddly enough it was as if there was water under her shell. The shell itself was solid but when I pushed on the softer spots looking for shell rot by chance the bruising moved as if it was literal blood underneath the shell
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
That does indeed sound like they have bruising/bleeding under their shell
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Have they been in a situation where they’ve possibly been stepped on/ had something fall on them?
Not trying to accuse or say they have! Just racking my brain on how something like this could happen without an obvious cause😣do you have them roam or do they stay in a secure enclosure?
Not trying to accuse or say they have! Just racking my brain on how something like this could happen without an obvious cause😣do you have them roam or do they stay in a secure enclosure?
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Sorry to say this, but your tortoise appears to have septicemia which is often fatal. You need a good reptile vet to check this animal soon.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
I absolutely agree this needs a vet check asap based on the description
Is that from being in the water or the start of the tortoise? Just wondering
No worries! I know you’re trying to help! And no they stay in their enclosure as she is too little to be wondering about quite yet
It’s odd because I often go through and clean her shell weekly of dust and dirt with a fine brush and never noticed any discoloration or “bruising” prior to this
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