Hello, my name is Brenna Dunlap. I wish I would have posted weeks ago, not sure if it would have changed much, because our little guy was sick & it just seemed no matter what we did he really wasn't getting any better. On November 10, my boys & I got our first baby tort-"little Boaz". We had his habitat already preset up for his arrival & even had his vet picked out. I know I'm probably going to get a few hits on this one, but (strike one)he arrived in his fedex box to us in Saint Mary's ga from a pet store in Miami fl. He seemed not as active as expected & a little cool, but after he warmed up he was roaming his 30gal tank checking things out, eating, drinking, looked good. Well, here comes strike two-our 15lb terrier decided she was feeling a little threatened by him b/c she decided to jump in to his enclosure & take him. Luckily we caught it quickly but obviously not quickly enough, but he was alive & a small part of his plastron was gone by his right front leg. It took us an hour to get a hold of the emergency vet, an hour away, they told us there was nothing we could do, but reading on this forum I knew he had to be put on antibiotics. The next morning his vet did just that injectable fortaz every 3 days, probiotics in his water, & his habitat was changed to linens to keep his wound clean, & silvadein on his wounds twice a day. He also on this day was showing slight signs of respiratory infection, drainage in nose, puffy eyes, but she didn't know if it was for sure or not. Could be stress from the bite. Two days later we are blowing bubbles from his nose, eyes look worse at his check up. Continue with meds as instructed come back in a week or sooner if need be. We came back and forth to the vet every 3-7 days for 2 mos, adding an oral antibiotic, anti fungal & fecal. Finally we were done no respiratory infection, we were in the clear for two weeks but continued the meds for those two to make sure. Wounds were healing, not awesome but slowly. He hadn't gained anything, we had been yo-yo-ing up & down from 29-35 grams. So out of left field he decides he's not really hungry anymore, not defecating hardly, & sleeping 24/7??? Pseudohibernation is what the vet calls it. His heart rate was slowed, his X-ray showed no signs of being constipated but his bones were very light. I had to up his calcium that I gave him from once a day to twice a day. I got him up every morning put him in front of his water (he drank) often fell asleep there, or in front of his food. At 2, he went outside for sun time for 30-40 min & fresh grass/greens, even if he just sat there we sat there for his sunshine. This is where I feel like I failed him. Not being knowledgeable in knowing the signs of failure to thrive. I've seen it in puppies/kittens, but it is different. Him falling asleep in his water I thought was maybe I wasn't soaking him long enough so he was trying to let me know. Him falling asleep in his food-honestly I'm not sure, we as people when we get sick can be hungry but can't eat, that's why I took him to the vet. But sleeping all the time, if your not eating, there's not going to be energy to move, right?? But what I saw my poor guy do Wednesday was heart wrenching, honestly, & I couldn't get him to the vet fast enough. I went to check on him after the gym & he was still by the water, but looked like he had almost dug a hole, like he was trying to move but couldn't. When I went to pick him up, he was limp like. He couldn't hold up his head hardly& his eyes I noticed was like they couldn't close. I took him outside for a sec for sun/fresh air. No, head nodding, moving, nothing. I contacted the vet & while waiting to hear back from the dr, within an hour he started gasping for air. We had just finished his outside enclosure the day prior, he spent 2.5 hours outside, what went wrong, was all I could think! In the car for the 55 min drive to the vet, we made it in 40, to have him put in the O2 chamber & kept overnight for meds & observation. That evening they called me, he was unresponsive but still had a heartbeat. Next morning, he had passed. I need to know what I could have done differently. My heart was there every step, finaces wasn't a problem, I read & did everything I thought I was supposed to be doing with the exception of my dog. (Which by the way never touched our mud turtle, guess just didn't like the tort). I want another one, but I want to make sure that I'm not setting myself or family up for failure or heart ache again.
New leopard tort-Boaz
- Thread starter Borgijo
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Hello
Sorry to hear about your baby tort .
Sorry to hear about your baby tort .
Hi and welcome, I am sorry about your tortoise. All life is precious and a lose is tragic. If you are looking for a tortoise there is a lot of good breeders and keepers here that can help you get a healthy animal. STAY AWAY FROM PET STORES
I am so sorry for what you went through. There are so many factors in this case that could be the end cause for his passing, but it's unlikely you will ever know.
It sounds like after the dog attack you did well by him. What were the temperatures in the enclosure (highs and lows, day and night)? How warm was it when you brought him out for sunshine? Outside of a good vet with well prescribed antibiotics, the next best way to help a tortoise immune system is to ensure they never get too cold. Keeping hatchlings warm and hydrated is really important. In your case though, it's entirely possible there was nothing more you could have done.
It sounds like after the dog attack you did well by him. What were the temperatures in the enclosure (highs and lows, day and night)? How warm was it when you brought him out for sunshine? Outside of a good vet with well prescribed antibiotics, the next best way to help a tortoise immune system is to ensure they never get too cold. Keeping hatchlings warm and hydrated is really important. In your case though, it's entirely possible there was nothing more you could have done.
spud's_mum
Well-Known Member
So sorry to hear this 
Last edited by a moderator:
So sorry to hear about your baby. Stick with it. This forum has many good people that can help with any questions and up to date info. There are also many that sell babies. Much better then the pet stores that don't know what they are doing.
Hello and welcome - but sorry it is in such terrible circumstances.
Have you read the caresheet for Sulcata/Leopards under species specific this will give you good advice about diet temps humidity and substrates etc should you decide on another leopard. The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will help you understand if there is anything you could have done differently - but sounds like you did your best for him after the attack.
Have you considered getting an older rescue tort? They obviously all need good care but older torts can tolerate the odd mistake better than babies. My leopard was approx. 3 when I got him and at almost 10 inches long he was too big for a table or viv so ended up with his own room. I fuss over him and worry about him like a mother hen so I think I would have been a nervous wreck with a baby.
Have you read the caresheet for Sulcata/Leopards under species specific this will give you good advice about diet temps humidity and substrates etc should you decide on another leopard. The Beginners Mistakes thread (link below) will help you understand if there is anything you could have done differently - but sounds like you did your best for him after the attack.
Have you considered getting an older rescue tort? They obviously all need good care but older torts can tolerate the odd mistake better than babies. My leopard was approx. 3 when I got him and at almost 10 inches long he was too big for a table or viv so ended up with his own room. I fuss over him and worry about him like a mother hen so I think I would have been a nervous wreck with a baby.
Speedy-1
Well-Known Member
Sorry to hear of such a bad experience ! I agree with Lyn's "older tort" idea . I have bred dogs , and know that doing it well is a full time 24 / 7 job ! I also hand fed and raised a 6 week old Cockatoo ! I knew I didn't want to deal with the whole hatchling issue , and opted for a yearling . It has worked out well for me .
On his moist/warmer side was 86-90 with humidity of avg 35% low-25%, high 40%. This was the side I kept is wet spaghamoss on. The dryer side that had his hay was 84-86 (this side was always slightly cooler, & even though the dryer side the humidity read low 35%- high of 45%. Evening temps never dropped below 80, with him being sick, but outside low was 70 always keeping him in the sun. If it was lower I wouldn't take him out. There was one day it wasn't windy but only 67 but felt really warm sitting in the sun so I took him out b/c it had been days with no time out. His basking temp was 100-102. He never seemed to sit under it, so I often wondered if that was too warm for him. He would sit in the outskirts of it but not under it. They kept telling me I needed to bump his temps up, but it seemed the warmer they got the sluggish he got, my opinion. Thanks for you guys help, guidance & input. I don't want to repeat any possible mistakes.
You know I actually tried finding a rescue first. I worked for 4 years rescuing dogs/cats & I think that's an amazing opportunity for so many animals. I never received a reply from the Jacksonville rescue, so I took it as a sign to go with a baby. I know they are like any other animal out there, people get them, can't care for them, or what have you. Harley Ann, our dog is a rescue, we have had her for going on 9 years. We are military & she even went to Bahrain with us 2 years ago
