please help with seriously sick greek

[OurZeus]

hi. This is Zeus our male greek tortoise. He is 10-11 years old. we have had him for 9 years. Around August 2015 we noticed he was not acting himself. we noticed some swelling around his neck. Yes he was still eating and going to the bathroom. He seemed less active. Vet said swelling was because of upper respiratory infection. We were given Baytril for 30 days and then a second round. on the second round the color of pee turned green and had an awful smell. We did 30 days rest off medicine. he started to favor and not move one arm. swelling continued. We went back to the vet this past monday and blood work was taken and we were sent home with another round of Baytril.
If anyone knows what this might be we would appreciate it. we are waiting the results of the blood work.
If anyone can also give us a good list of foods he can eat we would appreciate that also. you can check out more pictures of Zeus on instagram @OurZeus
Thank you all for your help!

 

[Kori5]

Hi! I'm so sorry to hear your pet is ill. I'm not an expert but I read somewhere that a smelly pee could be renal failure. Also, sometimes depending on what they eat pee can vary in colors. I heard dandelions cause this. Is your vet a exotic specialist...if is, he should be able to tell whats wrong. Try baby food soaks in warm water to help him get hidrated. And I really suggest you open a new topic in tortoise health.

 

[Kori5]

Btw he looks like his limbs are swollen. That is a symptom of renal disease, too. Hope tests come soon. I hope everything turns ok. Stay positive.

 

[Blakem]

So glad you joined and created a post about this! Hopefully others can provide you with a possible cause. Give us some information on how you have your tank set up, heat temps, diet, humidity, etc.

 

[OurZeus]

Hi! I'm so sorry to hear your pet is ill. I'm not an expert but I read somewhere that a smelly pee could be renal failure. Also, sometimes depending on what they eat pee can vary in colors. I heard dandelions cause this. Is your vet a exotic specialist...if is, he should be able to tell whats wrong. Try baby food soaks in warm water to help him get hidrated. And I really suggest you open a new topic in tortoise health.

Thank you very much. the vet is an exotic specialist. thank you very much for the idea of baby food soak. yes the swelling is into his his front legs. the smell from the pee gone away. but the green color is still there.

 

[OurZeus]

So glad you joined and created a post about this! Hopefully others can provide you with a possible cause. Give us some information on how you have your tank set up, heat temps, diet, humidity, etc.

thank you. i will try to attach a picture Zeus us in a glass tank with coconut fiber bedding. size of tank is 4ft long and 2 ft wide. we have the UVA/B buld and basking light. temperature is about 85. we soak him everyday so he can go to the bathroom if need be. his diet we have him on is mixture of weeds and then flower mixtures. danelion leaves, dark green lettuce, t-rex tortoise dry pellets and Mazuri. we keep humidity low since his kind needs very little.

 

[OurZeus]

hi. This is Zeus our male greek tortoise. He is 10-11 years old. we have had him for 9 years. Around August 2015 we noticed he was not acting himself. we noticed some swelling around his neck. Yes he was still eating and going to the bathroom. He seemed less active. Vet said swelling was because of upper respiratory infection. We were given Baytril for 30 days and then a second round. on the second round the color of pee turned green and had an awful smell. We did 30 days rest off medicine. he started to favor and not move one arm. swelling continued. We went back to the vet this past monday and blood work was taken and we were sent home with another round of Baytril.
If anyone knows what this might be we would appreciate it. we are waiting the results of the blood work.
If anyone can also give us a good list of foods he can eat we would appreciate that also. you can check out more pictures of Zeus on instagram @OurZeus
Thank you all for your help!

 

[OurZeus]

So glad you joined and created a post about this! Hopefully others can provide you with a possible cause. Give us some information on how you have your tank set up, heat temps, diet, humidity, etc.

this might be a good picture of his set up.

 

[Kori5]

I was recomended the baby food soaks when my tortoise was not eating. Just use a baby food high in vitamin a like first carrot or squash. Make sure the water is baby warm, you can leave him in for 20 min but with supervision. The water should reach the line between his carpace and plastron. My doesn't like soaking but it did help with his apetite. I think blood test should show if something is wrong with his kidneys. Maybe do a x ray too and a fecal exam for parasites.

 

[Kori5]

Why don't you open a new thread in tortoise health. There are many experts on this forum which can help you but maybe haven't seen this thread.

 

[OurZeus]

I was recomended the baby food soaks when my tortoise was not eating. Just use a baby food high in vitamin a like first carrot or squash. Make sure the water is baby warm, you can leave him in for 20 min but with supervision. The water should reach the line between his carpace and plastron. My doesn't like soaking but it did help with his apetite. I think blood test should show if something is wrong with his kidneys. Maybe do a x ray too and a fecal exam for parasites.

i am sure they did fecal exam also. we had to leave him at the vet. they put him under to do the blood work since all the swelling. they thing that has our vet confused is that zeus us eating almost every day. still going to the bathroom. just seems not himself and the swelling.

 

[OurZeus]

Why don't you open a new thread in tortoise health. There are many experts on this forum which can help you but maybe haven't seen this thread.

i just opened a new thread under health. thank you!

 

[Kori5]

@Yvonne G @HermanniChris

 

[Lyn W]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry Zeus hasn't been well. That is a nasty growth in the pic. Is your vet a tort specialist?
There is a good caresheet for Greeks under the Species Specific section which will tell you all about temps, humidity, diet etc and www.thetortoisetable.org.uk will help you ID tort safe plants.
If you do a search for Baytril you should find some info about that too. It isn't recommended for all torts but not sure if that includes Greeks.
I hope Zeus is better soon, looking forward to hearing all about him and maybe seeing some more pics.

 

[Blakem]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/87146/

 

[OurZeus]

Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry Zeus hasn't been well. That is a nasty growth in the pic. Is your vet a tort specialist?
There is a good caresheet for Greeks under the Species Specific section which will tell you all about temps, humidity, diet etc and www.thetortoisetable.org.uk will help you ID tort safe plants.
If you do a search for Baytril you should find some info about that too. It isn't recommended for all torts but not sure if that includes Greeks.
I hope Zeus is better soon, looking forward to hearing all about him and maybe seeing some more pics.

Thank you very much. yes our vet is a tort expert. this is the 3rd round of baytril Zeus is on. i hope the swelling goes down so we can do more pictures of him. he is so adorable.

 

[FujiBaird]

I've seen your tort on instagram before and I'm glad you're here on the forum! I hope the blood test can reveal what may be going on with Zeus, or that one of the many knowledgeable members here can help you out.

 

[MPRC]

Poor boy, that looks uncomfortable. Is it just his front end that is swollen or are his back legs puffy too?

 

[Blakem]

Giving this a little bump

 

[Blakem]

And this