For those who haven't read any of my posts, we bought a Greek tort from Petsmart a few weeks ago.
He initially seemed to be doing okay, and then last Wednesday his left eye was shut. The next day he quit eating. I called my local vet in the meantime to schedule an appointment. I had to wait till Friday for their "reptile doctor".
Well, the reptile doctor was not really a reptile doctor, just a vet with some experience with box turtles.... So she looked at the tort and prescribed a medicated ointment.
Today it has been a WEEK since the tort ate. I even offered junky iceburg lettuce, and he seemed interested at first but then refused the food.
Yesterday and today he was breathing through his mouth with mucus and also peeing at the same time (and would put his penis out of the tail when I picked him up to examine his nares)....
The nares have been clear and there's no noise associated with the open mouth breathing. He hasn't stooled since last Friday so the one vet couldn't test for parasites today.
I have an appointment with another vet (who is an experienced tort owner) tomorrow, and she wants to swab the eyes and do an xray if she suspects parasites.
I feel like it might be a RI though?
Anyway, what are his chances? I've been doing carrot soaks, and I'm going to leave his lamp on tonight to keep him warm. We already love him, but I'm worried about finances. We've spent $350 so far, and who knows how much the vet will be tomorrow!
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond, I really appreciate it.
- Allie
Btw, I guess the xray is to see if the tortoise is constipated?
And I hate to talk about money and pets together, because I don't want you to think that we view pets as an object... but my fiancé and I are still in college so we are on a budget... I'm sure a lot of you know what that's like.
He initially seemed to be doing okay, and then last Wednesday his left eye was shut. The next day he quit eating. I called my local vet in the meantime to schedule an appointment. I had to wait till Friday for their "reptile doctor".
Well, the reptile doctor was not really a reptile doctor, just a vet with some experience with box turtles.... So she looked at the tort and prescribed a medicated ointment.
Today it has been a WEEK since the tort ate. I even offered junky iceburg lettuce, and he seemed interested at first but then refused the food.
Yesterday and today he was breathing through his mouth with mucus and also peeing at the same time (and would put his penis out of the tail when I picked him up to examine his nares)....
The nares have been clear and there's no noise associated with the open mouth breathing. He hasn't stooled since last Friday so the one vet couldn't test for parasites today.
I have an appointment with another vet (who is an experienced tort owner) tomorrow, and she wants to swab the eyes and do an xray if she suspects parasites.
I feel like it might be a RI though?
Anyway, what are his chances? I've been doing carrot soaks, and I'm going to leave his lamp on tonight to keep him warm. We already love him, but I'm worried about finances. We've spent $350 so far, and who knows how much the vet will be tomorrow!
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond, I really appreciate it.
- Allie
Btw, I guess the xray is to see if the tortoise is constipated?
And I hate to talk about money and pets together, because I don't want you to think that we view pets as an object... but my fiancé and I are still in college so we are on a budget... I'm sure a lot of you know what that's like.