Poorly horsefield tortoise.

thegangof5

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Gloucestershire UK
Hi All, my 9 Yr old male horsefield is now being tube fed by myself as .... in the last 3 weeks he's not eaten, weed or done a poo. Been to the vets, had x-rays, various tests, bloods n swobs etc but nothing shows up. He did/does have white spots on his throat but nothing came back with typical results. He's now had special swobs and bloods done and waiting to hear those results.
He's normally a very lively chappie all year round, eats a great mixed diet (I have 5 horsefields) and lives a healthy happy lifestyle so its a bit of a mystery with what's wrong with him. When they put the feeding tube in he struggled a lot and his throat bled which puzzled the vet somewhat as never had this happen before- they are an exotic vet too.
Anyone have any ideas?
He's on antibiotics and being fed thro the tube EmerAid.


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TammyJ

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
Poor little guy. I'll call @Yvonne G . She is the best and more than likely to be of more use than 95 percent of vets!
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hi All, my 9 Yr old male horsefield is now being tube fed by myself as .... in the last 3 weeks he's not eaten, weed or done a poo. Been to the vets, had x-rays, various tests, bloods n swobs etc but nothing shows up. He did/does have white spots on his throat but nothing came back with typical results. He's now had special swobs and bloods done and waiting to hear those results.
He's normally a very lively chappie all year round, eats a great mixed diet (I have 5 horsefields) and lives a healthy happy lifestyle so its a bit of a mystery with what's wrong with him. When they put the feeding tube in he struggled a lot and his throat bled which puzzled the vet somewhat as never had this happen before- they are an exotic vet too.
Anyone have any ideas?
He's on antibiotics and being fed thro the tube EmerAid.


View attachment 353914
What's going on is it is winter time and the tortoise knows it.

Tortoises should not be force fed in most cases. They can go months with no food, and there is a reason when they don't eat. The solution is to discover the reason and correct it, not force food into a tortoise that can't or won't process that food. You went to an overzealous ignorant vet that is happy to take your money. This tortoise knows it should be brumating, and next year you should probably let it.

More insight here:


 
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