Rescue tort with MBD

[:Krista]

Good morning. We recently rescued an ill salcuta. Don't know a lot about her aside from the obvious MBD. She hasnt eaten. I'm not sure she can. She can't walk, she can push her legs but only straight out. And her arms aren't coming out of the shell. Only moving left to right. I've been soaking her and putting her in the sunny grassy yard in the day. But she hasn't eaten. She barely opens her mouth an eighth of an inch. I know the recovery will take time, any suggestions on physical therapy and feeding at home?

 

[Yvonne G]

Good morning. We recently rescued an ill salcuta. Don't know a lot about her aside from the obvious MBD. She hasnt eaten. I'm not sure she can. She can't walk, she can push her legs but only straight out. And her arms aren't coming out of the shell. Only moving left to right. I've been soaking her and putting her in the sunny grassy yard in the day. But she hasn't eaten. She barely opens her mouth an eighth of an inch. I know the recovery will take time, any suggestions on physical therapy and feeding at home?View attachment 190649View attachment 190649View attachment 190649

I just made a response to another new member with the same problem. I'm going to copy/paste what I wrote to him:

"You can start by soaking the tortoise in Gerber strained carrots mixed half and half with water. At that size, you may need to use a couple jars. Get the smallest footprint container you can fit the tortoise in, with tall sides so it can't climb out, and leave it soaking for at least an hour. Longer is even better. The water mixture should come up to the middle of the tortoise's sides.
One thing to consider - sulcatas are prone to bladder stones. When the stone gets big enough to block off the tubes going out of the bladder it also start pressing on the area where the poop discharges from. The tortoise stops eating and slowly dies.

Too bad you have no $$ because it would be helpful to have an X-ray to know if the stone is present"

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I would also do a second soaking each day to do some hydrotherapy. With this one, you need a large container, like your tub. Fill it with warm water, enough that the tort has to swim to stay above the water. If she just sinks, hold her up so her head is out of the water, but where she hopefully will move her legs to try and swim. I rescued a leopard that could walk and Yvonne suggest this to me. It worked great and he is now my fastest. I did it every day, some times twice. It will take a while, month or more, but hopefully it will work for you too.

 

[TheSulcata]

That is the exact same pic the other person used

 

[Speedy-1]

That is the exact same pic the other person used

That may be why he said ;

Here she is. my friend has also posted a tread concerning her in a different category. Sorry for the double post. Thank you all for your help!

 

[TheSulcata]

Oh lol sorry

 

[:Krista]

Hi Yvonne. Were you able to receive the x-Ray file or just the photos?

 

[Yvonne G]

I received an email with pictures of the X-rays.

 

[:Krista]

If you'd like to give me your email I can send you the file. The vet sent them to my email.

 

[:Krista]

I have been dedicating all my time to making sure Lucy will pull out of this. And I think it's paying off!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful advise. (Even though you were telling Mike).

 

[Yvonne G]

If you'd like to give me your email I can send you the file. The vet sent them to my email.

I think Mike should keep the file and radiographs together in case he ever needs to take the tortoise to a qualified tortoise vet. Should I send you the x-rays or do you already have them?

 

[sibi]

So, what's happening with this sulcata? What did the x-rays show? There's some kind of blockage if she's not eating. Along with the baby food, I would put Pedialyte in the water too. Walgreens make their own brand and a liter costs about $4.00. Also, if there's a stone blocking her from pooping, you'll need to get to a real vet who knows what he's doing. Surgery may be needed, but in her present condition, the chances of survival are low.

 

[Yvonne G]

The x-rays look like impaction, but not a stone.

 

[sibi]

Then, there's medicine to cause the intestines to contract and try to push fecal matter out. That, along with electrolytes feed through a feeding tube is what saved Baby Runt when she went through this 2 years ago. What's the plan, Yvonne?

 

[Yvonne G]

My vet looked at the x-rays and called me last night. She said maybe tube feed some Critical Care and try an enema, however, I don't think Michael and Krista are experienced enough to try that. And since the tortoise is starting to show an interest in eating, I would set the tube feeding idea on a back burner for now.

I think trying to get some mineral oil inside the tortoise would be the next step. Coat the inside of a piece of romaine lettuce with mineral oil and roll it up lengthwise and hand feed it to the tortoise. You can also punch out a bit of strawberry and put mineral oil in there and had feed. Squirt a bit of mineral oil from a dropper up inside the cloaca too.

If none of this works, then I think taking your advice from first hand experience would be the way to go.

 

[sibi]

My vet looked at the x-rays and called me last night. She said maybe tube feed some Critical Care and try an enema, however, I don't think Michael and Krista are experienced enough to try that. And since the tortoise is starting to show an interest in eating, I would set the tube feeding idea on a back burner for now.

I think trying to get some mineral oil inside the tortoise would be the next step. Coat the inside of a piece of romaine lettuce with mineral oil and roll it up lengthwise and hand feed it to the tortoise. You can also punch out a bit of strawberry and put mineral oil in there and had feed. Squirt a bit of mineral oil from a dropper up inside the cloaca too.

If none of this works, then I think taking your advice from first hand experience would be the way to go.

You know Yvonne, that's a good plan, and I hope it works, but the tort may respond to a few flower pedals, but in the end, if she's really compacted, she'll stop eating altogether. And, by the time they realize she needs a feeding tube, she may be so critical she can die. I just hope she has a movement soon. Cause, in Baby Runt's case, I waited too cause she would still take bites here and there, but she was turning critical with each passing day. I almost lost her.

 

[Yvonne G]

Michael told me the tortoise has started passing hard, black bits of poop, so it sounds like things are starting to move. Also, scrambling in a tub of water large enough to encourage scrambling helps a lot.