Hi all you tortie luvvers out there.
I have just got a marginated tortoise come in to the pet rescue (pet dump really) here in sunny south coast uk.
Story goes - previous owner had him for five years in a vivarium. Gave him away to a friend, who decided the viv was too big for her house and so has dumped him with us. No other info, age, certificates, nothing.
He is 20cm, I would guess at least 7 yrs old. He seems a bit lumpy but also flat like a pancake.
The rescue centre owner set up the viv when he came in but said he was absolutely red hot underneath and burning her hand so she took him out and put him into a rabbit hutch in a cold dimly lit shed.
I came in 4 days later and convinced her to let me bring him to my warm conservatory and outside in a sunny sheltered spot whenever poss.
He has eaten absolutely nothing these last 8 days, I don’t know about before, and rushes to hide the instant I put him down.
After reading lots of posts here, I am warm bathing him every day, he gets his man bits out ALL the time (!), he has voided once, 3 tiny poo blobs, size of a baked bean.
His eyes are sometimes puffy, which improve after the bath for a while, so I presume he is dehydrated, but there is no discharge, they are bright and shiny.
His skin is peeling a bit, but I don’t see any other signs, spots, fungus , nothing sinister.
I’m worried he might have kidney probs, as I don’t know how he was cared for, and that’s why they’ve dumped him, or maybe he is just “shell shocked” and will improve in a couple of weeks....I don’t want to try to force feed him if he has a blockage or something.
I have kept torties before, but in their natural climate in the med, and never had any issues apart from predation so it’s all a bit daunting now.
Any advice folks ?
Btw, I’ve called him Spiro, after the Greek heartthrob in the Durrells
I have just got a marginated tortoise come in to the pet rescue (pet dump really) here in sunny south coast uk.
Story goes - previous owner had him for five years in a vivarium. Gave him away to a friend, who decided the viv was too big for her house and so has dumped him with us. No other info, age, certificates, nothing.
He is 20cm, I would guess at least 7 yrs old. He seems a bit lumpy but also flat like a pancake.
The rescue centre owner set up the viv when he came in but said he was absolutely red hot underneath and burning her hand so she took him out and put him into a rabbit hutch in a cold dimly lit shed.
I came in 4 days later and convinced her to let me bring him to my warm conservatory and outside in a sunny sheltered spot whenever poss.
He has eaten absolutely nothing these last 8 days, I don’t know about before, and rushes to hide the instant I put him down.
After reading lots of posts here, I am warm bathing him every day, he gets his man bits out ALL the time (!), he has voided once, 3 tiny poo blobs, size of a baked bean.
His eyes are sometimes puffy, which improve after the bath for a while, so I presume he is dehydrated, but there is no discharge, they are bright and shiny.
His skin is peeling a bit, but I don’t see any other signs, spots, fungus , nothing sinister.
I’m worried he might have kidney probs, as I don’t know how he was cared for, and that’s why they’ve dumped him, or maybe he is just “shell shocked” and will improve in a couple of weeks....I don’t want to try to force feed him if he has a blockage or something.
I have kept torties before, but in their natural climate in the med, and never had any issues apart from predation so it’s all a bit daunting now.
Any advice folks ?
Btw, I’ve called him Spiro, after the Greek heartthrob in the Durrells