Russian tortoise suddenly died

[sdedman]

Hello.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, looking for answers about my tortoise's recent passing.

I had Bort for only a year. He was a rescue and I knew nothing of his previous life or how old he was.

He seemed like a happy and healthy tort. He was eating, drinking, going to the bathroom regularly...then today he vommited three times within an hour. It was what he had eaten days prior. He also had a bit of diarrhea. I cleaned him up and gave him a soak to rehydrate. I called the vet and they said bring him in. An hour later, he died.

I have no idea what happened but feel awful that it was probably something I did wrong. He had no other symptoms than the stomach upset just today, and he went so quickly.

He was outdoors in his enclosure the past couple of days. My thought is maybe he ate something he shouldn't have. It also got chilly (50s) so I brought him back in to warm up. Temps have been fluctuating a bit in SoCal so my other thought is stress and inadequate heating, like maybe he ate then it got too cold to digest and he died from sepsis...

Any helpful ideas are welcome. I wish this didn't happen and Bort was still with us.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I am so very sorry about Bort. I know the heartache...my tortoise died in the end of brumation this year.

It certainly sounds like a poisoning of some sort. The not knowing what happened is the worst.

 

[Sa Ga]

Hello.

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, looking for answers about my tortoise's recent passing.

I had Bort for only a year. He was a rescue and I knew nothing of his previous life or how old he was.

He seemed like a happy and healthy tort. He was eating, drinking, going to the bathroom regularly...then today he vommited three times within an hour. It was what he had eaten days prior. He also had a bit of diarrhea. I cleaned him up and gave him a soak to rehydrate. I called the vet and they said bring him in. An hour later, he died.

I have no idea what happened but feel awful that it was probably something I did wrong. He had no other symptoms than the stomach upset just today, and he went so quickly.

He was outdoors in his enclosure the past couple of days. My thought is maybe he ate something he shouldn't have. It also got chilly (50s) so I brought him back in to warm up. Temps have been fluctuating a bit in SoCal so my other thought is stress and inadequate heating, like maybe he ate then it got too cold to digest and he died from sepsis...

Any helpful ideas are welcome. I wish this didn't happen and Bort was still with us.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't even imagine the shock. One day, they're great; the next, they're gone. ?

I wouldn't think that a mere couple days of colder temps would cause sepsis, but I'll leave that to the more experienced to confirm.

Since he did have diarrhea, it doesn't sound like a blockage. I would lean more towards having eaten something he shouldn't have. If you don't see any growth of a new plant in your outdoor enclosure (providing he didn't eat it all, I suppose....), it could maybe have been something that made its way into your yard. My dog has thrown up things he's eaten that I know we didn't put there (and we have a fully fenced yard)--things get blown in, dropped by some other animal, etc.

And last, since he was a rescue, you have no idea what care he had beforehand. Perhaps there was a condition building up underneath.

I hope you find peace in knowing you gave him a great life having rescued him and when you are ready, consider giving another little guy a chance. ?

 

[Sa Ga]

I am so very sorry about Bort. I know the heartache...my tortoise died in the end of brumation this year.

It certainly sounds like a poisoning of some sort. The not knowing what happened is the worst.

I'm so sorry for your loss, @KarenSoCal. Did ur little guy wake up sick, or just never wake up?

 

[KarenSoCal]

I'm so sorry for your loss, @KarenSoCal. Did ur little guy wake up sick, or just never wake up?

I had checked on him about 10 days earlier, and he seemed OK. Then when I went to get him up, he was dead.

 

[Sa Ga]

I had checked on him about 10 days earlier, and he seemed OK. Then when I went to get him up, he was dead.

I'm so sorry. ?