Sad News

[SFCMARK]

My 2-year old Leopard Tortoise was found in his water dish upside down, dead. My daughter was crushed, she was really attached to that little guy! Not sure what happened, the water dish was only about a 1/2 inch deep, and he went in and out of it for the past 2 years that I have had him. No problems in the past. Guess it was just bad luck.

 

[Kristina]

I am so sorry for your loss. It is terrible when someone who is such a good keeper loses a friend to a freak accident.

Kristina

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I know it doesn't help much, but you're not the Lone Ranger. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this story. I've never actually seen it happen at the time, but I hear it does happen frequently. I'm so sorry you and your daughter lost your beloved leopard baby.

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

SFCMARK so sorry to hear of your loss hugs to you and your daughter.

 

[SFCMARK]

The part that makes it worse, is that the little guy got the "dreaded" upper resperatory, and we were bending over backwards to try and help him pull through. It looked pretty bad for a while there, and we thought he was going to die a couple times. BUT, all out hard work paid off, and he was pulling through great. He was just about back to 100%. He started to eat great, was getting more and more active. And then this happaned! Really sucks.

 

[Jacqui]

yeah it does suck. I would be wondering if a strong factor in the death might not have been a direct or even indirect result of the URI. Such as being too weak to either flip back or not being able to survive as long upside down as a "normal" Leopard. Whatever the cause, nothing can change this very sad ending. The best you can do is to take the knowledge gained from this sad ending chapter and use it to help another tort perhaps survive.

 

[Yvonne G]

One thing for people to think about: When a tortoise is on his back on dry land, he either dies from heat exhaustion or because the weight pressing on his lungs makes it difficult to breathe. When a tortoise is on his back in the water, even a small amount of water, his nose eventually gets under the water. They try to flip back by using their head to push themselves. The part of the head that touches the ground in an upside-down case is the nose. So when he gets tired and has to lay his head down, his nostrils are under the water.

Yvonne

 

[Isa]

I am very sorry for your loss

 

[SFCMARK]

yeah it does suck. I would be wondering if a strong factor in the death might not have been a direct or even indirect result of the URI. Such as being too weak to either flip back or not being able to survive as long upside down as a "normal" Leopard. Whatever the cause, nothing can change this very sad ending. The best you can do is to take the knowledge gained from this sad ending chapter and use it to help another tort perhaps survive.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Guess no one will know for sure. Thanks for your post!

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I am very sorry for your loss

Thanks for your post!

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I am so sorry for your loss. It is terrible when someone who is such a good keeper loses a friend to a freak accident.

Kristina

Thanks for your post!

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SFCMARK so sorry to hear of your loss hugs to you and your daughter.

Thanks for your kind words!

 

[jlyoncc1]

So sorry to hear about your tort! Take what you have learned and go forward!

 

[tortoisenerd]

That is so sad to hear. I hope your daughter isn't crushed for too long by this. I still remember my first hamster dying on Christmas one year...it's tough to understand at any age.

Yvonne-Thanks for the info. Any water dish safety tips? I hadn't thought too much beyond the depth and accessibility.

 

[Yvonne G]

Any water dish safety tips?

Sometimes small pebbles layered on the bottom give them a little more to push against and tip back over.

Yvonne

 

[DAC8671]

I'm so sorry.

 

[BigBiscuit]

I am so sorry for your loss.

Sincerely,

Evan

 

[terryo]

That is so sad, especially for your child to loose a pet. I'm so sorry for such a loss.

 

[nomylarballoons]

I'm so so sorry.

 

[danieledwards2006]

I'm so sorry for you and your daughter must be awful I couldnt image how you must feel.