Store brought tortoise? Worms?

[paigechelseaa]

How do I tell if my tortoise has worms or any other common pet brought illnesses? I've read all over this forum that most store brought tortoises have worms at least? I need help to check she is healthy... No reptile vets near me ?

 

[tort_luv_5055]

You can't rely tell except for their behavior. Loss of appetite, excessive sleep, sluggishness, runny poop, gook in the eyes, expelling bubbles from the eyes nose or mouth, open mouth breathing, etc, all of these are signs of illness. A natural de-wormer is pumpkin puree like the kind from stores.

 

[paigechelseaa]

She hasn't ate yet, but I have only had her 48 hours so I'm putting that down to adapting. She has done one poo and it looked healthy not runny. I haven't saw her open her mouth yet? Is this odd. Her eyes and nose look pretty clear to me. She has been sleeping a lot, but again maybe adapting, she seems adamant to return to her old home in my opinion but let's hope she gets used to me, thanks for answering. Does anything I've said her seem unusual to anyone?

 

[Tom]

What species and age tortoise are we talking about?

What size enclosure, how are you housing it and what are your four temps?

Any vet should be able to do a fecal flotation to look for parasite ova. Best if its done by a reptile vet, but even a dog vet should recognize the obvious ones.

Be aware that "worms" are just one possible nasty for you to think about. There are also protozoa, viruses, bacteria and a whole bunch of other stuff that can be very difficult to diagnose. The vet can't just look at a tortoise, run a fecal, and declare a tortoise healthy and disease free. Many diseases can be carried while the host shows no symptoms, and the disease organism is not shed all the time. This is why quarantine should be observed regardless of what you find in a fecal float.

 

[paigechelseaa]

She is a russian tortoise age unknown. Decent enclosure, big and a tortoise table not viva ruin etc. Temps are fine I've seen other discussions. Okay I can visit a normal vet but not a reptile one. I understand that there are many illnesses that she could get.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ . We do except pictures of theRT in his enclosure . Good luck !

 

[paigechelseaa]

I don't have a camera that works on the device I use this forum on