Strokes & TIAs in Russian Tortoises

[TortGrandma]

Hi - I am new to this forum, and I thought I would reach out. We have had our wild-caught Russian Tortoise for 15 years; at the time of purchase from Petsmart he was estimated to be about 10 years old, which would make him around 25 years old. No issues at all for 15 years.

About a month and a half ago he started dragging his hind legs, and this happened literally overnight. He is also exhibited what appear to be "TIAs" at least once a day for about 5-15 seconds. He recovers and he is "fine" except has still has uncoordinated movement in his back legs, is dragging his legs.

We have been to the vet several times. Blood work shows nothing remarkable. (We have had 3 blood test/panels done, xrays, and various other tests for herpes, cellular analysis, parasites/fecal analysis.) He does not have symptoms or diagnosis of MBD. He does not have stones. He does not have gout.

He is peeing, pooping, and passing urates which look "good." He is well-hydrated, and we soak him every other day on average. His diet consists of a variety of safe-feed leafy greens, grasses, and weeds (either I grow them or we purchase organic produce, as my daughter is a vegetarian so feeding is somewhat "easy")

We have never given him fruit or anything high in sugars, like squash or carrots. He has a cuttlebone. He gets a dusting of Calcium Powder w/D3 in the winter when he in indoors. He has the proper heat/basking lamps with proper UVA and UVB bulbs, and I change them every 4-6 months to make sure UV wave lengths are okay when he is indoors. In the spring/summer he is outside, and I do not give him supplements. We are in Texas, so UVA/UVB is plentiful. And, winters are very short. Temps are good indoors and out, humidity levels are within range. His indoor enclosure is 3ftx6ft, and outdoors his is in a 5ftx10ft enclosure. He was very active until he lost motion in his back legs about a month and a half ago.

We (vet and our local, reputable pet store owner who works with a lot of tortoises) think he may have had multiple strokes over the night, and he has since had TIAs daily.
We are doing physical therapy to help restore motor coordination in his back legs and also water therapy, for about a month and a half. There is slight improvement, but not much.
I have added a multi-vitamin to his feeding schedule to correct any type of mineral imbalance, but again - all his bloodwork Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Uric Acid, Glucose levels have been "stable" and within range.

He seems "fine" except his back legs. He is eating, comes when we approach. Sticks his head out b/c he likes to have his head scratched.

Anyone have experience with a Russian (or similar tort) that has had a stroke/TIAs? Any thoughts on dietary changes or other therapy?
One thought that the vet mentioned was that he could have been much older when we purchased him, which could account for the aging process and the increased incidence of TIAs.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Our "main goal" is to stop the TIAs which could lead to a massive/fatal stroke.

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

I've never heard of a tortoise having a stroke - but that's not to say it couldn't happen. Most often, when a tortoise can't use his back legs, it's because of pressure on the nerves. That pressure is sometimes caused by a gut load of parasites, constipation, egg bound, bladder stones, etc. Have you had an X-ray?

 

[TortGrandma]

I've never heard of a tortoise having a stroke - but that's not to say it couldn't happen. Most often, when a tortoise can't use his back legs, it's because of pressure on the nerves. That pressure is sometimes caused by a gut load of parasites, constipation, egg bound, bladder stones, etc. Have you had an X-ray?

I've never heard of a tortoise having a stroke - but that's not to say it couldn't happen. Most often, when a tortoise can't use his back legs, it's because of pressure on the nerves. That pressure is sometimes caused by a gut load of parasites, constipation, egg bound, bladder stones, etc. Have you had an X-ray?

Yes - have had Xrays taken from several angles. We (vet) have ruled constipation, he's a male, no bladder stones. Spine looks good. No trauma. Organs all look like they are in the right places. We have had tests for parasites - no parasites were found. Fecal test was fine. He is pooping, peeing and passing urates that are "normal." He is well-hydrated. My vet, myself, and an amazing locally owned exotic pet store owner have been trying to rule out all possibilities. (He had no sign of herpes, but we tested him for it b/c of neurological issues it can cause. He does not have herpes.)

Evidently, turtles can have strokes and TIAs. We have been in contact with Texas A&M vet school as well as UC Davis vet school, they have confirmed that tortoises/turtles can indeed have strokes/TIAs. There is some (but very limited) information out there.

We are making accommodations in his enclosure, and I have the local LEGO store working to engineer his wheels (and track down 2 random lego parts.) My hope is that his back leg issues are temporary, and if we can figure out how to stop the TIAs, he will fully (or at least somewhat recover, so he will not need wheels.

Our "best guess" as to why this started happening all the sudden is that he is a wild-caught Russian, who was likely much older than 5-10 years when we purchased him. Heck, he could have been 50 when we got him from Petsmart, and we've had him for 15 years (and provided great care w/no issues at all).

We have tried Pedialyte soaks to help with a potential electrolyte imbalance which can be the cause of TIAs to try and stabilize/eliminate these "mini strokes."

His blood work has not shown anything out of normal range, or even large deviations within the normal range. There is a specific Reptile Electrolyte soak, and I will try that next.

He is eating well, pooping, peeing, passing urates - all look good/normal. He has definitely slowed down since this happened, but it has also been really cold here. He comes over to us when we feed him or he spots us looking at him, so he seems to have not lost a lot of "brain power."

I'm looking for any one else w/experience who has had a turtle w/a stroke or TIAs, and any suggestions on how to manage this. And/or anyone with a Russian Tortoise who is "more mature" (i.e., over 50 years old). --- I'm over 50, and I'm not "old" - LOL

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!