Tortoise been throwing up for days

avasims

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rogers minnesota
Hello again. I have posted so many times on here concerning my golden greek tortoise (male). He has been having health problems on and off for the past couple of months and this week he’s thrown up like 4 or 5 days in a row. It’s not food anymore at this point, just a bit of water now. I feel like he might have a blockage because I haven’t seen him poop for days. I know this has nothing to do with the enclosure, temp, etc because that has remained the same for 9 years. I also noticed that his skin was turning a darker yellow so I suspected liver problems. Not sure what it is but i’m the meantime I just want him to stop puking and eventually poop. Any ideas on helping the nausea? Laxative ideas? He can’t keep anything down right now, so do I wait for him to gain his appetite again? Please please help!
 

avasims

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Joined
Apr 15, 2022
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40
Location (City and/or State)
rogers minnesota
Hello again. I have posted so many times on here concerning my golden greek tortoise (male). He has been having health problems on and off for the past couple of months and this week he’s thrown up like 4 or 5 days in a row. It’s not food anymore at this point, just a bit of water now. I feel like he might have a blockage because I haven’t seen him poop for days. I know this has nothing to do with the enclosure, temp, etc because that has remained the same for 9 years. I also noticed that his skin was turning a darker yellow so I suspected liver problems. Not sure what it is but i’m the meantime I just want him to stop puking and eventually poop. Any ideas on helping the nausea? Laxative ideas? He can’t keep anything down right now, so do I wait for him to gain his appetite again? Please please help!
all the vets are closed today someone please help!
 

zovick

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i did take him in, all they did was told me to soak him and change his diet a bit
Was this an exotics vet? It doesn't sound like it from the treatment recommendations you received. The tortoise needs to be X-rayed for proper diagnosis of the problem before it can be treated.

Until you can get the tortoise to a decent vet, keep it at about 85F or so (day and night) and well-hydrated by soaking it daily for 20-30 minutes.
 

avasims

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Apr 15, 2022
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rogers minnesota
Was this an exotics vet? It doesn't sound like it from the treatment recommendations you received. The tortoise needs to be X-rayed for proper diagnosis of the problem before it can be treated.

Until you can get the tortoise to a decent vet, keep it at about 85F or so (day and night) and well-hydrated by soaking it daily for 20-30 minutes.
yes it was a specialist for exotics but i’m taking him to a different vet on monday , hopefully he pulls through until then. I’ve been soaking him 3 times a day in half Pedialyte half water. Also bought a heating pad for his log and basking temp is 95 degrees
 

KarenSoCal

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Be very careful with a heating pad. It should be on a thermostat so it can't cook your tortoise. Torts don't know what to do with heat from underneath them. You can't trust that he will move away from it, especially since he's feeling sick.

As others have said, the best thing you can do is soak, soak, soak. Nice warm water kept warm the whole time, for at least an hour...I would do twice daily. If you can get him to walk around in the soak, or he tries to climb out...that is good for him. The exercise helps get things moving.
 

JMM

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Hello again. I have posted so many times on here concerning my golden greek tortoise (male). He has been having health problems on and off for the past couple of months and this week he’s thrown up like 4 or 5 days in a row. It’s not food anymore at this point, just a bit of water now. I feel like he might have a blockage because I haven’t seen him poop for days. I know this has nothing to do with the enclosure, temp, etc because that has remained the same for 9 years. I also noticed that his skin was turning a darker yellow so I suspected liver problems. Not sure what it is but i’m the meantime I just want him to stop puking and eventually poop. Any ideas on helping the nausea? Laxative ideas? He can’t keep anything down right now, so do I wait for him to gain his appetite again? Please please help!
Hello-I am very sorry your tort is not feeling well. This tort needs expert care asap. Unfortunately, I do not know a specific vet in MN that specializes in tortoises. Fortunately you are near the Twin Cities area, so you should have options.
I would suggest you contact the University of MN Veterinary School and also I would check this list of vets: https://mnherpsoc.org/vet-clinics/
If possible, I would try and contact members of the MN Herp Society to see if they know anyone with expertise in torts--they are very different than other reptiles and few reptile or exotics vets have experience with torts. If you can't get in to see someone today or tomorrow, I would recommend using emergency service (if they have one) of the clinic where the vet you identify practices. That way, at least you've got a foot in the door and they'll transfer your tort to the expert's care. If the clinic does not have an emergency service, then go to U of MN emergency. Feel free to PM me. Good luck.
 

avasims

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rogers minnesota
How is he doing
How is he doing?
Peaches is recovering well. The past few weeks I have tried symptomatic therapy and it has seemed to lead me to the problem. My guess is that there was some sort of intestinal blockage. As soon as Peaches would go to the bathroom, he seemed to feel better for a few days before getting backed up again. This potential blockage in my educated guess was probably the cause of the throwing up and liver problems. Peaches is now eating everyday and slowly gaining his strength back. I have him on milk thistle at the moment because he is still peeing green urates. In the meantime, no throwing up and getting more active everyday! Thanks so much to all of you for your help❤️ could not have done it without you :)
 

TammyJ

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I hope he continues to recover and thrive. Make sure you keep him in the correct conditions and feed him the right stuff! Keep us posted, please.
 

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