I am new here and please forgive the depressing post. I was a first time Sulcata owner. I also have a 13 year old child, 11 year old Tibetan Mastiff, 6 year old Shih Tzu, a cat, as well as spent years caring for a disabled parent and grandparent. So, for me to lose a baby tortoise is nothing short of a devastating blow. I once thought highly of my care giving skills.
I got the tortoise in December and he was about 60-90 days old. He just passed away a few days ago- I had him for 2 months. He was healthy and thriving, I followed everything I read here to a T. Lights, lamps, heating pads, temperature gauges,daily warm soaks, variety of grass, greens, calcium etc etc but I couldn't control mother nature. He even had his own baby blanket that I still sleep with. My husband called him strange because of the way he popped out of his shell and moved towards my voice when he heard me.
There was a sudden cold front where I live in the desert mountains. It was such a bad wind storm that at some point on Monday it had blown the back door open and dropped the temperature in the home drastically for around 30 minutes with wind and sleet coming in as well. That is the gap of time between when my husband leaves for work at 6:30 and I wake at 7am. The tortoise enclosure was 10-15 ft from the backdoor.
I believe that he caught a chill from that because he went from playing to dead 48 hours later. I saw no warning signs other than him being a little lazy that day but still snuggling, eating, drinking, pooping etc until that night around 9 pm he suddenly had trouble breathing, a runny nose, and walking funny. There was a moment I am literally having nightmares about where he stretched his neck out and stared at me and made a silent cry kinda like, 'help me mom.' I immediately started warming him and tried to suction his nose. I tried to give water also in a dropper. I also gave him a dose recommended of antibiotic a breeder advised saying it sounded like URI until we could figure out a vet the next day. (We live rurally hours from a city and always have most antibiotics on hand for humans and animals in case of ER to buy time) I did everything I read and was told to try and make it through the night. I fell asleep on the hardwood floor next to his enclosure and he was dead when I woke up hours later. I should not have fallen asleep. Maybe I should have sat in a warm shower with him to help fluids drain- I had done that before with my mother when her lungs filled w fluids and with my Shih Tzu once to drain an infection in his eye. I just don't know what I could have done differently other than taken him to a vet when I knew he had been exposed to cold. I know this probably sounds crazy and dramatic but if anyone has been through this before and can help me wrap my mind around the guilt and grief, it would be appreciated. His name was Walker (Walking Dead reference) and I buried him on my favorite mountain spot.
My husband immediately got another one without asking me- he was actually trying to find one that looked like him to swap them out so I didn't 'freak out' like maybe Walker was in a coma and is suddenly okay lol. Bless his heart. I would have noticed the difference. Needless to say I stayed awake Dale's (new baby/another TWD character) first two nights and watched him to make sure he didn't get cold. I am also having trouble wanting to bond with it. I guess I would also like to know what to look for/ what I missed in case the new baby catches a chill. Do I immediately take him to a vet or what to keep it from progressing? He is next to my bed nowhere near a door just in case.
Thanks for reading.
I got the tortoise in December and he was about 60-90 days old. He just passed away a few days ago- I had him for 2 months. He was healthy and thriving, I followed everything I read here to a T. Lights, lamps, heating pads, temperature gauges,daily warm soaks, variety of grass, greens, calcium etc etc but I couldn't control mother nature. He even had his own baby blanket that I still sleep with. My husband called him strange because of the way he popped out of his shell and moved towards my voice when he heard me.
There was a sudden cold front where I live in the desert mountains. It was such a bad wind storm that at some point on Monday it had blown the back door open and dropped the temperature in the home drastically for around 30 minutes with wind and sleet coming in as well. That is the gap of time between when my husband leaves for work at 6:30 and I wake at 7am. The tortoise enclosure was 10-15 ft from the backdoor.
I believe that he caught a chill from that because he went from playing to dead 48 hours later. I saw no warning signs other than him being a little lazy that day but still snuggling, eating, drinking, pooping etc until that night around 9 pm he suddenly had trouble breathing, a runny nose, and walking funny. There was a moment I am literally having nightmares about where he stretched his neck out and stared at me and made a silent cry kinda like, 'help me mom.' I immediately started warming him and tried to suction his nose. I tried to give water also in a dropper. I also gave him a dose recommended of antibiotic a breeder advised saying it sounded like URI until we could figure out a vet the next day. (We live rurally hours from a city and always have most antibiotics on hand for humans and animals in case of ER to buy time) I did everything I read and was told to try and make it through the night. I fell asleep on the hardwood floor next to his enclosure and he was dead when I woke up hours later. I should not have fallen asleep. Maybe I should have sat in a warm shower with him to help fluids drain- I had done that before with my mother when her lungs filled w fluids and with my Shih Tzu once to drain an infection in his eye. I just don't know what I could have done differently other than taken him to a vet when I knew he had been exposed to cold. I know this probably sounds crazy and dramatic but if anyone has been through this before and can help me wrap my mind around the guilt and grief, it would be appreciated. His name was Walker (Walking Dead reference) and I buried him on my favorite mountain spot.
My husband immediately got another one without asking me- he was actually trying to find one that looked like him to swap them out so I didn't 'freak out' like maybe Walker was in a coma and is suddenly okay lol. Bless his heart. I would have noticed the difference. Needless to say I stayed awake Dale's (new baby/another TWD character) first two nights and watched him to make sure he didn't get cold. I am also having trouble wanting to bond with it. I guess I would also like to know what to look for/ what I missed in case the new baby catches a chill. Do I immediately take him to a vet or what to keep it from progressing? He is next to my bed nowhere near a door just in case.
Thanks for reading.