Tortoise vet visit?

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MaggieeNicolee

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When should I take tortoise to vet?

I want to know when I should take him in basically for a check up.. I want to make sure everything is ok with him, and I want to check for things like salmonella.

I looked on the vet list on that forum and there's one right in my town north of Fort Worth.. But I looked at their website and I'm not entirely certain that they serve tortoises.. So I'm not sure about that.

Also what do visits like this usually run? Like tests for heart worms (?) and stuff?

Any advise would help!!

Also he's been scratching his eyes but I have Cyprus mulch and I read that they may have to trim his nails and beak..

He's somewhere between 4-6 months old
 

tyrs4u

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Oh just a baby; ^_* the eye thing could be many things, the best thing that helps is a eye drop of plain ole saline solution or Vet grade drops are out there. As for a check-up if all is well then not till you want/need a parasite count. But. To be safe it should be a cheap visit to the vet to hear the lungs and make sure nostrils are dry & a parasite count from its stool. But usually if a tort is healthy it never visits a vet, but if you are going to introduce another tort then they should both have a check up or stool checked. Peace :)
 

wellington

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RE: When should I take tortoise to vet?

My leopards is 25 months old. He has never been to a vet. Unless he gets sick, he will never see a vet. Tortoises don't get heartworm. In my area, Chicago, a visit, just to walk in the door with a reptile or tort, is 95.00.
 

Jd3

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When should I take tortoise to vet?

Unless he is sick don't just throw money away unless you really want to...

You don't need to test for salmonella... Heart worms don't effect torts. Intestinal worms are only an issue if you have symptoms.

If you have questions this is the place to ask! Deal with specific health problems at the vet. But if nothing is wrong it is just a new stressor to take them there and so often the do things you don't need like vitamin shots or prophylactic antibiotics.
 

Tom

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If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Seriously though, vets often do more harm than good in the case of some exotic animals. I don't want to malign them all, but there are ignorant ones out there mixed in with the good ones. Do you know how to tell them apart?

It wouldn't be a bad idea to do a check up so that the vet has your info on file and you can meet him and see if you think he or she knows what they are talking about. But beware of meds you don't need and if they recommend a vitamin injection, say no, pay your bill and never return.

What species and age do you have? Why is the beak overgrown and nails too long?

I also agree with all of the above about the salmonella and heartworms.
 

tortadise

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I will say one thing(probably many really :D). Most vets do not have an extensive background or experience with tortoises, turtles, or even reptiles. If you feel that something is out of the ordinary then by all means go to a vet. Even with lack of proper knowledge most vets in the tortoise realm have. You can still obtain beneficial information from such visits. That being said its knowing what not to allow them to do before they do it. You can give us a detailed or run through of what you have in question of your tortoise and we can help you go form there.

I would say there is a very small percentage your tortoise(if being 4-6 months of age) needs a beak trim, or nail trim. The nails on a tortoise serve a very vital purpose in digging and rooting up substrates and soils, as well to gain grip of foods tough to handle in a single bite. Heart worms as stated before are not an infection tortoises suffer from. I would suggest giving us all a good background on your animal, how you keep it, what enclosure your keeping in, what daily regimes your taking to fulfill its needs etc... Typically with a baby as you described problems are few and far between congenital and worrisome of that of a puppy or kitten for instance. Salmonella is present in almost every reptiles gut. If you practice extreme conditions of unsanitary practices than none to worry about. IE touching the animals fecal samples without gloves and then places your fingers in your mouth, not washing hands, extreme insanitary enclosure environments, drinking soiled water from the animal etc... The salmonella ordeal is an expansion or exaggeration of reality. After all you have the same if not higher possibility of being a host to a hook, round, or flat worm from a puppy than contracting salmonella from a reptile. Its the same common sense applied in a different practice (or animal) in reality. I would say give us some pointers on your animals behavior, diet, and husbandry and we will help along the way.
 

deadheadvet

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The only thing I would have done is a fecal analysis and nothing else.
Leave the tortoise home, bring a fresh sample to the vet. There are some parasites that are normal. That would be a good test for the vet. Don't just agree to deworm based on the findings.
 

Jd3

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deadheadvet said:
The only thing I would have done is a fecal analysis and nothing else.
Leave the tortoise home, bring a fresh sample to the vet. There are some parasites that are normal. That would be a good test for the vet. Don't just agree to deworm based on the findings.

The problem is a lot of parasites can easily be missed in a single fecal exam. Repeat exams are necessary to be really useful.
 

deadheadvet

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That is easily solved. You get multiple samples over a period of time. You refrigerate the samples and submit as 1 sample to the vet and request the sample sent out to a reference lab for analysis.
Very high yield of positive that way.
 
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