OliveW
Well-Known Member
First thing this morning, an hour earlier than usual, Tortimer was at the edge of his burrow. I let him sleep in there last night, his location of choice, because it was only going down to 70 degrees.
It appeared that he was struggling to get out, so I went outside to get him, thinking he had dug it at too much of an angle, or something. At first I just moved him to a sunny spot in the grass. Within a few minutes, it became clear that there was something very serious wrong with him. He was repeatedly going deep into his shell, and back out again. Deeper than I have ever seen him go in. He did this quite a few times, then tried to walk. He had no use of his back legs. I thought he had frozen and this was my fault for letting him sleep in his burrow.
My heart was in my throat, on the inside. But, being a mother of four, I can remain calm, logical, and functional on the outside. I picked him up to take him to the bathtub for a warm soak, while I did my research, as I know a soak helps just about everything. I didn't have time to fill his outdoor pool with warm water, so he was heading for a bathtub. As soon as I picked him up, I saw a HUGE white rock, with blood on it, and immediately knew what was happening. I checked his vent, which had some fresh blood around it, but not ripped. I put him in a warm soak, where he stayed for two hours without complaint.
I turned on his space heater in the bathroom for extra comfort, and of course checked on him constantly. After two hours, it had warmed up outside and he was seeming perkier. We took him out to graze in his favorite spot, his rear legs once again functioning, and he was walking around as strong as ever. He grazed for a couple of hours, then I checked his vent again, and it was a little swollen, but he kept sucking it in and out. So, he went back and soaked in warm water for another two hours. He is now tucked into his heated, safe bed, so I had time to come on here and post.
I'm completely devastated that I let this happen to him. I'm trying to wrap my head around WHY it happened. I had been worried about this in the past because his pee is always crystal clear. He pees a LOT. He doesn't hold his pee, which I knew could cause it. But he also never passes any urates. Not even white liquid. I'm completely at a loss. I soak him nearly every single day for 30 minutes or so. His diet is almost all grazing. He's been gaining weight stead, pooping normally, and generally healthy, I thought.
This stone was gigantic. Bigger than an XL chicken egg. I'm so thankful he got it out on his own, but feel like the worst tort mom ever that I let him get this stone in the first place. I had planned to cut down soaks to three times per week, now that we've had him four months, and I thought his health was on track. That's not going to happen now. We are staying on the daily schedule.
I had some kind of mom's intuition that he had a stone. For a few weeks now, I've been really monitoring his urine like a crazy person, and even posted about my concern that it was always clear. Could our Tortimer have some kind of disease that caused this? Other than soaks, what can I do to keep it from happening again? Every time I think about seeing that stone, I get lightheaded and feel like I'm going to pass out. I can't let him go through this again.
It appeared that he was struggling to get out, so I went outside to get him, thinking he had dug it at too much of an angle, or something. At first I just moved him to a sunny spot in the grass. Within a few minutes, it became clear that there was something very serious wrong with him. He was repeatedly going deep into his shell, and back out again. Deeper than I have ever seen him go in. He did this quite a few times, then tried to walk. He had no use of his back legs. I thought he had frozen and this was my fault for letting him sleep in his burrow.
My heart was in my throat, on the inside. But, being a mother of four, I can remain calm, logical, and functional on the outside. I picked him up to take him to the bathtub for a warm soak, while I did my research, as I know a soak helps just about everything. I didn't have time to fill his outdoor pool with warm water, so he was heading for a bathtub. As soon as I picked him up, I saw a HUGE white rock, with blood on it, and immediately knew what was happening. I checked his vent, which had some fresh blood around it, but not ripped. I put him in a warm soak, where he stayed for two hours without complaint.
I turned on his space heater in the bathroom for extra comfort, and of course checked on him constantly. After two hours, it had warmed up outside and he was seeming perkier. We took him out to graze in his favorite spot, his rear legs once again functioning, and he was walking around as strong as ever. He grazed for a couple of hours, then I checked his vent again, and it was a little swollen, but he kept sucking it in and out. So, he went back and soaked in warm water for another two hours. He is now tucked into his heated, safe bed, so I had time to come on here and post.
I'm completely devastated that I let this happen to him. I'm trying to wrap my head around WHY it happened. I had been worried about this in the past because his pee is always crystal clear. He pees a LOT. He doesn't hold his pee, which I knew could cause it. But he also never passes any urates. Not even white liquid. I'm completely at a loss. I soak him nearly every single day for 30 minutes or so. His diet is almost all grazing. He's been gaining weight stead, pooping normally, and generally healthy, I thought.
This stone was gigantic. Bigger than an XL chicken egg. I'm so thankful he got it out on his own, but feel like the worst tort mom ever that I let him get this stone in the first place. I had planned to cut down soaks to three times per week, now that we've had him four months, and I thought his health was on track. That's not going to happen now. We are staying on the daily schedule.
I had some kind of mom's intuition that he had a stone. For a few weeks now, I've been really monitoring his urine like a crazy person, and even posted about my concern that it was always clear. Could our Tortimer have some kind of disease that caused this? Other than soaks, what can I do to keep it from happening again? Every time I think about seeing that stone, I get lightheaded and feel like I'm going to pass out. I can't let him go through this again.
No x-rays were done.
