Vet recommended spaying

[jaimeef]

I took Ruby (female redfoot) to the vet yesterday for a swollen right eye that persisted for a few days. I am in Boca Raton, Florida. I went to Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital. Turns out poor thing had some grass stuck in there. Luckily, it was caught early, and there is no damage. However, during the vet workup, I was informed that she has been developing follicles without them developing into eggs. This is called follicular stasis. While she does not have any symptoms, the vet recommended spaying her to prevent these follicles from building up and causing severe health issues down the road. She showed me photos of what the spay process would look like, and it is major surgery. I wanted to see if anyone has experienced this and what alternatives there might be. If I do nothing, how long before Ruby develops negative symptoms? I adopted her and have had her for about 4 years. I estimate her age to be about 7-8 years old. I attached the summary from the Vet visit. I also included obligatory pictures of Ruby in her element . She lives outside year-round.

I would love feedback and advice on how to proceed. Spaying could cost about 2k . I can afford it, but would like to explore alternatives and see if it is actually necessary.

 

[zovick]

I took Ruby (female redfoot) to the vet yesterday for a swollen right eye that persisted for a few days. I am in Boca Raton, Florida. I went to Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital. Turns out poor thing had some grass stuck in there. Luckily, it was caught early, and there is no damage. However, during the vet workup, I was informed that she has been developing follicles without them developing into eggs. This is called follicular stasis. While she does not have any symptoms, the vet recommended spaying her to prevent these follicles from building up and causing severe health issues down the road. She showed me photos of what the spay process would look like, and it is major surgery. I wanted to see if anyone has experienced this and what alternatives there might be. If I do nothing, how long before Ruby develops negative symptoms? I adopted her and have had her for about 4 years. I estimate her age to be about 7-8 years old. I attached the summary from the Vet visit. I also included obligatory pictures of Ruby in her element . She lives outside year-round.

I would love feedback and advice on how to proceed. Spaying could cost about 2k . I can afford it, but would like to explore alternatives and see if it is actually necessary.

The spaying is most likely a good idea if you never plan to breed the tortoise. Did your vet indicate that she would cut through the plastron (bottom shell) to do the procedure? If so, perhaps you could get her to consider instead the method decsribed in this article which is much less traumatic and invasive (and maybe less costly as well):

Single-incision, prefemoral bilateral oophorosalpingectomy without coelioscopy in an Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) with follicular stasis - PMC

A female Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was evaluated for anorexia and suspected coelomic masses. Clinical examination indicated follicular stasis. The tortoise was anesthetized and placed in dorsal left lateral recumbency for a right ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[jaimeef]

The spaying is most likely a good idea if you never plan to breed the tortoise. Did your vet indicate that she would cut through the plastron (bottom shell) to do the procedure? If so, perhaps you could get her to consider instead the method decsribed in this article which is much less traumatic and invasive (and maybe less costly as well):

Single-incision, prefemoral bilateral oophorosalpingectomy without coelioscopy in an Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) with follicular stasis - PMC

A female Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was evaluated for anorexia and suspected coelomic masses. Clinical examination indicated follicular stasis. The tortoise was anesthetized and placed in dorsal left lateral recumbency for a right ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Thank you for sharing! She did indicate needing to cut the plastron. I will call around to see if other vets in the area may be familiar with this less invasive procedure.

 

[jaimeef]

The spaying is most likely a good idea if you never plan to breed the tortoise. Did your vet indicate that she would cut through the plastron (bottom shell) to do the procedure? If so, perhaps you could get her to consider instead the method decsribed in this article which is much less traumatic and invasive (and maybe less costly as well):

Single-incision, prefemoral bilateral oophorosalpingectomy without coelioscopy in an Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) with follicular stasis - PMC

A female Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was evaluated for anorexia and suspected coelomic masses. Clinical examination indicated follicular stasis. The tortoise was anesthetized and placed in dorsal left lateral recumbency for a right ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Yes, the vet indicated cutting the plastron. So, thank you for sharing this! I am going to call some other vets and see if anyone has experience with this less invasive procedure.

 

[TammyJ]

Your tortoise looks happy and hoping you won't allow them to cut through her shell.

 

[Tom]

The spaying is most likely a good idea if you never plan to breed the tortoise. Did your vet indicate that she would cut through the plastron (bottom shell) to do the procedure? If so, perhaps you could get her to consider instead the method decsribed in this article which is much less traumatic and invasive (and maybe less costly as well):

Single-incision, prefemoral bilateral oophorosalpingectomy without coelioscopy in an Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) with follicular stasis - PMC

A female Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) was evaluated for anorexia and suspected coelomic masses. Clinical examination indicated follicular stasis. The tortoise was anesthetized and placed in dorsal left lateral recumbency for a right ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mr. Z, in all my years, I've never encountered this problem. Is it common? All of my adult females have always had a male for breeding, but I've not ever heard of other people's females needing to be spayed when not bred. I'm learning something new today.

Would breeding this tortoise solve the problem? If the OP doesn't want babies, the eggs could be discarded. Seems like that would be a better alternative to surgery of either type.

 

[Alice Sulcatia]

I took Ruby (female redfoot) to the vet yesterday for a swollen right eye that persisted for a few days. I am in Boca Raton, Florida. I went to Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital. Turns out poor thing had some grass stuck in there. Luckily, it was caught early, and there is no damage. However, during the vet workup, I was informed that she has been developing follicles without them developing into eggs. This is called follicular stasis. While she does not have any symptoms, the vet recommended spaying her to prevent these follicles from building up and causing severe health issues down the road. She showed me photos of what the spay process would look like, and it is major surgery. I wanted to see if anyone has experienced this and what alternatives there might be. If I do nothing, how long before Ruby develops negative symptoms? I adopted her and have had her for about 4 years. I estimate her age to be about 7-8 years old. I attached the summary from the Vet visit. I also included obligatory pictures of Ruby in her element . She lives outside year-round.

I would love feedback and advice on how to proceed. Spaying could cost about 2k . I can afford it, but would like to explore alternatives and see if it is actually necessary.

Ruby is GORGEOUS and looks happy and well in her garden! Hope her eye is doing better today with drops. Regarding spaying, less invasive is always better. On the note of female reproductive systems, sometimes equipment doesn't play nice (endometriosis, cysts, etc.), and surgeries are necessary to maintain the quality of life. So thinking along those lines, in my opinion, I would not hesitate to act before it gets worse. Preventative measures are the best measures.

 

[zovick]

Mr. Z, in all my years, I've never encountered this problem. Is it common? All of my adult females have always had a male for breeding, but I've not ever heard of other people's females needing to be spayed when not bred. I'm learning something new today.

Would breeding this tortoise solve the problem? If the OP doesn't want babies, the eggs could be discarded. Seems like that would be a better alternative to surgery of either type.

Hi Tom,

I have no personal experience with this phenomenon, nor any idea how common it may be. I cannot answer your other questions. I read the iformation found on the link below before coming to the conclusion that spaying the OP's tortoise was most likely a good plan:

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