Vet visit questions

Kori5

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Oct 25, 2015
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462
Tortoise Veterinarians in Kansas
Listed Alphabetically by City

Leawood

Constance J. Organek, DVM
Bird, Cat and Exotic Animal Care
9824 Pembroke Lane
Leawood, KS 66206
Tel: (913) 341-3339

Lawrence

Marguente Emeling, DVM
Gentle Care Animal Hospital
601 Kasold Drive #D105
Lawrence, KS 66049
Tel: (785) 841-1919

Lenexa

Dr. Jerry Immethun
Marketplace Animal Hospital
13338 College Blvd.
Lenexa, KS 66210-3323
Tel: (913) 441-6825

Topeka

Steven L. Rogers, DVM
Shawnee Animal Hospital
2113 Southwest Gage Boulevard
Topeka, KS 66614
Tel: (785) 272-3244

Wichita

Virgina A. Skinner, DVM
Prairie Avian & Exotic Animal Clinic
1741 S. Glendale Street
Wichita, KS 67218
Tel: (316) 682-5335
 

CathyNed

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@Rue @Kori5 @Lyn W @Yvonne G @Sara G. @JoesMum @martaemha
So Ned seems to be doing really well. His appetite is very very good. Still eating away.He is far more alert than he had been and wakes now when people come into the room and makes a beeline towards me if he thinks i have food for him. ( I like to pretend is because he loves me!) Still have meds to give him orally but its no problem getting him to open his mouth as he tries to eat everything thats put in front of his face.

No more issues with him ending up in the water dish. Havent seen him drink either though. He walks over and looks in at the water and then turns away again. Im using a plant saucer burried in substrate. I had been using one of the stepped dishes before and had it burried down into the substrate too but i would at least see him drink from it. Wetting his food before he eats and soaking twice daily just in case.

He is definately acting much more like himself. He is just the cutest guy ever! Ive fallen in love with him all over again!

Working on his outdoor enclosure this week as we are having a "heat wave" aka a Summer that will last about 4 days. Joes mum will understand the weather here. I have found a nursery here with untreated plants so im buying some hibiscus sedge etc. Transplanted all my veggies into untreated soil too. Have found a few baby dandelion plants and plantain to move into enclosure too so hopefully will have some of it setup this week for him. I think some arm sun would do him the world of good.

Now...to brush up on my carpentry skills.....
 

CathyNed

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Hi one day which I think was yesterday I was picking dandelions and my turtle was walking and I wasn't watching him and then the next couple of minutes he was gone and I found him and in The Tall Grass where my dog was digging up the dirt and stuff by the tall grass in the fence Co The Tall Grass was out of the fence and I don't know what happened but there's a hole in my turtle's shell and just one hole help me please to figure out what I have to do to help him he is a baby sulcata tortoise he's one year is one year old and a month I think but yes please help me if you can thank you
Hi sulcatabynby
Sorry to hear about your tortoise. If you can post pictres it might help us to understand the injury better. I think it would be a good idea to take him to the vet as he may have internal injuries.
 

Rue

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Canada
Ned must be feeling a lot better if he's acting normal again. That's great news. Makes it all worthwhile! :)
 

Lyn W

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@Rue @Kori5 @Lyn W @Yvonne G @Sara G. @JoesMum @martaemha
So Ned seems to be doing really well. His appetite is very very good. Still eating away.He is far more alert than he had been and wakes now when people come into the room and makes a beeline towards me if he thinks i have food for him. ( I like to pretend is because he loves me!) Still have meds to give him orally but its no problem getting him to open his mouth as he tries to eat everything thats put in front of his face.

No more issues with him ending up in the water dish. Havent seen him drink either though. He walks over and looks in at the water and then turns away again. Im using a plant saucer burried in substrate. I had been using one of the stepped dishes before and had it burried down into the substrate too but i would at least see him drink from it. Wetting his food before he eats and soaking twice daily just in case.

He is definately acting much more like himself. He is just the cutest guy ever! Ive fallen in love with him all over again!

Working on his outdoor enclosure this week as we are having a "heat wave" aka a Summer that will last about 4 days. Joes mum will understand the weather here. I have found a nursery here with untreated plants so im buying some hibiscus sedge etc. Transplanted all my veggies into untreated soil too. Have found a few baby dandelion plants and plantain to move into enclosure too so hopefully will have some of it setup this week for him. I think some arm sun would do him the world of good.

Now...to brush up on my carpentry skills.....
That's great. So pleased he is going from strength to strength.
Don't worry about a bit of self soaking - Lola likes to stretch out in his plant saucer occasionally.
Photo0648 (2).jpg
 

martaemha

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Dear Cathy and Dear Ned!
I am sorry I couldn't reply earlier but I had a very hectic time because I am moving back to my hometown with my torts and it's a bit of a struggle right now. I am so happy for Ned! He proved he is a tough little guy:) I am sure that with this aftercare, you as his owner and the best vet available he is bound to live for the next 100 years, happily munching on his greens:)
Here in Poland my substrate of choice is turf. It's natural, it's free and the only problem is you have to use the shovel and carry it home. I usually choose a nice untreated meadow and dig about 2 meters square of grass. It keeps moisture well and even if it dries it's ok, because it still mimics the substrate they have in the wild. I surely do look like a crazy lady carrying the turf with all the earthworms home, but the fun my torts have once I put it in their enclosure is invaluable:)
As for sleeping in the saucer my torts never drink ( at least I have never seen them drinking) but they like to spend time in the water. When I take them for a walk they do the same thing; they find a huge disgusting puddle and treat themselves to a mud spa:) All this is accompanied by very relaxed, ballet poses, so no worries, he probably decided to relax a little!
 

Sara G.

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I love the piece in the middle of the enclosure! What an awesome sight barrier!
You've got my brain ticking for sure. I'm sure Ned LOVES it!!!
 

CathyNed

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I love the piece in the middle of the enclosure! What an awesome sight barrier!
You've got my brain ticking for sure. I'm sure Ned LOVES it!!!
Thanks Sara. Its just a border log roll from a garden centre. I really liked the look of it too. Im planting grass seed on the nearside of the sight barrier and leaving soil on the other. Ive got a deep pile of soil in the curved part on the soil side for digging and lots of plants to put in now for food and shade. Its coming along.
 

CathyNed

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You're getting there. :)

I'm not sure how long that dandelion will last though. It's looking very like dinner :D
True...not long at all. They dont transplant very well. They were droopy and lifeless looking within an hour. Hoping they will come back to life or i will have to come up with a plan b...
 

CathyNed

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So....in his soak just now Ned passed urates. First time since vets visit 11 days ago. They were bigger than any urates ive seen from him previously.
His enclosure substrate is topsoil kept moist. This replaced wood bark about 3 weeks ago which had been kept pretty dry.
Basking temp is 35c , warm side 27 cool side 23 night 17. Always has access to water in indoor and out door enclosure. Soaked twice a day for 20-30 mins each. I also wet his food before feeding. Any ideas?
Could he be dehydrated?
 

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CathyNed

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Do the pics above look like kidney stones? No kidney stones showed up on xray 11days ago. I broke them up to make sure they were not actual stones. They were very solid but they did break. His diet at the minute is mainly dandelion, plantain with a small amount of lambs lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, clover. I have also been giving him the critical care as fibre. Ive been putting a pinch of calcium on food since visiting the vet 11 days ago as she advised. Could that cause stones in such a short time. Im going to email that pic to the vet in the morning and she what she thinks.
 

JoesMum

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Do the pics above look like kidney stones? No kidney stones showed up on xray 11days ago. I broke them up to make sure they were not actual stones. They were very solid but they did break. His diet at the minute is mainly dandelion, plantain with a small amount of lambs lettuce, red and green leaf lettuce, clover. I have also been giving him the critical care as fibre. Ive been putting a pinch of calcium on food since visiting the vet 11 days ago as she advised. Could that cause stones in such a short time. Im going to email that pic to the vet in the morning and she what she thinks.
My gut feeling is that Ned has been through a lot in the last few weeks and the fact that this is the first urate he has passed in so long goes a long way to explain those stones. He has been pretty dehydrated. My bet is that those were forming, but not detected by x ray while he was at the vet.

I think you just keep going with 30 minute daily soaks.

It will be interesting to see what the vet says.
 

martaemha

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I actually think (and I hope that it is not just my wishful thinking) that these are very concentrated uric acid deposits.
When tortoises are dehydrated, they do not use the water from the bladder to eliminate uric acid. They do it only after water replenishment is available. So my guess is, Ned was dehydrated before and he stored these. And now that the vet hydrated him well and you are giving him soaks every day, his body decided that there is plenty of water to replenish and it's the right time to get rid of the urates. He probably kept the urates for a long time and this is why they are so solid looking.

Don't worry, just go on with the soaks, sprinkling his greens with water and he should be fine.
 
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