Vet's prognosis on Norbert.

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sachmn

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Norbert has still not been eating too much. He has been eating since he has been pooping but he's still acting odd and not eating as much as he usually does. I finally got a vet appointment for him(since the reptile vet has to be called).
She was impressed by his diet, mostly pleased with his temps and description of his enclosure, backed up the shell-rot (he does have some on his plastron) treatment I copied down from the tort forums.
I didn't have a stool sample for her...but Norbert decided to provide a fresh one for us :D...he has parasite...flukes to be exact and I guess they have possibly worked into his lungs. She gave him some medication on the spot and we're giving him a couple days to see how they work and perhaps go back for a second does and some anti-biotics.
So...I'm glad I know what's going on and hopefully we can get everything sorted soon.
 

Candy

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Your vet sounds very good that should make you feel better about things. Norbert sounded like he did a very good job at the doctors office. :D Glad to hear that she can help him get better. Keep us updated. :)
 

cordell

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wow! did the vet give any suggestion on how Norbert got the parasite? It seems these Flukes need a host, that was Norbert. They are found a lot in snails. The flukes eggs are in feces and the hatchling fluke comes alive with light. It must find a host or die.

C/P from www.cartage.org
Flukes

Fluke infections are usually acquired after you ingest one of the infective forms. Most fluke infections are acquired by:
- drinking infected water
- swallowing infected water while swimming; transmission from wet hands to mouth or nose, etc.
- eating infected aquatic vegetation
- eating infected raw meat or raw intermediate hosts (snails, shellfish, crustaceans, fish)

END C/P

I am glad Norbert is doing better now! These thing are a never ending cycle in red foots as they eat their own poop! lol

cordell
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Isn't it great to talk to a Vet who knows what she's talking about? Good job!
 

Yvonne G

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I don't know what your redfoot has been eating, but just to let you know that one way they get flukes is from their intermediate host, the snail.
 

sachmn

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Well, he has't been eating any snails, I can tell you that.
The only thing I can think is that it's something he had when I got him. It's possible that he's picked it up since but I do a really good job of washing off all of his food before I give it to him, as well as his water dish.
We'll see how this medication works. I'll most definitely keep you all updated.
 

Stephanie Logan

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Best wishes to Norbert as he recuperates! :D

As for eating snails, I am not surprised that any tortoise that walks around outside and noses and nibbles on various detritus of a backyard habitat manages to pick up a variety of parasites. :rolleyes:
 
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