When/where to go when illness strikes

[Kamei]

Hi… I’m new to this forum and spent most of the day yesterday on various sites as well as this forum after my leopard tortoise started to show signs of illness. Kamei didn’t make it and I’m still shattered by that but I wanted to come on here today to possibly help others in the future. I took Kamei into what was supposedly a specialty animal vet and was told this doctor knew about reptiles/torts/turtles, etc… they didn’t advertise this which probably should have been my first clue but I was so desperate and had been calling all morning to various animal hospitals. Kamei had not eaten the night before when is very unlike him and seemed to have regurgitated blood and mucous so I knew it was very serious. This vet prescribed an antibiotic for him and sent us home.. no x rays were done, no bloodwork’s was done and she didn’t witness him walking or trying to walk. I found this out at check out and when I questioned these things, she had already left for lunch. I took Kamei home and watched him for the next couple of hours and he started to decline rapidly. No longer able to walk, pushing backwards, elongating his neck, bubbles forming around his nostrils, etc. I took him in to a 24hr Access hospital who inserted an IV into his bone under his shell (below his neck) because they could not insert into his neck as by then he wasn’t elongating his neck. He was shutting down very quickly and after 3 hours on the IV, the vet told me she would humanely euthanize him if she were me. Kamei is gone now and I am agonizing about my care decisions… I should have went directly to Access but I didn’t… I should have went directly to Access after the initial vet… I just waited for that vet to return to my which didn’t happen until 3:30 and by then it was probably too late… so for you amazing tortoise owners…. Pls use my mistakes as a lesson. Just go straight to an emergency big facility hospital… I feel like Kamei would still be here today if it weren’t for my bad decisions.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you for sharing. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm sure Kamei is in the better place now, free of illness and suffering. And I know, that you made a decision which seemed the best at the that time, don't blame yourself.

 

[wellington]

Thank you for sharing. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm sure Kamei is in the better place now, free of illness and suffering. And I know, that you made a decision which seemed the best at the that time, don't blame yourself.

Happy Birthday

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I’m so sorry for your loss! You did your absolute best at the time with the resources you had, please don’t beat yourself up, Kamei wouldn’t want that❤️

 

[wellington]

So very sorry for your loss.
Unfortunately most vets do not know how to treat tortoises. You did what you thought was best, how could you have known
Next time, your best first move is to come onto this forum. Tell us what is going on and give ALL care/housing/heating/diet, etc details. Most of the time, someone or multiple someones can give you advice on what to do and what's going on. If we can't, or it sounds extreme, we will recommend a vet visit
One day of not eating will not harm a tortoise. If you want our best guesses of what happened, give us all the care and housing, etc details from you, where you got him, how old, etc and we can help figure out what may have happened.
I'm not sure there was anything you or the vet could have done to save him. By the time we notice something is wrong, they have had it for a while.

 

[Yvonne G]

It sounds to me like Kamei had something stuck in his throat, maybe even penetrating the tissue. I'm so sorry you lost him. Thank you for this reminder that we all need to find a qualified tortoise vet BEFORE we need one.

 

[dd33]

Do you have other tortoises? What did you do with the body? The only way to find out why it died is to have a necropsy performed.

This is a great resource for finding vets with reptile experience: https://members.arav.org/search/custom.asp?id=3661

I wouldn't take a tortoise to any of the emergency clinics in my area. They are all dog and cat only.

 

[Kamei]

Thank you for sharing. I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm sure Kamei is in the better place now, free of illness and suffering. And I know, that you made a decision which seemed the best at the that time, don't blame yourself.

Thank you Alex.