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.
When/where to go when illness strikes
- Thread starter Kamei
- Start date
Alex and the Redfoot
Well-Known Member
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
Well-Known Member
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❤️
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thank you Alex.
How old was Kamei? How long did you have him?
Access took X-rays and didn’t find anything … and I had a qualified tortoise vet but she didn’t want to stay and see him because she had labor day plans, she had her assistant relay to me that I should take Kamei to Access and she would see me on Wednesday. I told the assistant I didn’t think Kamei would make it until Wednesday but it didn’t seem to matter. This was VCA LA on Sepulveda…. Which makes this so much more tragic is that I worked there part time in 2022 so they knew me and Kamei.
I’m not sure how old he was… he kinda adopted me when he was walking in the middle of the street in March 2022… I posted about him on next door after having him for a week… he was my first tortoise… I made him salads of romaine, dandelion, prickly pear (chopped up), strawberry tops, collards, watermelon.. loofahed him with a toothbrush.. got him a little outdoor pool.. his owner contacted me after a week and after I asked for a picture to make sure she was really the owner.. he went back with her…And then a year went by and she saw me walking my dog and asked if I wanted him back… that they were morning to North Carolina so he came home with me… she said she only fed him romaine and kept him outdoors all year.. in December of 2022, he was attacked by a rat in my backyard.. lost a couple of toes and endured a 4 hour surgery… they stitched salmon skin on his wounds and I had to inject him weekly with pain meds and antibiotics and he was such a trooper… made a full recovery…I converted my guest bathroom into an indoor habitat for him after that… brought him in every night at dusk so I knew he was safe… I soaked him in the sink in my laundry room, he looked his little soaks… I’m sorry this is so long. I’m just really heartbroken.
You did everything you could. What a wonderful life he had with you.
