why did my tort die???

[tortoise007]

Hi. sad story.
My baby leopard tortoise had been living very actively and eating well etc. for almost a year in my care.
One day I noticed that it looked as if he was having trouble breathing. Upon closer inspection, his mouth looked to be full of water and bubbles, and his eyes were glossy like they were covered in slime… I started worrying about him immediately but had to leave somewhere for a very short time (hour and a half). When I came back he was in the same spot but dead… Why??? He had been living under nearly the exact same conditions for a year. I had recently changed his coco-coir and the temps dropped for maybe a day before I brought them back to where they should be, But that was almost 2 weeks before he passed on. Did he choke?
Answers would be nice, even thoughts that may or may not be true about the cause.
thanks.

 

[Tom]

A few possibilities:
He overheated. Does he get sunshine outside?
Respiratory infection from the cooler temps. What is your over night low temp normally and how do you keep it warm enough?
He ate something poisonous. Does he go outside for sunning?
He was started too dry as a hatchling and the organ damage from chronic dehydration as a hatchling finally caught up with him. How much did he grow in your care?
What are you using for UV, or does he get regular real sunshine?

 

[tortoise007]

He has not received real sun light for month or two but he use to get a lot, he has a power sun bulb and CHE for night over his humid hide that stays at 80-85. I don't think he ate anything, I did give him burmuda grass for the first time week or two before this. The breeder I got him from started him humid so its not the dehydration. I can say that he did not grow much...

 

[Tom]

The lack of growth is a clue. Did the breeder soak the hatchling daily? Did you? How much time did the baby spend outside each day as a hatchling and where in the country did it come from? I ask because there are breeders that leave babies outside all day, or for several hours a day, in arid climates under the assumption that they need lots of sunshine and its good for them. Some of these guy also don't believe in daily soaks. So raising them with some humidity is good, but what can you tell us about the rest of the hatchling care?

 

[tortoise007]

The breeder did give him daily soaks, as did I for the first month or two I had him, after that it was about once a week but he drank from his water dish all the time. I think the breeder raised him mostly indoors. Th baby came from my area, phoenix (we picked him up in our car). His diet has been dandelion greens, hibiscus, geraniums, snail vine, grass, lettuce, mazuri, and the occasional fruit. I kept the coco-coir moist and he always had a humid hide full of sphagnum moss.

 

[tortoise007]

Tom, I know you have raised MANY tortoises. Has this ever happened to you?

 

[wellington]

I would say he was not kept hydrated enough for being in AZ, most likely before you got him, just a guess. So sorry for your loss. I just can't imagine, specially after a year old, you think,your through the ruff patch of hatchling age. So sorry.

 

[christinaland128]

That's sad. Sorry for your loss!

 

[AmRoKo]

I wonder what went wrong. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Tom]

Tom, I know you have raised MANY tortoises. Has this ever happened to you?

No. Not exactly. I bought 20 hatchling sulcatas from a guy once, and about a third of them just failed to thrive while another third did okay and the final third thrived and did excellent in every way. Necropsy revealed that the non-thrivers were blocked up with perlite. Seems the breeder leaves them in the incubator for about a week after hatching to absorb their yolk sacs and only soaks once a week. The babies ate the incubation media, which they all do, and that was the problem. Don't know why only some of them had the issue while others were fine, but that's how it went. These guys were housed in half of a 4x8' enclosure, so 4x4'. On the other side of the divider were 12 of MY hatchlings that I incubated and started. All 12 thrived and grew. No problems.

Does your breeder use a brooder box, or leave them in the incubator with the incubation media?

I've never had a baby doing just fine for a year and then suddenly die for no apparent reason. But I don't know if that describes your situation. No grow for a year does indicate a problem.
your breeder use a brooder box, or leave them in the incubator with the incubation media?

If it is not something due to being started poorly, which it seems like it is not, then I would guess he was poisoned somehow. BUT, that does not explain why he didn't grow much for the last year before the poisoning occurred. Because he didn't grow, even with good hydration, temps and humidity, it leads me back to considering what happened, or didn't happen, at the breeders place.


They foam at the mouth when they over heat. Can you eliminate that as a possibility?

 

[Jabuticaba]

So sorry for your loss.


May
THBs: Darwin & Merlin
Aussies: Dax, Vegas, & Cricket
IG: @AUSSOMEAUSSIES

 

[Kathy Coles]

I am so sorry for your loss. I don't want you to beat yourself up. I hate it and I'm afraid I might also experience what happened to you. But sometimes they get sick and die quickly. It doesn't seem fair that torts can live for such long times and yet actually be so fragile.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Oh no, I am so sorry this happened to you and your poor tort! I am sorry for your loss.

 

[ascott]

Unless there is a necropsy done, you will not know the actual reason for the death.

 

[tortoise007]

Well, thank you all. I am sorry to say but I really don't know a lot about how the breeder raised them or incubated them. I only know they were not raised dry. I don't think over heating was the problem… temps were good. can Muzari be toxic if it is old?

 

[tortoise007]

And just out of curiosity, How much does a necropsy cost/where can the be done?
Thank you all again.

 

[Yvonne G]

It generally starts about $70, but then it has to be sent to a lab and that costs more.

 

[ascott]

I am always heavy hearted when I hear someone guiling on themselves when this happens...I mean I know this is just our human nature...I totally understand why that...and we can make ourselves crazy by the "I wonder" the "what could haves"...I hope you can get through this part and back to where you can recall the joy you experienced with the tortoise you cared so much for. When we find our way back..that seems to be when our mind clears and sometimes things out of routine will pop back in our mind and lend some insight to that particular situation...but there are just times we will never know what causes the passing...

To answer your couple of questions..mazuri alone would not likely suddenly turn toxic just because you have had it awhile...and you would contact you local vets office to inquire about cost and process..