Check ups?

Franco F

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Does anyone take their tortoise for "check-ups" at the vet? Is that a recommended practice?
 

Jodie

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Not so much. Fecals are good regularly, and building a relationship with your get are good. Well checks don't have much benefit otherwise.
 

Franco F

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Not so much. Fecals are good regularly, and building a relationship with your get are good. Well checks don't have much benefit otherwise.

By fecals do you mean regularly checking to see if the tortoise's waste is properly colored and what not?
 

inkling13

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It's not a bad idea to take them in for a general check up when they are healthy so the vet has something to compare their condition to if they develop any issues. My vet also required an initial general exam before they would run a fecal parasite egg test. So I took my two torts in for general check ups and paid $120 to confirm that my torts were in excellent health. That's not exactly a casual expense and is something to consider before signing up for an exam. For me personally it was worth it though, one of my torts I'd only had for a few months and she was still in quarantine at the time. I had the vet double check she'd fully recovered from the nasty case of shell rot I had gotten her with, and her fecal test ended up positive- so even when everything seems healthy a vet visit can catch a problem before it gets bad enough to notice. A couple doses of dewormer, a second fecal test (negative this time), and we were good to go!

So maybe find a nearby vet that deals with exotics/reptiles and get a price quote on both exams and fecal tests before you decide anything.
 

JoesMum

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If your tort has bright eyes, is active and eating well and feels heavy for its size then save your money.

If you do go to a vet then make absolutely sure the vet is experienced with tortoises. A general vet can do more harm than good. If the vet suggests vitamin injections then pick up your tort and run for the hills; excess vitamin A, for example, causes horrendous skin problems.
 

Pearly

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I took mine after several months only to establish baseline with the vet, bcs if something were to happen later on it's much easier to get an appointment when your pet has already been seen and has a file at that clinic. Our vet didn't do much more than what i do at least once a week after their bath: thorough visual, palpating, listening, checking eyes, nose, mouth and vents... he didn't do fecal either. He said my torties looked so healthy that even if they did have parasites he wouldn't worry about. I tend to agree bcs treating them with pesticides doesn't eradicate worms forever but it does chip away from their natural immune system. I think that for most average keepers it may be a good idea to HAVE that relationship with Herp. Vet established
 

RosemaryDW

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We are lucky to have access to a great herp vet. We did take her in after we found her, more for my nervousness than anything else. He was patient, answered all my questions, and let me know she was in good health.

He has some people who come in for annual check ups but didn't feel it was necessary. He gave pretty much the same advice as others in this thread. Bright eyes; active and eating; feels heavy for its size when you pick it up. The visit was really for me, not the tortoise. :)
 

GBtortoises

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If your tort has bright eyes, is active and eating well and feels heavy for its size then save your money.

If you do go to a vet then make absolutely sure the vet is experienced with tortoises. A general vet can do more harm than good. If the vet suggests vitamin injections then pick up your tort and run for the hills; excess vitamin A, for example, causes horrendous skin problems.

This is very simple, excellent advice.
 

Meganolvt

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Let's not discourage new tort owners from going to the vet. Not everyone is an "expert" like so many of you are. A yearly vet visit is a good idea until someone really knows what to look for. Also, Vitamin A injections are sometimes appropriate treatment, depending on the situation and the patient.
 

Yvonne G

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Let's not discourage new tort owners from going to the vet. Not everyone is an "expert" like so many of you are. A yearly vet visit is a good idea until someone really knows what to look for. Also, Vitamin A injections are sometimes appropriate treatment, depending on the situation and the patient.

Yes, but it seems many vets don't know the dosage and overdose the tortoises. I've taken in quite a few cases where the skin is sloughing off and a little detective work narrows it down to vitamin A injections. It is quite easy to get the vitamin into the tortoise through his food.
 

Jodie

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Let's not discourage new tort owners from going to the vet. Not everyone is an "expert" like so many of you are. A yearly vet visit is a good idea until someone really knows what to look for. Also, Vitamin A injections are sometimes appropriate treatment, depending on the situation and the patient.
Vitamin A may be appropriate for a turtle, but not a tortoise. Vets do more harm than good way to often. My first vet told me to feed my leopard tortoise green beans and broccoli instead of so much grass and weeds. Beginners that trust their vet, are difficult to convince the vet is wrong.
 

Franco F

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Thank you everyone for the advice. I definitely want to establish a relationship with a reputable vet just in case I need to take my tortoise in down the road. As mentioned by @Meganolvt I was thinking it would be a good idea until I'm able to tell what all the signs are for a healthy/unhealthy tortoise. But, I'm definitely keeping mind the basics: bright eyes, active and eating, and property weight.
 

Shaif

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If you can find a true, experienced herp vet, that is wonderful. But if not, the people in this forum have much more knowledge and experience with torts that most general or even exotic vets. IMHO.
 
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