Help, I have several Greek Tortoises and one female has just died. I have no idea why other than her neck/head looked swollen and she had some bleeding from her backside... vet here said perhaps egg bound?? He's going to read up more on tortoise's since I have several and he admits he is not "up to speed" with their ailments. Anyone here have any ideas? I live in Ohio, During the summer all my tortoises live outdoors (Greeks, Russians, leopards and one small cherry headed red foot)... it has been very hot this past week (90's) but they have available water to soak,drink, and eliminate in ... I'm scared for the others, only 2 other greeks actually lived in the tortoise run where this one died but it frightens me... any help or suggestions would be helpful!
Greek Tortoise issue
- Thread starter GoodLaura
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- Aug 27, 2012
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Are both the other Greek tortoises male?
Johnsonnboswell might be onto something. Mediterranean tortoises are very aggressive breeders. Maybe the males were pestering the female to death. The only way to know why a tortoise died is through necropsy.
The males are a pretty good guess, that's what I thought after reading his post...
What does nightshade look like? I'm in Cincinnati area... where are you?
Do you suggest NOT having the male around the females? Could I put just males together / just females together? I now have 4 males and 4 females of the Greeks (I also have 2 male and 2 female Russians / 1 male and 1 female leopard, and one too young to tell cherry headed red foot)
I suggest housing each tortoise separately after what had happened...
Took ALL the tort's out of their outdoor runs this morning, put them in bins to soak while I cleaned and searched all the runs for anything that looked unsafe ..found nothing unusual .... a month ago I saw my dogs chase a black rat snake out of the yard ... my outdoor runs are dog-proof...but maybe not snake proof ????? I didn't see any outside marks on the dead female, vet did Xray..saw eggs inside... he (my vet) is referring me to an exotic vet he knows
Did my post saying the others in the run were another female and a male ge tposted? I can't see it here...
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We are asking about it and speculating until you reply.
- Joined
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Sorry, replied too soon. The 1:1 ratio may have been the problem.
I agree, the stress and nipping from the male (which may have cause the swollen neck) may have made her egg bound...
Here is one kind
http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp?st=true&mode=main&catID=106
I'm up near cleveland
