kikiorangutan
New Member
I have a desert tortoise who is between 10 and 12 years old. We've had her for 10 years. (We got her from a family who only fed her turtle pellets and she didn't have water). Anyway, for 10 years she's been a happy tortoise but this year after hibernation she didn't really want to wake up. (She usually hibernates between October and April). Since April she hasn't really been eating. She only drinks if I soak her and the only thing she'll eat is a couple of peas and green beans.
We took her to the vet in May (it usually takes her a couple weeks to wake up from hibernation fully) because she just didn't want to do anything. We had X-rays done, they were normal. Her blood work was "mostly normal" (whatever that means) and her fecal only showed pin worms. They also did a swab and she came back positive for mycoplasma, herpesvirus, and cryptosporidium. Right now she has a feeding tube and we give her water, antibiotics, and critical care liquid diet. She still doesn't eat and has only pooped once since April.
Anyway, my question is if anyone has had this experience. Does anyone have an opinion about when/if she should be euthanized? We're going to put her on an antiviral and dewormer. She's really not doing well but at this point the vet doesn't feel comfortable putting her to sleep. I guess I'm just looking for advice on what to do.
(We also had to take out EVERYTHING from her cage because if she digs she'll pull out her tube. She's so sad she can't hide or dig.)
Thanks so much for any help!
We took her to the vet in May (it usually takes her a couple weeks to wake up from hibernation fully) because she just didn't want to do anything. We had X-rays done, they were normal. Her blood work was "mostly normal" (whatever that means) and her fecal only showed pin worms. They also did a swab and she came back positive for mycoplasma, herpesvirus, and cryptosporidium. Right now she has a feeding tube and we give her water, antibiotics, and critical care liquid diet. She still doesn't eat and has only pooped once since April.
Anyway, my question is if anyone has had this experience. Does anyone have an opinion about when/if she should be euthanized? We're going to put her on an antiviral and dewormer. She's really not doing well but at this point the vet doesn't feel comfortable putting her to sleep. I guess I'm just looking for advice on what to do.
(We also had to take out EVERYTHING from her cage because if she digs she'll pull out her tube. She's so sad she can't hide or dig.)
Thanks so much for any help!