Just looked up springtails too make sure, there was a certain species that looks similar to what I saw. A smidge longer, but I would assume what I saw just hadn't grown up yet. The only reason I would assume they were so interested in him is because of he was shedding so much dead skin at the moment? Either way I will hold him out of his new cage for at least until tomorrow and for now use the hospital set up with the cermic heat emitter on him for the night.
Possible RI of some sort?
- Thread starter Cymmie
- Start date
He shows no signs of mites/insects at all. He has been put in his new enclosure today after spending most of the day in the sun. He was brought in around an hour ago an put out 5 and a half hours ago. Still can't wait for moving day and the permanent outdoor enclosure ^^
Hey guys, thought I should update you, we gave Teo, his second injection yesterday after the vet gave him his first, 48 hours was what it was supposed to be, and now we are going down to 3 days. He already shows sign of improvement today. Less opening of the mouth for actual breathing (though his breathing is still labored) but he has way more energy and is eating like a horse. Super happy with how much improvement he is showing already. I will have to share his antibiotics name with people it starts with a C I think. Very happy with how much he happier he seems. He gets his ceramic heater over night and his mercury bulb during the day. Otherwise he goes outside when it's warm enough. Today it's definitely not. He enjoys his new enclosure indoors for sure <3
Sounds promising 
This is the first day he ate the most of his usual just greens. Though I say that XD, his diet is never "usual" . He always has a rotation is some part which is something I pride myself on. I growing my own cacti, one of mine fruited last year and hope it will again this year, hibiscus are also in my backyard, and mulberry trees. Spring mix with herbs are a regular part of his diet, with timothy hay mixed with dry herbs and flowers. He occasionally gets fruit. May once a month a sliver of strawberry top. He also gets carrot tops, collard, tuscan or dino kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens. He of course gets his mazuri pellets a couple times a week, (when he doesn't get mazuri he gets supplement powders once a week) he also gets canned/fresh pumpkin, winter sqaush, grated sweet potato, and summer squash.
Little man is powering through food at the moment. I finally replaced his timothy hay patch, (still waiting for his seeds to sprout) I mixed his timothy hay, which this batch is mixed already with dried rose petals, but I added some tortoise friendly dried herbs to it. Today he started with a fresh dandelion flower that had sprouted on our back yard that mom was going to mow and I decided to pick before it got lost, and then picked a small amount of fresh new leaves from my mulberry tree, then he got a few tablespoons of soaked mazuri pellets, with a huge spoonful of canned pumpkin mixed into it, with fresh celery leaves ripped up into it and mixed as well. He is eating everything I put in front of him. I think I will stop after what I have given him so far. But he has eaten a huge amount and am hoping he will gain some weight from it. I don't remember if I mentioned it, but he weighed in at a mere 365 grams which in both mine and the vet's opinion, though he's always been on the lighter side since I got him. Getting him to gain weight has been hard. It's why I switched to mazuri pellets this time to see if I can get him to put on some extra grams. I was using something different before. He never has been a huge eater, Now he is eating us out of house and home and I am wondering how much I should give him safely before I worry about him getting over full or something? Will he go back to it later in the day after eating it (if it's something I can safely leave in his enclosure?) ? He's full grown and I want to say between 6-7 inches long? Not sure haven't measured him that way recently definitely not heavy enough, he feels too light when I pick him up.
Sounds like it's going well
So his sprouts, which looks like some of the chia seeds I planted in his enclosure, grew well for I want to say two days XD. (He has more than just chia, a lot of millet is planted, a few tablespoons of quinoa, and some rye and whole wheat berries, but these should grow at different rates I think) I am looking into getting some safe wheat grass, and also some flowers he can eat to plant. But apparently he couldn't wait for normal feeding time, must have woke up with a huge appetite and demolished pretty much all the poor chia sprouts. I managed to save some by giving him his daily greens around the time I noticed he was devouring the poor things XD. I mean I did put them in there to be eaten, but they had just started growing like two days ago. Poor little sprouts never has a chance. He is literally eating like a maniac, I give him no more than is recommended and of course he has his Timothy hay and sprouts (when they are there) to browse. So he's getting plenty of food. I think he's making up for lost time. And though he is definitely still doing labored breaths, though not nearly as bad, he shows so much more energy and normal tort behaviors such as burying more. He has been to weak the last three days or so to dig well at night time. But tonight he has done much more digging than he has since the RI got bad. His next injection is tomorrow and I will weigh him on Friday. Will update you guys with his new weight <3 I need to share a picture of the little man during a destruction of his sprouts he seems so happy.
Don't worry about over feeding.
The way to grow plants for an enclosure is to grow them in pots or seed trays on a windowsill. Then put the pot/seed tray in the enclosure sinking it into the substrate.
It is then easy to swap out with fresh when your tort eats or flattens what you have grown.
Many supermarkets sell trays of "living lettuce". These are useful as occasional browsing food as well.
The way to grow plants for an enclosure is to grow them in pots or seed trays on a windowsill. Then put the pot/seed tray in the enclosure sinking it into the substrate.
It is then easy to swap out with fresh when your tort eats or flattens what you have grown.
Many supermarkets sell trays of "living lettuce". These are useful as occasional browsing food as well.
Thanks so much, I will do that for sure. He just keeps eating them before they have a chance to get big enough so the ones in his enclosure of course will stay and grow at the moment, but I will start growing my own outside the enclosure to put in, so that he doesn't kill them before they get big enough to give any actual substance XD. Silly boy.
Ah something I never explained was the porous part of his plastron, near his face. Well it seems he had some really really old shell rot likely (which probably happened when I first got him and then started to heal once he was in my care... which it's surprising I never noticed it maybe I didn't know what I was looking for at the time) either way my vet scraped away the scar-like tissue that had bubbled up, and she said it looked like really old stuff, nothing like live bacteria in it at the moment. So she cleaned up all the porous stuff and told me how to keep it clean (soft bristled brush and regular soaks as usual) and other than that, it may get better may not. He has some really big divets where she cleaned it but it's only a few layers of shell and could have been so much worse. None of it looks raw and I am hoping he will grow some of the shell back. I will likely apply the silvadene I have for my chameleons to it with the tooth brush before he goes outside and place a bandage of some sort over it for a couple hours just to help with healing. Otherwise it's just a waiting game with his shell. He got his next round of antibiotics today. We will see if he improves tomorrow. He has I think 3 more doses, after that we will take him in for a check up to see if any more action is needed or he see if he is safe.
Thanks so much guys for just helping and advising, but also letting me ramble a bit.
maybe I didn't know what I was looking for at the time) either way my vet scraped away the scar-like tissue that had bubbled up, and she said it looked like really old stuff, nothing like live bacteria in it at the moment. So she cleaned up all the porous stuff and told me how to keep it clean (soft bristled brush and regular soaks as usual) and other than that, it may get better may not. He has some really big divets where she cleaned it but it's only a few layers of shell and could have been so much worse. None of it looks raw and I am hoping he will grow some of the shell back. I will likely apply the silvadene I have for my chameleons to it with the tooth brush before he goes outside and place a bandage of some sort over it for a couple hours just to help with healing. Otherwise it's just a waiting game with his shell. He got his next round of antibiotics today. We will see if he improves tomorrow. He has I think 3 more doses, after that we will take him in for a check up to see if any more action is needed or he see if he is safe. Thanks so much guys for just helping and advising, but also letting me ramble a bit.
Hi, just found this thread and soooo happy to hear your tortie is on the mendAh something I never explained was the porous part of his plastron, near his face. Well it seems he had some really really old shell rot likely (which probably happened when I first got him and then started to heal once he was in my care... which it's surprising I never noticed it
Thanks so much guys for just helping and advising, but also letting me ramble a bit.
He definitely is doing better for sure. Today after his pellet and pumpkin mixture I will likely be soaking him and giving a good scrub with a soft bristled toothbrush because stuff tends to stick in his weird scarred areas. He still needs three more injections and then we will talk to our vet to see if he needs anymore treatment. I am hoping he keeps getting better though <3 I like seeing the huge amounts of energy he has now.
So while soaking Teo, I have to lift him in a way to scrub his scarred areas on his plastron. I may have her look at it again when I take him in just to make sure he isn't harboring any weird bacteria. But I assume he is well hydrated because not only the amount of liquid urine he expelled but the huge amount of urates that followed afterward... XD poor guy was not appreciative of how I had to hold him to scrub him. But I think he will appreciate it being clean. As an extra measure I will add silvadene and a bandage after this soak, even though he's not going outside just to make sure nothing is growing.
So I took Teo's bandage off today, his scars or whatever XD... looked much better. I think I will do it more often for sure ^^ he also pooped so much today. Yesterday there was so many urates (he had less urates today but they still looked great). His actual feces was huge compared to what he usually has and much more green? He has had darker and dryer feces before (like it comes out black but changes shape at pressure) but is rather dry. Today he had like forest green and it was really moist. I assume this is good? Does anyone know if tort poops are supposed to be slightly... smelly? It wasn't really bad but definitely more smelly than most reptiles I have dealt with. The reason I ask is when a chameleon poops and it's relatively smelly it usually is a sign of an out of control parasite colony. But usually when chameleons have that issues their feces start smelling like sewage practically and Teo's definitely wasn't that bad. Just want to make sure I don't have anything else to worry about.
Weighed him today as well, last week when he was weighed he was 362 grams, today he weighed in a 406 grams. Much better and I am so happy he is gaining weight so nicely. He's still eating,basking, and sleeping most of the time. I totally support this at the moment because in my opinion it just helps him to get better. His breathing is also less labored. Though it's still more harsh than it should be, he is doing much better.
Weighed him today as well, last week when he was weighed he was 362 grams, today he weighed in a 406 grams. Much better and I am so happy he is gaining weight so nicely. He's still eating,basking, and sleeping most of the time. I totally support this at the moment because in my opinion it just helps him to get better. His breathing is also less labored. Though it's still more harsh than it should be, he is doing much better.
Tort poop smells a bit like horse manure. Colour and texture varies with diet and hydration. Quantity increases with appetite.
Urate is to do with protein excretion. The large quantity could be your tort flushing his system now he is better hydrated. I would expect the quantity to decrease with frequent soaks and correct diet.
Everything you have said about poop and urate suggests to me that Tito was dehydrated and is doing much better now
Urate is to do with protein excretion. The large quantity could be your tort flushing his system now he is better hydrated. I would expect the quantity to decrease with frequent soaks and correct diet.
Everything you have said about poop and urate suggests to me that Tito was dehydrated and is doing much better now
For Tito read Teo... I apologise for mistyping too early on a Sunday. The clocks went forward an hour last night; I'm blaming that for my incompetence
Seems like a good thing to blame XD. I am glad he seems to be getting where he needs to be as far as hydration. He was soaking regularly every morning when he was sick but he likely wasn't taking in as much as he needed since we all know what having a horrible cold is like. And his apetite was definitely decreased compared to what it is now. I am super happy with the way he eat now. Even if we are buying regular greens almost every week now it's amazing to just see him plow through things and makes me just smile with the way he tackles the food I present him with.
Teo is doing amazing today, he is not continually basking, he actually has been moving in and out of his house and slept in it last night which he has not done since I think he got sick. He's been falling asleep in his basking spot. He's no longer doing shoulder shrugging all the time. He still does occasional almost hiccup shrugs but it's very rare and very tiny. He's eating well still, and he's no longer shell dragging (I am pretty sure he was doing it before just because he was weak). He seems like he's doing great and healing amazingly. He has two shots left. I am so happy with his progress and how happy he seems. Thank you guys SO much for being here and answering all my worried questions. He seems so much happier and healthier. I think he's been sick with something since I got him. I know in the beginning when I got him he wasn't getting the calcium and vitamins he needed at the store. I am not sure how long he's had the RI but I am just so glad he's showing so much improvement and now I am positive I know what he looks like when he's healthy. He's calcium plus (Repashy all-in-one) once a week, and he gets pellet 2-3 times a week with a handful of greens and pumpkin or sweet potato mixed in.
Then through out the week also with his Repashy dusting he gets something from the garden with his organic spring mix from the grocery store. Too many things are growing. I have also started growing his sprouts in a pot. I have some chia, wheat grass, and arugula growing right now ^^. I am so happy.
Then through out the week also with his Repashy dusting he gets something from the garden with his organic spring mix from the grocery store. Too many things are growing. I have also started growing his sprouts in a pot. I have some chia, wheat grass, and arugula growing right now ^^. I am so happy.
