So my big male has not been eating for quite a while, several months at least, so I took him to my vet to see if she could figure out what may be wrong. He had also started to lose some of the spurs on his front legs, exposing bone. She kept him for a week and just emailed me telling me that he has remained active but she has not seen him eat at all and only pooped once. What she said she is going to do is to put a feeding tube in his throat and feed him a slurry diet to get some food in him. She thinks that the spurs falling off might be a factor of malnutrition. I just wanted to ask for some opinions on why he may have stopped eating? She is not concerned with that right away because she just wants to get the feeding tube in and food in him. Let me know what you are thinking. My vet is extremely experienced with these guys so I have no doubt that she can figure it out, but I figure more thoughts can't hurt. Let me know, thanks!
Sulcata with feeding tube
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Maggie Cummings
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My very first thought is why did you wait "months" before you took him to the Vet? I know that sounds like I'm yelling at you, but I'm not. I am simply asking. It is so much easier to fix whatever is the problem if you catch it early. Now she has several things to deal with, not just one, the original why he was not eating. Sulcata are garbage hounds and will eat anything, so if one stops eating and I can't figure out why, I have them at the vet so we can work on it together and stop it before it goes on too long, like it has....So with that said...what do YOU think it is? What kind of a yard is he kept in? What kind of a bed does he have to sleep in? Heat? Humidity? We can have better responses for you if you tell us how you keep him. And don't worry, no one will yell at you or point fingers at you, they leave that up to me and I'm not gonna 
But, like I said we need to know exactly how you keep him, and what you think it is. I am very interested in this so don't disappear on me...we'd love to help you, we just need more info...
But, like I said we need to know exactly how you keep him, and what you think it is. I am very interested in this so don't disappear on me...we'd love to help you, we just need more info...
Xrays? Bloodwork? Fecal?
How big is BIG? what type of housing and diet did he have?
Were there any chemicals used around him? Round up?
Lots of things to rule out and think about.... if you can, post some pictures of the area he lived and]
and we can all help you try to figure it out..
WELCOME to our family!
How big is BIG? what type of housing and diet did he have?
Were there any chemicals used around him? Round up?
Lots of things to rule out and think about.... if you can, post some pictures of the area he lived and]
and we can all help you try to figure it out..
WELCOME to our family!
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Maggie Cummings
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I just went back and reread your original posts...am I understanding correctly that he is still not eating since then, when you first got him? His original keeper gave him up because he wasn't eating and he the keeper didn't want to deal with it. So this poor guy has not eaten since then? Gosh!
So sad. Poor creature. This is why this should be a licensed hobby.
I haven't actually had him for that long. He was a rescue that I took in from a guy who told me that he hadn't been eating, which is why I took him. I do not know much about his care previous to when I got him. I do know that he was kept on about a 1/2 acre with two other sulcatas and during the winter was kept in a heated room. That is about it. Since I have had him he has been to the vet multiple times to try and figure this out. We have tried appetite stimulants and other things but it is pretty difficult to get a 50 pound tortoise to eat when he doesn't want to. All tests have come back negative. Right now he has my entire back yard which is all planted with grass and has no fertilizers or anything on it. At night I bring him into my garage where I have a heated pen for him. Our nights just get a little to cold here to keep him outside. He moves around fine and even has a random bowel movement here and there, but I personally have not seen him eat. I guess I shouldn't say that he never does because I do not watch him all day long, but he does not graze constantly like my other one does so something is definitely wrong.
DO you offer him other stuff to eat? What have you tried to entice him? Color? Strawberries? watermelon? Squash?
Laura said:
All of that actually. He just does not show any interest. One other thing I forgot to mention that he does. He will open and close his mouth every once in a while as if he were chewing, even though I know he is not. It is like he thinks something is in his mouth, but I have looked pretty closely and have not been able to see anything. My vet knows about that too but like I said, more people thinking about this is always better.
The feces that you have seen from him, what do they look like? What is in them? Has he had an X-ray done? Have you tried giving him some beneficial bacteria?
Danny
Danny
The next time you see the mouth opening and closing, look at it with the mind set of "gasping" instead of "chewing" and see if it looks like he's gasping for breath. This could mean an upper respiratory infection.
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Maggie Cummings
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I am fascinated with this. He must be eating just enough to stay alive. He has BM's so he must eat something
emysemys said:
I have thought about that, but I know what upper respiratory looks and sounds like and I don't think it is that.
maggie3fan said:
I have only seen two bm's since I have had him and my vet said he had one while he has been with her. Ya it is strange indeed. I have had snakes go off food for significant amounts of time, but never any of my other animals. Even my female sulcata who was kept in horrible conditions before I got her is perfectly healthy other than some terrible pyramiding.
An x-ray will show an intestinal obstruction, which would be the primary reason I would think a sulcata would go off food unless it has been kept too cold for too long. I can't believe that your vet hasn't done this. That should be the first test ordered once the husbandry has been addressed.
To complicate matters, the gasping does sound like a respiratory infection to me too. Does he have an adequate heat source for night time and cold days.
Have you been giving him warm water soaks to keep him hydrated and try to get his bowels moving. I know there isn't much in them, but it sounds to me like he's blocked up. I assumed when you said the vet had kept him that this possibility was eliminated. I've never heard of a vet that wouldn't x-ray a tortoise that wasn't eating.
To complicate matters, the gasping does sound like a respiratory infection to me too. Does he have an adequate heat source for night time and cold days.
Have you been giving him warm water soaks to keep him hydrated and try to get his bowels moving. I know there isn't much in them, but it sounds to me like he's blocked up. I assumed when you said the vet had kept him that this possibility was eliminated. I've never heard of a vet that wouldn't x-ray a tortoise that wasn't eating.
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Maggie Cummings
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This is kinda the same but different...I have a pond turtle who stopped eating. I did every thing I knew to do. Twice I pried open her mouth to see if she had a fish bone stuck in her throat. Nothing. But after a month my daughter in law helped me look and she saw "fuzz" on the roof of her mouth. Off to the Vet, and she had a large mass growing from a stem, covering the roof of her mouth and down the side of her throat. Basically an obstruction... so instinct made her stop eating. Your guy must have an obstruction, in his bowels or stomach or throat or somewhere. He needs ex-rays...There is a reason it just takes thinking and a better examination...
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