Last week one of my redfoots that has laid eggs for the past 3 or 4 years with no problem had trouble laying. She was digging holes and not laying for two days. On the third day I came home to her having a prolapse.
Here is a link if you want to see it (warning it's kinda graphic) https://goo.gl/photos/7VMDtqD2Cu7GGoz89
Using the tips for the forum on this I kept it moist and tried sugar to reduce overnight while I waited to go to the reptile vet Friday. He got it back in and did a purse string suture and throughout it all the tortoise has been pretty normal. Also ran an xray and she has five eggs insider her. He had said to go and keep it clean and come back tomorrow, Monday to get the sutures out and check things out.
I said I should probably keep her away from water as that might make her want to poop and prolapse come back. He said whatever I thought but i might want to set her in 1-2 inch of water on Sunday to irrigate it and give it a drink. As soon as I did she started drinking and the prolapse came back. With clean hands in rubber gloves I was able to keep it in.
Sorry for the long post. My dillemma is even if the vet fixes the tears from the prolapse, I can't see how she can ever poop or lay these eggs (which she obviously needs to do) without this prolapse happening over and over again.
Any suggestions when I go speak to him tomorrow.
I am attaching a picture of the prolapse.
Do I ask him to induce? Is that going to be thousands of dollars? Can she even lay that way if induced though the prolapse.
Is there a happy ending with this at all that anyone else has seen?
Any helpful experienced comments are welcome. He s a good exotics vet with a good amount of experience and education in tortoises, but I am sure he is nothing compared to vets in Florida, California, or Arizona where more people with tortoises are around.
I am attaching a pic of the Xray of Dot. (Dot is the name of the redfoot.)
Here is a link if you want to see it (warning it's kinda graphic) https://goo.gl/photos/7VMDtqD2Cu7GGoz89
Using the tips for the forum on this I kept it moist and tried sugar to reduce overnight while I waited to go to the reptile vet Friday. He got it back in and did a purse string suture and throughout it all the tortoise has been pretty normal. Also ran an xray and she has five eggs insider her. He had said to go and keep it clean and come back tomorrow, Monday to get the sutures out and check things out.
I said I should probably keep her away from water as that might make her want to poop and prolapse come back. He said whatever I thought but i might want to set her in 1-2 inch of water on Sunday to irrigate it and give it a drink. As soon as I did she started drinking and the prolapse came back. With clean hands in rubber gloves I was able to keep it in.
Sorry for the long post. My dillemma is even if the vet fixes the tears from the prolapse, I can't see how she can ever poop or lay these eggs (which she obviously needs to do) without this prolapse happening over and over again.
Any suggestions when I go speak to him tomorrow.
I am attaching a picture of the prolapse.
Do I ask him to induce? Is that going to be thousands of dollars? Can she even lay that way if induced though the prolapse.
Is there a happy ending with this at all that anyone else has seen?
Any helpful experienced comments are welcome. He s a good exotics vet with a good amount of experience and education in tortoises, but I am sure he is nothing compared to vets in Florida, California, or Arizona where more people with tortoises are around.
I am attaching a pic of the Xray of Dot. (Dot is the name of the redfoot.)