ZamTheMan
Member
Hello again everyone. I'm sure there's a handful of threads regarding the topic, but when I browse those they never seem to have the same exact issue I am having, so I feel more comfortable when I post my issues instead.
Recently my tortoise was severely constipated due to lack of calcium and compounded grass in her system. We took her to the vet, and after 2 visits, they gave her an enema and a vitamin D shot. Unfortunately the issues haven't stopped. The vets got most of the stool out, but there was some left that they couldn't reach, but Gamera, my Sulcata, has managed to pass one big stool, and a handful of tiny bits, though I'm unsure if she's "empty" or not. My issue now is that she refuses to eat, period. She won't eat any of her favorite foods she'd normally charge across the house for, and she won't eat anything I give her no matter what it is, be it greens, fruits, veggies, etc. On a couple of occasions, she ate a few mouthfuls of her tortoise pellets, but that was it. I've tried giving that to her since she seemed like she'd eat it, but has continued to turn it down again. I'm at a loss of what to do to stimulate her appetite. The vets gave us special calcium supplements to put in her food, but I can't obviously give it to her if she won't eat. While the vest have been helpful, their advice was nothing new or different from what I was already doing, which involved her enclosure, which when I informed them of what it was, they were happy to hear we had things just right for her, as well as soaking her, which I've been doing for hours every day in nice warm water in the tub since she was initially constipated.
So my question again is what do I do when she won't eat? Is there something I could be doing? Or do I just wait it out? She keeps hydrated by drinking the water in the tub the second I put her in, and her enclosure isn't the issue according to the vets. I'm on the brink of letting her eat some dog food, because that is the only thing she's gone out of her way to eat since this all started. The dogs will sometimes leave a few pellets lying around when they eat, and I've caught her at least 3 different times trying to eat the food. All that is in it are grains, going off of the dog food bag, and I'm not sure what else to do to get calcium into her when she won't eat anything else, and I'm trying to avoid giving her things she's not supposed to have. My only plan now is to see if she'll eat the dog food with some calcium "powder" sprinkled on it. She's left me with no other options and it's been weeks and probably a month since she's eaten an actual meal...
Recently my tortoise was severely constipated due to lack of calcium and compounded grass in her system. We took her to the vet, and after 2 visits, they gave her an enema and a vitamin D shot. Unfortunately the issues haven't stopped. The vets got most of the stool out, but there was some left that they couldn't reach, but Gamera, my Sulcata, has managed to pass one big stool, and a handful of tiny bits, though I'm unsure if she's "empty" or not. My issue now is that she refuses to eat, period. She won't eat any of her favorite foods she'd normally charge across the house for, and she won't eat anything I give her no matter what it is, be it greens, fruits, veggies, etc. On a couple of occasions, she ate a few mouthfuls of her tortoise pellets, but that was it. I've tried giving that to her since she seemed like she'd eat it, but has continued to turn it down again. I'm at a loss of what to do to stimulate her appetite. The vets gave us special calcium supplements to put in her food, but I can't obviously give it to her if she won't eat. While the vest have been helpful, their advice was nothing new or different from what I was already doing, which involved her enclosure, which when I informed them of what it was, they were happy to hear we had things just right for her, as well as soaking her, which I've been doing for hours every day in nice warm water in the tub since she was initially constipated.
So my question again is what do I do when she won't eat? Is there something I could be doing? Or do I just wait it out? She keeps hydrated by drinking the water in the tub the second I put her in, and her enclosure isn't the issue according to the vets. I'm on the brink of letting her eat some dog food, because that is the only thing she's gone out of her way to eat since this all started. The dogs will sometimes leave a few pellets lying around when they eat, and I've caught her at least 3 different times trying to eat the food. All that is in it are grains, going off of the dog food bag, and I'm not sure what else to do to get calcium into her when she won't eat anything else, and I'm trying to avoid giving her things she's not supposed to have. My only plan now is to see if she'll eat the dog food with some calcium "powder" sprinkled on it. She's left me with no other options and it's been weeks and probably a month since she's eaten an actual meal...
