Zehla
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2015
- Messages
- 4
Just to preface:
Yes, she's been to a vet!
The background:
I'll try to make this story short, but there is a lot of background to how I got this cute little thing:
I'm an exotic pet hobbyist with two Leos and a Giant African Bullfrog. Never had a tort before, but I've always liked them. My neighbors just so happened to have a baby Sulcata that they bought for their daughter "So she can ride it around when its older". If that alone isn't enough to make you cringe, I apologize, for it gets worse. After a series of unfortunate events (they are, in honesty, good people) they had to move out of the complex and for reasons they didn't really explain, they couldn't take the Sulcata with them.
I knew the tort was in bad shape, so I volunteered to take her so I could nurse her back to health.
This is the setup they had for her:
Glass 20 gallon aquarium
Aspen shavings
Nocturnal red bulb (no UV, no Heat)
Diet:
Spinach with blueberries and grapes, Alfalfa hay and iceberg lettuce
In anticipation of getting her I went and got some wood boards and built her a proper tortoise box. She now has UV, Heat, ample sources of water, and high quality food as advised by the vet and the dude I go to at the exotic pet shop.
The vet trip was today and the news wasn't stellar.
The good:
At 54 grams, she's the right weight.
She is very well hydrated!
She is very active, not lethargic, and is likely to pull through.
The bad:
Since she's had no UV light for her entire life until now, she is literally squishy all over. I have her on baby food (organic of course) as per recommended by the vet - pureed sweet potatoes. I also have a whole mess of collard greens I plan to blend up myself because her beak is so weak I don't think she can chew solids at the moment.
She has MBD and an Upper Respiratory Infection. On an injection regimen and high calcium diet + lots of outside time for real sunlight to help her.
My Question:
My concern is (and I will bring this up to the vet when they do the follow up call, but I'd like peace of mind!):
She's not really eating. I assume it's the sudden scenery change (I have had her for about 4 days) and the fact that she's sick - but I am very concerned with making sure she gets enough calcium to reverse the damage her neglectful owners did. I have put liquid calcium into her water supplies and I have seen her drink, but I don't know...I'm just a worry-wart and I am not sure if that's enough.
I am hoping that once her antibiotics start kicking her infection, her appetite will start up again. I have yet to see her eat outside of the one time today I kind of smeared the potatoes on her face and she scraped it off and ate it...but I'd rather not make that a habit, I'm sure she doesn't appreciate it. As you can see her eyelids have swollen and she just plain doesn't look like she feels all that great. When I brought her home she just kept on patrolling in her box, though, so I have hope! I just wish she would eat
Yes, she's been to a vet!
The background:
I'll try to make this story short, but there is a lot of background to how I got this cute little thing:
I'm an exotic pet hobbyist with two Leos and a Giant African Bullfrog. Never had a tort before, but I've always liked them. My neighbors just so happened to have a baby Sulcata that they bought for their daughter "So she can ride it around when its older". If that alone isn't enough to make you cringe, I apologize, for it gets worse. After a series of unfortunate events (they are, in honesty, good people) they had to move out of the complex and for reasons they didn't really explain, they couldn't take the Sulcata with them.
I knew the tort was in bad shape, so I volunteered to take her so I could nurse her back to health.
This is the setup they had for her:
Glass 20 gallon aquarium
Aspen shavings
Nocturnal red bulb (no UV, no Heat)
Diet:
Spinach with blueberries and grapes, Alfalfa hay and iceberg lettuce
In anticipation of getting her I went and got some wood boards and built her a proper tortoise box. She now has UV, Heat, ample sources of water, and high quality food as advised by the vet and the dude I go to at the exotic pet shop.
The vet trip was today and the news wasn't stellar.
The good:
At 54 grams, she's the right weight.
She is very well hydrated!
She is very active, not lethargic, and is likely to pull through.
The bad:
Since she's had no UV light for her entire life until now, she is literally squishy all over. I have her on baby food (organic of course) as per recommended by the vet - pureed sweet potatoes. I also have a whole mess of collard greens I plan to blend up myself because her beak is so weak I don't think she can chew solids at the moment.
She has MBD and an Upper Respiratory Infection. On an injection regimen and high calcium diet + lots of outside time for real sunlight to help her.
My Question:
My concern is (and I will bring this up to the vet when they do the follow up call, but I'd like peace of mind!):
She's not really eating. I assume it's the sudden scenery change (I have had her for about 4 days) and the fact that she's sick - but I am very concerned with making sure she gets enough calcium to reverse the damage her neglectful owners did. I have put liquid calcium into her water supplies and I have seen her drink, but I don't know...I'm just a worry-wart and I am not sure if that's enough.
I am hoping that once her antibiotics start kicking her infection, her appetite will start up again. I have yet to see her eat outside of the one time today I kind of smeared the potatoes on her face and she scraped it off and ate it...but I'd rather not make that a habit, I'm sure she doesn't appreciate it. As you can see her eyelids have swollen and she just plain doesn't look like she feels all that great. When I brought her home she just kept on patrolling in her box, though, so I have hope! I just wish she would eat