LMBD88
Member
Hi all,
Long time lurker so first post here.
We adopted a horsefield (Tello) around 4 years ago. I think he was about 3 at the time he came to us.
He's a very cheeky fellow, lots of personality. He lives on a huge table inside (we live in a flat unfortunately), with a 50/50 play sand topsoil substrate, UVA/UVB lamp giving temp of around 32degrees, large shallow water dish and is fed on a mixture of mixed salad (kale,red lettuces, rocket - no iceberg etc), herbs and dandelions (I live in london so other wild bits that aren't polluted are hard to come by).
His shell looks good, no pyramiding and he's always been lively.
Last week, I noticed he was very quiet even for this time of year and on Saturday I took him to the vets as he was unresponsive to me more or less and even after a soak was listless and kept eyes more or less closed.
Our vet treats tortoises fairly regularly, she noted he was a little dehydrated, checked inside his mouth, nose and eyes (all clear and clean) and weighed him noting he was a little under weight.
She advised twice daily extended soaks with reptoboost and antibiotic injections once every 72 hours - a course of 8 incase he had an infection.
4 days later and his condition has improved slightly - he will not wake on his own, but when I wake him and bathe him he is coaxed to open his eyes and will eat when hand fed. He does not like being under his heat lamp so moves slightly to the side of it, even though it's not too warm and I have been instructed to keep his temp slightly higher to help with abx.
He did not poo/wee for a while, which left me tearing hair out but this morning he did a tiny little poop. I bathed him in carrot purree this morning too. I have also been gently rinsing eyes with saline. I notice he is rubbing them slightly and this morning he blew bubbles from his nose (first time) but I dont know if that was just a result of the bath as it was water and nostrils and mouth are clear of any mucus that I can see.
I am besides myself with worry that somehow I have let him down in my care of him and that is why he is sick. I have ordered coco coir and intend to switch his substrate tonight if advised this will not stress him - I am concerned if bacteria is lurking in his table.
I guess my quesiton is - when should I expect to see improvement , am I being impatient? I don't want to stress him with another vet visit (30 mins in car) unnecessarily but also not sure if he should go back as he hasn't improved massively.
what other info can I give.. back and front legs have got strength returned from Saturday, I've ordered a ceramic heat emitter for night time (currently having to leave lamp on to keep temps up but have been popping him inside a hide at night to shield him) , I have been damping his substrate down daily to keep humidity up slightly.
I've never had a tort before (only rabbits, which are weirdly similar), but hope I am doing all I can.. can anyone advise on what may be the issue? Should I push for an xray at this stage?
Best,
L
Long time lurker so first post here.
We adopted a horsefield (Tello) around 4 years ago. I think he was about 3 at the time he came to us.
He's a very cheeky fellow, lots of personality. He lives on a huge table inside (we live in a flat unfortunately), with a 50/50 play sand topsoil substrate, UVA/UVB lamp giving temp of around 32degrees, large shallow water dish and is fed on a mixture of mixed salad (kale,red lettuces, rocket - no iceberg etc), herbs and dandelions (I live in london so other wild bits that aren't polluted are hard to come by).
His shell looks good, no pyramiding and he's always been lively.
Last week, I noticed he was very quiet even for this time of year and on Saturday I took him to the vets as he was unresponsive to me more or less and even after a soak was listless and kept eyes more or less closed.
Our vet treats tortoises fairly regularly, she noted he was a little dehydrated, checked inside his mouth, nose and eyes (all clear and clean) and weighed him noting he was a little under weight.
She advised twice daily extended soaks with reptoboost and antibiotic injections once every 72 hours - a course of 8 incase he had an infection.
4 days later and his condition has improved slightly - he will not wake on his own, but when I wake him and bathe him he is coaxed to open his eyes and will eat when hand fed. He does not like being under his heat lamp so moves slightly to the side of it, even though it's not too warm and I have been instructed to keep his temp slightly higher to help with abx.
He did not poo/wee for a while, which left me tearing hair out but this morning he did a tiny little poop. I bathed him in carrot purree this morning too. I have also been gently rinsing eyes with saline. I notice he is rubbing them slightly and this morning he blew bubbles from his nose (first time) but I dont know if that was just a result of the bath as it was water and nostrils and mouth are clear of any mucus that I can see.
I am besides myself with worry that somehow I have let him down in my care of him and that is why he is sick. I have ordered coco coir and intend to switch his substrate tonight if advised this will not stress him - I am concerned if bacteria is lurking in his table.
I guess my quesiton is - when should I expect to see improvement , am I being impatient? I don't want to stress him with another vet visit (30 mins in car) unnecessarily but also not sure if he should go back as he hasn't improved massively.
what other info can I give.. back and front legs have got strength returned from Saturday, I've ordered a ceramic heat emitter for night time (currently having to leave lamp on to keep temps up but have been popping him inside a hide at night to shield him) , I have been damping his substrate down daily to keep humidity up slightly.
I've never had a tort before (only rabbits, which are weirdly similar), but hope I am doing all I can.. can anyone advise on what may be the issue? Should I push for an xray at this stage?
Best,
L