Hi from Oregon!

[Jeannette]

Hi! I'm new here, but excited to 'meet' some fellow chelonian lovers. I've shared my house with tortoises for the last 10 years. I just sometimes wish I lived somewhere warmer, where they could be outdoors more often! I am a veterinary technician and wildlife rehabilitator. My boyfriend (who is a veterinarian) and I specialize in raptors and reptiles. Ours is a crazy home! Besides our domestic pets, which include,
5 dogs (German Shep, Maremma, Beagle, Boston Terrier and a Pug)
3 cats (Norwegian Forest Cat, Pixie Bob and an Abyssinian) and
1 Canary...
we have the exotics:
1 Sulcata
2 Russian Torts
1 Ornate Box Turtle
1 Greek Tort
2 Desert Torts
1 Corn Snake
2 Rosy Boas
1 Yellow-bellied Marmot.
Last, but definitely not least, we have the wildlife. These animals stay with us if we need to do surgery, critical care, or any general rehab. Of course, we always have something new! Right now, we have a Red-tailed Hawk and a Great Horned Owl. Kinda quiet. But, baby season is right around the corner!
My concern right now is regarding my Greek Tort. I am caring for him for our local reptile store (although, I have a feeling he will become a permanent resident with me). He had an injured front right leg and he has a poor appetite. He weighs 460 grams. Enclosure is dry 70-82 degrees w/95 basking spot. We were treating his leg wound, which is healed now. I'm looking for any tips and/or ideas on perking this guy up!! I've got all kinds of foods, supplements, etc...
I know you guys like seeing photos, and I do a LOT of photography. Guess I have to figure out how to upload photos here. I do have over 50 albums on facebook, if anyone wants to visit me there, just let me know. A small amount of my work is also at "Jeannette Bonomo Photography" on facebook, too.
Thank you in advance and great to be here!
Jeannette

 

[Torty Mom]

Welcome Jeannette!! Sounds like you guys have a houseful!! What fun!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi Jeannette and welcome...Where are you in Oregon? I run a small turtle and tortoise rescue out of Corvallis. Are you close to here? I would love to come and see your wildlife if that's possible...my wildlife consists of Bob who has his own thread here right now look him up, and 30 other turtles and tortoises. I was just at Chintimini taking a Junco there. Would love to exchange thoughts with you anytime...
I'd love to talk to you about raising desert torts in such a rainy climate. But we shouldn't talk about them too much here as it's illegal to keep them outside of Calif...

I'm wondering if your Greek is warm enough? He needs to be over 80 degrees so he can metabolize the food, he needs strong UVB lights to be able to utilize the D3 in his food. It's all very complicated. So I'd check first to make sure he's warm enough, then make sure there's UVB rays to utilize the D3...

 

[Jeannette]

Thanks Torty Mom and maggie3fan! I am over the hills from you, maggie...in Bend. We've done work for Chintimini! We are doing the 9th Annual 2011 Wildlife Rehabilitation Seminar at Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton, this year. In it, we are doing a lecture on reptiles, specifically tortoises! It's coming up in April, if anyone's in the area and interested!
Ok, I'm doing a practice photo here (from PhotoBucket)...let's see...

---

Yay! It worked! Ok, I'll be back soon with tortie pics!! Maggie, I will update you with details on the Greek's habitat...I have spot thermometers in the enclosure as I'm typing right now, just to be sure. I know the cool end couldn't have been less than 75 night/82 day (that's the room's ambient temp) and the other end has the basking spot of 95+. I am double checking though, tonight! He's got a planter bottom pan for soaking, if he wants. I've never seen him do it. I have not witnessed him eat in weeks. He maintains his weight at 460g. I am baffled. He has a UVB bulb, no more than 12" from the substrate....Will return tomorrow with more!! Thank you!! Have a great night!
Jeannette

 

[Laura]

AWSOME!! I used to do lots of rehab..
Love to hear/see more of that too!

Try a warm baby food soak for your tort to help perk him up. What other type foods are you trying to feed?

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the TFO

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jeannette:

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hey Jeannette...around here we use baby food soaks when someone is not eating. First, are you tube feeding Critical Care? If not, you should be. Use strained carrots and warm water up to the bridge. They get some nutrients that way. If you're tube feeding never mind on that. If you are not tube feeding you should be. That would hold him over until he was eating on his own. I don't mean to be telling you what you should be doing, but that's what *I* would do at this point to save the animal...

 

[Balboa]

Welcome!
You obviously have the passion we all share.
Love the pixie-bobs. I never was a huge cat person, but I get into the pixies, we have two half pixies. They're the joke of the neighborhood, everyone comments how they act more like dogs than cats most of the time.

 

[Yvonne G]

You've been into rehab and understand and know what you're doing, but I wanted to expand a little on what Maggie said.

First, the baby food soak:
If a turtle or tortoise isn't eating, it is beneficial to soak them in baby food water:

Take a jar of Gerber strained carrots, squash or sweet potatoes. The carrots have the highest concentrate of vitamin A, but I usually use a different one every time. Mix it into some warm water. Use a bowl with a fairly small footprint, but with sides high enough that the turtle can't climb out. The mixture should come up to the bridge (the area of the shell where the top meets the bottom). Leave the turtle/tortoise soaking in this water for at least 15 minutes, but I usually go for a half hour. If you think he'll get cold, you can place the bowl just off to the side of a light shining down. Most of the time, the turtle/tortoise drinks a little of this mixture, but even if he doesn't actually drink it, some of the nutrients in the mixture are absorbed through the thin skin under the throat or around the cloaca. They don't actually absorb through the cloaca, but rather through the thin skin around the cloaca.

And second, tube feeding:
Critical Care is a powdered mixture of dried hays and grasses manufactured by Oxbow. You can get it from a vet. If you are tube feeding, Critical Care is excellent for herbivores. I use a little Gerber baby food along with warm water as the wetting medium. You can either drop it onto the back of the tongue with an eye dropper, or actually place a tube down the throat into the stomach. (Any newbies, please ask a vet to teach you how to do this before you try it)

 

[Jeannette]

You all are awesome! Thank you for your replies! I have some photos to post of Buzzo (the Greek) so you can see who we're talking about. I have not heard about the baby food soaks. So, I will start doing that! I don't have Oxbow's Critical Care, but I do have the Fluker's ReptaAid Critical Care (herbivorous formula) and Zilla's Jump Start Caloric Supplement & Appetite Stimulant. The latter, unfortunately, has lots of sugar (corn syrup, malt syrup, cane molasses) so we only use it very reluctantly and in dire need. I've not used it with Buzzo. I will check around for the Oxbow formula.
I still place a dish of 'regular' food (random items from the following list) in with Buzzo every day, hoping he will decide to eat. Sometimes, it's hard to tell because he's walked through the food and spread it around, or it's dried up and appears like there's 'less' left. Anyone out there with some Greeks who really LOVE a particular kind of food? So far, I've offered him:
Clover, turnip greens, fescue, grasses (orchard, wheat, oat, rye, barley), dandelions, leafy mixed greens from grocery store (not iceberg, spinach, bok choy, or high oxalate things), some kale, frozen mixed veggies (cooked), rarely strawberry/apple, soaked commercial ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food pellets, dried orchard grass hay, bermuda grass hay...
Here's the adorable fellow!

Below is the wound shortly after we took him in.

This is the wound area now. It appears 'shiny', but it is totally closed over. There is no more oozing, nor does it appear infected. We have not run any bloodwork, though.

Here is a view of the plastron. You can see that he exhibits difficulty retracting the leg with the injury.

His enclosure temp varies from a cool side of 78(nighttime)-82(day) degrees to a basking spot of 98 on the other end. Would you all suggest something different? He has a soaking dish (although I never see him use it). He has UVB bulbs, which are approx 10-12" from him...
Thank you!!
Jeannette

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I'm thinkin he has an internal infection and does need an antibiotic. He needs to be tube fed and you can get Oxbow Critical Care from most Vets. I'd get Spring Mix from the produce section and add some radicchio and romaine to it. They mostly love those 2 lettuces added to Spring Mix it's a good enough diet.... That's my suggestion, I don't know what else to say...I hope I have helped some...I'd increase the cool side to 85 degrees and not let him get cold at all...and the carrot soaks...

What's the date of the seminar at Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton, this year? I'd like to go...

 

[Jeannette]

Sounds good, I will increase the temp to 85 and make sure it doesn't drop below that. We actually had him on abx for a while, to prevent an infection. We thought that was what started his anorexia. After discontinuing the abx, his appetite has not returned.
I have Baby Spring Mix, so will add romaine to it. Now, on with the carrot soaks! Thanks for your help!

About the seminar at Blue Mt Wildlife...it is Saturday, April 16th. Most of the seminar will be about wildlife (raptors). During this last year, in particular, we treated more reptiles than in previous years. Consequently, we wanted to add 'reptiles' to the Annual Seminar. So, this year is the "Intro to Reptiles". Be forewarned though, I'm sure it is WAY basic for you! We find that most people want to feed, feed, feed - without concern for the animals' temp (or hydration status). We want people to know that first and foremost, increase temp, then hydrate, then feed (proper food). We want to get that basic message out there, above all else, for treating sick herps. Anyway, here's a link to the brochure for the seminar - http://www.bluemountainwildlife.org/seminar_brochure.pdf

That should have all the info you need!! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Jeannette

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.