Near heart attack avoided * phew * ( I think )

[TortNewbie]

Ok so growing up with horses I can recognize when something is going very wrong in the tummy region. I went to feed Manon tonight and she was sitting abnormally still and breathing very heavily like something wasn't going quite right. We got through our upper respiratory issue back in Febuary and I have to say she is quite a fighter. Well tonight when feeding her I noticed she wasn't acting quite right. She was hiding in the corner not moving and breathing very strangely so I put her food down to see what she would do. No reaction, no movement... So got her in warm water and turned on the space heater to keep it warm and set her in it. After about five minutes she started passing gas. She just let them fly and out popped some poo that i have a feeling she was having issues passing. So I let her sit for a little while longer till she started getting really crazy in the water and I took her out and put her back in her enclosure after she dryed off and now shes eating like nothing was ever wrong. Did I just successfully beat a small case of upset tummy/colic? I fully intend to monitor her tonight just to make sure everything is infact ok but shes doing just fine right now.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jess:

I don't think that tortoises get "colic" as such. Probably what happened was just like you figured...a hard feces that wouldn't pass. When this happens, it really helps to place the tortoise in warm water, in a large tub, even the bath tub, where they can walk around and scramble to get out. The combination of the exercise and warm water usually succeeds in making things move along.

 

[TortNewbie]

What ever it was she seems to be doing a lot better. Shes eating and wandering around bright eyed and bushy tailed like shes feeling better.

 

[wellington]

Nice quick call and reaction on your part. Good for you.

 

[jason g.]

What ever it was she seems to be doing a lot better. Shes eating and wandering around bright eyed and bushy tailed like shes feeling better.

Rose was doing that one day. Her baby eyes were even watering. I soaked her she farted pooed 4 big logs. Then she was active and hungry. It scared the crap outta me too. I thought for sure she was sick or something. She stayed out of her hide till midnight that night! She's usually in bed by at the least 9.

 

[TortNewbie]

See Manon scared the daylights out of me because she wasn't moving and she was breathing really strangely like something wasn't working quite right or something was stuck somewhere. After a good warm soak near the space heater she pooed and farted a bunch and now shes perfectly fine and back to eating like a cow.

 

[Livingstone]

The warm water soaks really help. I think the temperature increase on the plastron area speeds up the metabolism and gets the stomach moving.