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Reptilian Feline

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I went ahead and sent of a long email with plenty of questions along the lines of giving the little one things he's used to, and commenting on what he seem to like and trying to find the right brand of heat lamps etc. I hope to get a nice long informative answer. Fingers crossed.

On another note... a herp-friend of mine thought that the little one might need de-worming. He suggested a brand with fenbendazol in it. I've read here that de-worming without confirmation of works is a bad idea, though. Any thoughts on that?
He also mention colostrum as part of a treatment. He had used it on geckos that were in a bad shape and that had worked, so he suggested I look into that to boost the immune system.
 

Markw84

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I went ahead and sent of a long email with plenty of questions along the lines of giving the little one things he's used to, and commenting on what he seem to like and trying to find the right brand of heat lamps etc. I hope to get a nice long informative answer. Fingers crossed.

On another note... a herp-friend of mine thought that the little one might need de-worming. He suggested a brand with fenbendazol in it. I've read here that de-worming without confirmation of works is a bad idea, though. Any thoughts on that?
He also mention colostrum as part of a treatment. He had used it on geckos that were in a bad shape and that had worked, so he suggested I look into that to boost the immune system.
I would not treat at such a small and fragile size without a confirmation from a fecal exam that a high parasite load was indeed an issue. Fenbendazol (Panacur) is know for a pretty wide tolerance and safety margin, but I am reluctant to treat tortoises that are so small. A fecal sample to a vet would not be a bad idea to see what you might be dealing with.

I have no direct experience with the use of hyperimmune bovine colostrum. I have read where may institutions have successfully used it to help in declining reptile health. Perhaps @deadheadvet could comment on it's potential value here.
 

deadheadvet

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Sounds pretty absurd to me to give a reptile, mammalian bovine colostrum for boosting the immune system. I can not see how that could help. Firstly, all nutrition for a neonate reptile comes from the yolk sac, not milk. So how is Colostrum supposed to help? Empirical deworming for unknown parasites is also not indicated. If parasites are confirmed by a fecal analysis on fresh feces, then by all means deworm w/ a medication indicated for the type of parasite seen on the slide. If there is published data supporting using Colostrum in reptiles, then by all means. We don't even use Colostrum in non bovine mammals. Must be same species in order for it to be effective.As far as the geckos go, without knowing what other concurrent treatment was given at the time supposed colostrum was given, how do we really know it did anything other than help with hydration since it was given orally and may have provided benefit just by giving something liquid.
 

Reptilian Feline

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Thank you deadheadvet!
I have treated a boa constrictor with acidophilus yoghurt/soured milk (a Swedish kind called A-fil) and that's why I thought the colostrum might have some merit.
I won't do any of that for now.

He is doing better I think, comming to eat on his own after I've misted him and placed new food on his plate. He also seem to like deeper water when I soak him, and I've seen him drink properly. There was even a tiny poop yesterday.

One thing I'm really concerned about is his plastron. It feels flexible, not hard and solid. The shell seems OK, but the plastron seems so thin and volnerable. What can I do? I have access to plantain (why does it has the same common name as food bananas?) and have read that it is paticularly rich in calcium.
 

Reptilian Feline

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It's a bit up and down at the moment... last night he wasn't very happy about his soak... for a moment I thought he had drowned. I did get him to walk a bit more than usual though, but the weather was too cold for him to be outside. I tried but the sun decided she wanted to hide, so no proper heat on the little one. Today is better, sun wise, so I'll try again. I want him to eat better, but the breeder hasn't answered yet, even to tell me the food, so I'll have to wing it and hope for the best.

Part of me is angry about buying the little one, but then if I had bought one from the seller I don't trust, I might not have known about a problem until it was too late, so now I'm kind of glad I started trying to fix things instead of suddenly finding what looked like a healthy little tort dead. This is stressing me out at no end :(
 

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