Possible cause of death

[JJ]

Hi all, I was looking after my friends Hermanns (Alby) over the weekend and unfortunately it passed away yesterday afternoon. I have a Russian and so I have experience of tort behaviour etc.
When Alby arrived I was surprised at how tiny she was for a two and a half year old and her eyes were very dark and sallow, but obviously no two are the same. so just put it down to species.
Over the course of the weekend i noticed that she had very thin back legs and not actually holding itself up and walking. Sallow eyes and not really eating. She had an eye thing 3 weeks ago and I wonder if it's related.
She had moved herself under the lamp at around 3pm and tucked her head in. Between 3pm and 7pm she passed away.
Also, i think that her owners didn't realise how much weight she had lost because they see her everyday.
Anyone have any ideas or was it a case of bad luck? I have attached photos and wonder if her shell had a connection.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello JJ
Of course this is only a guess but I would guess the little one ate it's fill of the little white stones till there was no room for food . It takes a long time be for a tort shows its sick cause in the wild sick ones are feed on .

 

[JJ]

Hi and thank you for your response. Of course it is a possibility as we all know how they love to gnaw on white things. I have been using Prorep Tortoise Life Substrate (the pictured substrate) for years with no problems at all. Of course it is dependent on the tort and what they find appealing- I will bear this in mind

 

[Yvonne G]

She was very sick when she came to you. We can't give you a cause of death, however, I would attribute it to her previous care and habitat. It had a lot to do with starvation, but why, I don't know. It might have been blockage from eating the white stuff, or just from not eating the correct foods, etc.

Because she's so small, I doubt even a necropsy would give you much satisfaction.

I'm very sorry this happened. It's especially hard on you because it was someone else's tortoise and it died in your care. Very sad.

 

[JJ]

Thank you. Yes very poorly indeed - I never want to go through that again. I felt so sorry for her owners who had to bury her today

 

[Rue]

Did they use the same substrate that you use?

 

[JJ]

Yes they did. I have never had any trouble with it - and my tort will nibble anything white when he is in the garden. He's not interested in the substrate and I don't think Alby was either.
One thing I forgot to mention was that Alby looked like she was yawning a lot.

 

[Yvonne G]

That means he was having trouble breathing. They don't breathe through their mouth, so if the nose is plugged, they gasp occasionally.

 

[JJ]

Thank you - this is all really useful for the owners to come to terms with it

 

[Kori5]

She was very sick when she came to you. We can't give you a cause of death, however, I would attribute it to her previous care and habitat. It had a lot to do with starvation, but why, I don't know. It might have been blockage from eating the white stuff, or just from not eating the correct foods, etc.

Because she's so small, I doubt even a necropsy would give you much satisfaction.

I'm very sorry this happened. It's especially hard on you because it was someone else's tortoise and it died in your care. Very sad.

How can you tell she looks tiny? Her back legs? I know by weighting them regulary but is there anything else your experienced eye catches?

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes. Her legs are so very thin.