tee_tee_bee
New Member
So I've read thru as many of the past forum posts as I can to try to find the answer to my problem but I'm still not completely sure so I figured I'd post for advice. We've only had our Russian tortoise, Pinecone, for about 2 months now. We were told she's about 4 yrs old but no clue if that's accurate. I took PC to the vet last Friday because she was eating less and less, to practically nothing, and we noticed that she was going to sleep earlier everyday. She was basically up from 5:30am to 11:30, maybe 1pm on a good day. She's indoor and her lighting and temps are good based on the care sheets I found here. Basking high 90s, 80s ambient main area, dips down to low 70's in one hide and high 70's in the other. At night her hides range in the high to low 60's at the coolest. She has a separate large UBV bar. Her lights are all on a timer to run from 5:30am to 7pm. She's in a 7 1/2' by 3 1/2' enclosure.
Back to the vet visit. I researched a good reptile vet in my area. Brought in her fecal sample. The vet said she's loaded with roundworms. He gave her a mild sedative (ketamine) and administered the Panacur. While PC was sedated he took a blood sample by trimming a nail. The blood results came back and the vet didn't see any issues. Perfectly healthy he said. He also said that she's a good weight for her size.
Anyway my worry is that she hasn't pooped much. Very tiny bits, like a couple of crumbs once a day while she soaks. I worry she may be impacted from the worms as I've read on here, since the vet said she was loaded w/ them. I'm soaking her twice a day for anywhere from 20 mins to 45 mins, pending on the time I have. She's still not eating much but she's eating some now, only her faves endive and escarole. To get some fiber in her I've tried making escarole tacos w/ mashed mazuri inside and got a few bites in her. I tried a little mineral oil smeared on escarole yesterday. I wasn't sure how much to use though. Am I on the right track with the mineral oil? How much should I use? Again I don't want to use too much.
I'm not sure at what point I make another costly vet visit. I hate to say that but I don't want to take her if this is something I can manage. I love my tort very much but I'm 2 months into this surprise from my husband and have spent about $2k. A lot of that is replacing the bad advice items that were initially purchased, enlarging her home twice, then the $400 vet bill. I feel like I spend a good chunk of every day researching to make sure I do this right and give PC the best home I can. It's weighing on me. But if I need to take her back to the vet I'm 100% okay with that.
I will probably have to go to the vet again in 2 weeks. I asked the vet about a 2nd dose of Panacur because almost everything I read on here people recommended multiple doses. First to kill the live worms, then to kill the newly hatched worms 2 weeks later. My vet said I'd need to bring PC in w/ another fecal sample to see if that was necessary and that some worms are fine. I'd really prefer if they were all gone for now but I know I'm new to this.
To note: I've removed all of the substrate from PC's home - previously about 4" coco coir and repti bark in different areas. Till the worms are gone there's paper on the floor of the enclosure, w/ shredded paper in her hides. I'm changing the paper daily and wiping down the enclosure daily w/ hydrogen peroxide while she soaks. I read a bleach solution won't kill the eggs but hydrogen peroxide will. I really don't want roundworms again.
She seems more active during the day. We have a webcam on PC's home that we can check while at work during the day. She does laps around the perimeter for a couple of hours every day. She's still going to sleep early but not till about 2pm. I wake her up when I get home for a 2nd soak but she goes right back to sleep usually.
Sorry for all of the info and rambling. I know that a lot of questions are usually asked, so I wanted to provide as much up front as possible.
Back to the vet visit. I researched a good reptile vet in my area. Brought in her fecal sample. The vet said she's loaded with roundworms. He gave her a mild sedative (ketamine) and administered the Panacur. While PC was sedated he took a blood sample by trimming a nail. The blood results came back and the vet didn't see any issues. Perfectly healthy he said. He also said that she's a good weight for her size.
Anyway my worry is that she hasn't pooped much. Very tiny bits, like a couple of crumbs once a day while she soaks. I worry she may be impacted from the worms as I've read on here, since the vet said she was loaded w/ them. I'm soaking her twice a day for anywhere from 20 mins to 45 mins, pending on the time I have. She's still not eating much but she's eating some now, only her faves endive and escarole. To get some fiber in her I've tried making escarole tacos w/ mashed mazuri inside and got a few bites in her. I tried a little mineral oil smeared on escarole yesterday. I wasn't sure how much to use though. Am I on the right track with the mineral oil? How much should I use? Again I don't want to use too much.
I'm not sure at what point I make another costly vet visit. I hate to say that but I don't want to take her if this is something I can manage. I love my tort very much but I'm 2 months into this surprise from my husband and have spent about $2k. A lot of that is replacing the bad advice items that were initially purchased, enlarging her home twice, then the $400 vet bill. I feel like I spend a good chunk of every day researching to make sure I do this right and give PC the best home I can. It's weighing on me. But if I need to take her back to the vet I'm 100% okay with that.
I will probably have to go to the vet again in 2 weeks. I asked the vet about a 2nd dose of Panacur because almost everything I read on here people recommended multiple doses. First to kill the live worms, then to kill the newly hatched worms 2 weeks later. My vet said I'd need to bring PC in w/ another fecal sample to see if that was necessary and that some worms are fine. I'd really prefer if they were all gone for now but I know I'm new to this.
To note: I've removed all of the substrate from PC's home - previously about 4" coco coir and repti bark in different areas. Till the worms are gone there's paper on the floor of the enclosure, w/ shredded paper in her hides. I'm changing the paper daily and wiping down the enclosure daily w/ hydrogen peroxide while she soaks. I read a bleach solution won't kill the eggs but hydrogen peroxide will. I really don't want roundworms again.
She seems more active during the day. We have a webcam on PC's home that we can check while at work during the day. She does laps around the perimeter for a couple of hours every day. She's still going to sleep early but not till about 2pm. I wake her up when I get home for a 2nd soak but she goes right back to sleep usually.
Sorry for all of the info and rambling. I know that a lot of questions are usually asked, so I wanted to provide as much up front as possible.