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tinkerbelle

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Hi there,

I am a first time poster, very sad today, just looking for some answers. I have just lost my beautiful 22 years old Australian Murray short neck tortoise. Her name was Tinkerbelle. I have had her in captivity since she was a tiny baby, she has a mate, and even layed eggs every year. Apparently it's pretty rare for an inside tortoise to lay eggs. She was a happy little (10") soul, I guess.

As I now live in a tiny flat, and Tinkerbelle's home was a 6' water tank, my parents have been looking after her for me for the last year and doing a wonderful job.

Just last week my mum took her to the vet for what the vet said looked to be an alkaline burn on her nose. The vet gave mum some cream to apply. When I went to see my now deceased poor girl this afternoon, my first words were "Her nose is blocked..." by the cream which had been applied. My mum said that the vet was OK with her nose being blocked, and my dad followed with she can breathe through her mouth.

As it's still quite cool here, and we're just coming into spring, I am not sure that she would breathe through her mouth if she was still a bit sleepy after coming out of hybernation. She was not in the water when she died, but was out of the tank in the dry.

Is it possible that my tortoise died because her nose was completely blocked?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated. She was always so healthy :-(

Thank you, Jodie
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Jodie:

I'm so sorry that you lost your turtle. You may never know the true reason that she passed. I'm wondering how a water turtle could receive an alkaline burn?

Yvonne
 

egyptiandan

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I'm sorry for your loss Jodie :(

It's possible she wouldn't breath through her mouth as it's not natural, or it could have been the cream. Like Yvonne I'm wondering how your turtle got an alkaline burn when out of the water. Except for the cream, did her nose look any different to you?

Danny
 

tinkerbelle

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Dear Yvonne and Danny, thank you for your kind replies. Yes, her nose had a mark on it, it could have been skin cancer maybe, but the vet's diagnosis was an alkaline burn, minor, and just from the water in her tank. We always used just tap water, and she was in the tank of water during the day, and we took her out at night time.
It's true though, we will probably never know how she died. I would like to think now that it was just old age. For a Murray short neck, in captivity, 22 years is apparently a pretty good innings.
Anyway, I found a taxidermist today, and I am going to have her preserved. She was a beautiful girl, and her shell was in pristine condition. It seems such a shame to just bury her.
Thank you again for your replies, sometimes it's comforting to write things down and just to know there are people out there who understand. Bless you. Jodie
 

Yvonne G

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Many, MANY years ago I looked into how much it would cost to have a fish mounted. At that time, MANY years ago, it would be a dollar an inch. I imagine its quite a bit more than that now! So a 2' long fish would have been over $20. Way more than we could afford at that time. Isn't it amazing how much more our money was worth in the '50's than it is now?

Yvonne
 

Shelly

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emysemys said:
MANY years ago, it would be a dollar an inch. So a 2' long fish would have been over $20.

I thought it would be much more than that, even then
 

Yvonne G

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Shelly said:
I thought it would be much more than that, even then

Now that I'm thinking back, maybe it was $10 an inch. At any rate, it was too much for us to do it way back in the dark ages.

Yvonne
 

tinkerbelle

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Hi Shelly, it's going to cost me $550 Australian Dollars. I guess when it's an "emotional purchase" we are prepared to pay just about anything, which is silly, I know, but that's the way it goes...She was so old, and the last tank I bought for her was $600, so my thinking is that she is so worth it, and in the big scheme of things, what's another few hundred? This way, she will always be with me. I'm really confident this guy will do a great job. He was a little reluctant, he said to me that he doesn't like doing pets, because they never really look quite the same, but I understand this. It's going to take three months, but she should be home for Christmas :).
 

Stazz

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Oh Jodie, I am oh so very very sorry to hear of your loss !!!! Sending you healing hugs. At least she will be with you again for Christmas
 

Crazy1

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Jodie, I am sorry to hear of your loss. And understand the way emotions, especially love plays when it comes to something like this. Sending healing thoughts your way to help you recover from you loss.
 

dmmj

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TBH I have never heard of, nor seen a "mounted" turtlle I am assuming it will look sor tof liek a mounted fish but sort of sitting there. I am a little unsure about it, but I would like to see pics of it when it is finished.
 
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