Seizures

rrhoblit

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I am currently adopting an 8 year old male sulcata tortoise with a roughly 6 month history of seizures. When diagnosed he was having roughly more than 30 a day. He was tried on Phenobarbital which had no effect. I was told they ran a full blood panel but I haven’t seen the results to verify yet. The rescue has been treating him with CBD oil which has dropped his seizures to a couple a day. I am a veterinary technician and my doctor as well as my exotic vet haven’t seen anything like this is tortoises. Does anyone have any experiences with seizures?
 

wellington

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Wow, never heard of a tortoise with seizures. Who actually diagnosed them as seizures? We find that most vets do not have much if any of a clue when it comes too tortoises. Would love to know who diagnosed and if they really are infact seizures.
Our long time tort rescue @Yvonnemay have some insight.
Do you know what the actual symptoms are that are being called seizures?
 

rrhoblit

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The rescue posted a video on their Facebook page but I can’t seem to figure out how to save it to my phone. I am not sure who diagnosed him but they called it epilepsy which I find kind of garbage. He basically becomes very neurological and bobbles his head severely. It’s like he can’t control his legs and that they are spasming. He looks like he is dancing at a rave party lol
 

rrhoblit

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I also forgot to mention that he started to have these neurological episodes at one of our local zoos
 

wellington

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I also forgot to mention that he started to have these neurological episodes at one of our local zoos
He was owned by the zoo and instead of them treating him they gave him to a rescue?
That zoo needs to be shut down if that's true. A reputable zoo would not do that. They would treat it themselves or give to a zoo with more experience but not a rescue with no experience in the diagnosis if it's really epilepsy.
 

Yvonne G

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No, I've never come across a tortoise with seizures, sorry. But glad the oil seems to be helping. I bought some for pain in my thumb and it didn't do a thing for me.
 

rrhoblit

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He was owned by the zoo and instead of them treating him they gave him to a rescue?
That zoo needs to be shut down if that's true. A reputable zoo would not do that. They would treat it themselves or give to a zoo with more experience but not a rescue with no experience in the diagnosis if it's really epilepsy.
The zoo has a pretty bad reputation. I am surprised it never got shut down honestly. The group rescue is Placer County Tortoise Rescue. If you search his name which is Loki, there is a video a couple posts down. The rescue took him because I guess the zoo didn’t have an outdoor area for him either.
 

rrhoblit

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I love this rescue and the kind lady who runs it. I just want to be sure there isn’t something medically I could fix. I want to be able to give him the best life possible. But if that means having a couple seizures a day then I will obviously love him just the same.
 

wellington

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I wish I could see more than just that short video. If I had confidence the rescue knew what they were doing I'd say okay, they see more then I do.
I see a tortoise moving on what might be some what of a slippery surface and in the way they do when you scratch their backs/butts. The head shaking I didnt see only a head moving in a way it would because of the way the body was moving.
I'm not convinced its seizures.
 

ZenHerper

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The zoo has a pretty bad reputation. I am surprised it never got shut down honestly. The group rescue is Placer County Tortoise Rescue. If you search his name which is Loki, there is a video a couple posts down. The rescue took him because I guess the zoo didn’t have an outdoor area for him either.

Something neurological, for sure. Does he move normally/naturally at all other times? Do these episodes happen when he eats (so then what do you see?)? Videos before-during-after are more helpful.

Seizures can look a lot of different ways, depending on the part(s) of the brain affected. "Partial" seizures do not cause loss of consciousness and can even be consciously controlled/stopped by the subject.

Maximize his nutrition and temps. Keep him on surfaces where he cannot fall/flip over.

Thanks for rescuing!
 

Maggie3fan

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No, I've never come across a tortoise with seizures, sorry. But glad the oil seems to be helping. I bought some for pain in my thumb and it didn't do a thing for me.
My sister bought and used CBD oil???Hell musta froze over...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...and HA!
 

rrhoblit

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I wish I could see more than just that short video. If I had confidence the rescue knew what they were doing I'd say okay, they see more then I do.
I see a tortoise moving on what might be some what of a slippery surface and in the way they do when you scratch their backs/butts. The head shaking I didnt see only a head moving in a way it would because of the way the body was moving.
I'm not convinced its seizures.
At the rescue he is on dirt and does the same movements. If it is not a seizure, could this be a different neurological issue? I am hoping to pick him up in a week or so. I will try to gather more video. I do plan on taking him to our local vet school which is the top in our country to get their opinion as well. Thank you for taking a look and giving your input.
 

Tom

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That doesn't look like a seizure to me. Looks like he's unstable on a slick surface and making a digging motion.

If he was housed indoors without UV, exercise, hydration and proper nutrition, he might well be having some MBD issues. The more I think about it, the more it looks like MBD. They get the shakes, weakness, and appear uncoordinated as MBD advances. Eventually, they appear to be paralyzed in the back end sometimes. I've seen similar symptoms in beardies and green iguanas.

I'g get him out in the sun, feed him weeds, grass and opuntia pads, add some calcium powder every other day for a little while and see how he does. I'll bet with the correct routine, this will stop in 4-6 weeks.
 

rrhoblit

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Something neurological, for sure. Does he move normally/naturally at all other times? Do these episodes happen when he eats (so then what do you see?)? Videos before-during-after are more helpful.

Seizures can look a lot of different ways, depending on the part(s) of the brain affected. "Partial" seizures do not cause loss of consciousness and can even be consciously controlled/stopped by the subject.

Maximize his nutrition and temps. Keep him on surfaces where he cannot fall/flip over.

Thanks for rescuing!
Yes he moves normally most of the time. I personally haven’t seen one yet as I am picking him up in a week or so. The rescue did tell me that you can tell one is coming on because he gets a burst of energy and runs around is pen in a circle.
 

rrhoblit

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That doesn't look like a seizure to me. Looks like he's unstable on a slick surface and making a digging motion.

If he was housed indoors without UV, exercise, hydration and proper nutrition, he might well be having some MBD issues. The more I think about it, the more it looks like MBD. They get the shakes, weakness, and appear uncoordinated as MBD advances. Eventually, they appear to be paralyzed in the back end sometimes. I've seen similar symptoms in beardies and green iguanas.

I'g get him out in the sun, feed him weeds, grass and opuntia pads, add some calcium powder every other day for a little while and see how he does. I'll bet with the correct routine, this will stop in 4-6 weeks.
Thank you for your advice. I pick him up in about a week so I will make sure he gets the best care.
 

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