- Joined
- Sep 11, 2010
- Messages
- 66
Hi everyone,
I'm a bit worried about koopa, my nearly 2 year old boettgeri hermann tortoise.
I got her end of last summer and this is my first tortoise. I never had a problem, she only had worms. You can see the inside of her habitat in this topic i made a few days ago. Temperatures are 24°C at one end and 32°C at the other end. There is a uvb tube and a basking spot., there is an opuntia and a kalanchoe in her habitat, but she does not eat it. She hibernated this winter in a box, in my basement. Exepted during her hibernation, she gained steadily approx. 8 grams and 4 mm per month. She always have been very active and eating lots.
When I found out she had worms (from a fecal test), my vet gave me some drontal-P to deworm her. I treated her 1 or 2 month before hibernation. 1 or 2 month after hibernation I did a second fecal test and find out the dewormer has not been effective. I choose to treat her myself with panacur bought from internet.
During april she received 3 doses of approx 6mg Fenbendazole diluted in water, injected in a small peice of fruit, with a approx 10 days interval. (At that time she was 80 grams, and sized 72mm). I didn't make another fecal test since then, but i beleive the worms are gone because I found lots in her poop.
The problem appeared during april while receiving panacur: she lost her appetite. Not completly, but she eats only maybe a third of what she used to. At first I didn't pay attention, I tough it was a side effect from the dewormer. But its been more than 5 weeks now and she is still eating very little:/ She is still active, spends a lot of time trying to climb the walls of her habitat to flee...
Koopa is now 72 grams in weight, 72mm in size. Her weigth is stable. Her weigth and size curves are flat since april (I weigth and mesure her every couple of weeks).
Am I worrying to much? She eats a bit and is active. Maybe she eats less because she doesnt have to feed the worms? But I decided to post here because the fact that her growth stopped bothers me. Or is it normal for torts to stop growing for a couple of month once in a while?
Another sympton is that she refuses to eat dandelions since april. Or it may be a coincidence. She eats different kinds of chicory, chicory salad, a bit of clover, radish leaves sometimes, lamb-lettuce. She is soaked every couple of days in warm water.
Also she started drinking. She never drank before (actually she drank once when she woke up from hibernation, but no other exption). I beleive she used to have enough water in her food, but now that she eats less she needs to drink to be hydrated.
If I give her a fruit, she would run for it and eat like a pig... but after that she will not eat at all for two to three days, so I try not to do that.
I tried all kinds of tricks to make her eat more greens. Like rubbing her weed leafs on a fruit slice to stimulate her appetite. She would sniff everywhere to find the fruit, but won't it more of the greens. I also tried to pass her weeds in a mixer with a small portion of fruit, she gives the same answer.
I'm a bit worried about koopa, my nearly 2 year old boettgeri hermann tortoise.
I got her end of last summer and this is my first tortoise. I never had a problem, she only had worms. You can see the inside of her habitat in this topic i made a few days ago. Temperatures are 24°C at one end and 32°C at the other end. There is a uvb tube and a basking spot., there is an opuntia and a kalanchoe in her habitat, but she does not eat it. She hibernated this winter in a box, in my basement. Exepted during her hibernation, she gained steadily approx. 8 grams and 4 mm per month. She always have been very active and eating lots.
When I found out she had worms (from a fecal test), my vet gave me some drontal-P to deworm her. I treated her 1 or 2 month before hibernation. 1 or 2 month after hibernation I did a second fecal test and find out the dewormer has not been effective. I choose to treat her myself with panacur bought from internet.
During april she received 3 doses of approx 6mg Fenbendazole diluted in water, injected in a small peice of fruit, with a approx 10 days interval. (At that time she was 80 grams, and sized 72mm). I didn't make another fecal test since then, but i beleive the worms are gone because I found lots in her poop.
The problem appeared during april while receiving panacur: she lost her appetite. Not completly, but she eats only maybe a third of what she used to. At first I didn't pay attention, I tough it was a side effect from the dewormer. But its been more than 5 weeks now and she is still eating very little:/ She is still active, spends a lot of time trying to climb the walls of her habitat to flee...
Koopa is now 72 grams in weight, 72mm in size. Her weigth is stable. Her weigth and size curves are flat since april (I weigth and mesure her every couple of weeks).
Am I worrying to much? She eats a bit and is active. Maybe she eats less because she doesnt have to feed the worms? But I decided to post here because the fact that her growth stopped bothers me. Or is it normal for torts to stop growing for a couple of month once in a while?
Another sympton is that she refuses to eat dandelions since april. Or it may be a coincidence. She eats different kinds of chicory, chicory salad, a bit of clover, radish leaves sometimes, lamb-lettuce. She is soaked every couple of days in warm water.
Also she started drinking. She never drank before (actually she drank once when she woke up from hibernation, but no other exption). I beleive she used to have enough water in her food, but now that she eats less she needs to drink to be hydrated.
If I give her a fruit, she would run for it and eat like a pig... but after that she will not eat at all for two to three days, so I try not to do that.
I tried all kinds of tricks to make her eat more greens. Like rubbing her weed leafs on a fruit slice to stimulate her appetite. She would sniff everywhere to find the fruit, but won't it more of the greens. I also tried to pass her weeds in a mixer with a small portion of fruit, she gives the same answer.
