Sick 2 1/2 month old sulcata tortoise.

Damien84

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I have a baby sulcata thats about 2-3 months old based on what the pet store told me anyway. I have had the baby for about a month now. When we first took the tort home he seemed to be a normal hatchling. Eatting drinking an roaming. About a week later he started to be less active wouldnt take any water an seemed to sleep alot. I contact a vet an took him in within 2 days of noticing him being sick. The vet gave him a shot of antibiotics an advised us to raise the temp to around 90-95 and to return in about three to five days to get another injection of antibiotics an at that time she start an oral and an eye antibiotic. He has done a 360 from where he was at. He started eatting an drinking an moving he was back jack.. Along the way i ran across this forum that told me all about the humidity an temps an i have followed Toms advice 100%. Now heres the problem today i noticed a dark (atleast it looks dark) liquid in his belly. I hope I can explain this so it makes sense. If I hold him in my hand flat on his belly an then with one finger on each side lift him up so that his belly is now facing me i can see the liquid move almost like when hes flat it separates an then when i turn him it all pools together at the bottom of his belly. Guys im desperate. I have spent weeks trying to save this little guys life countless hours trying to save him from an upper respiratory infection that i beat with high temps high humidity an a nebulizer ever six hours I cant just give up please can someone tell me this is normal an that im just losing my mind an i over looked this through all the other stuff an its always been like this.
 

Tom

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Hi Damien. So sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I don't have good news, but at least you will have a likely explanation for what is going on. You are awesome for trying so hard and being such a fantastic tortoise owner, but I fear this problem was created and set in motion before you ever laid eyes on this tortoise.

Read this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hi Damien. So sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I don't have good news, but at least you will have a likely explanation for what is going on. You are awesome for trying so hard and being such a fantastic tortoise owner, but I fear this problem was created and set in motion before you ever laid eyes on this tortoise.

Read this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/
Thanks for responding so quickly, Tom. I will read this too.
And Damien, it sounds like it's not your fault. This was inevitable from causes before your time.
 

Jodie

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Sorry to hear about your problems. I have lost 2 Leopard tortoises to HFS. Some of them make it though. You said he is active and eating? Are you tracking his weight? Is he growing at a steady rate? What is his current weight?
 

Damien84

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@Jodie I have not been tracking his weight as i do not have means to do so. However the first time he was weighed at the vet he was 43 grams an the second time he has gained 2 grams or so they said.


@Tom thank u for replying I really dislike reading ur post about this. Nothing against you just that, that was what i was in fear of. With that being said is there a way maybe i have made it to damp in his habitat because it almost looks like he has water or moisture under his shell next to his belly (sry unsure of the technical term for the bottom side of the tortoise) can i upload a video of this to the forum? Maybe i can explain it better an show you a bit better. I want to believe so much that ur wrong about this but i just know even before you said what you said this was probably the case. You know the owner of the shop i got the tort from told me well if he dies just come on back an ill get you another free of charge. Made me wanna come through the phone an choke him out. Another words its just a turtle who cares.
 

Tom

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The fluid collecting on the plastron (some call it "bruising") happens even on dry rabbit pellets. That is not something you caused.

This has been a source of frustration for me for many years. I am doing all I can to put a stop to it and so are lots of others here on the forum.

Remember that some of them pull through and do fine. I doubt you would ever give up, but just thought I'd throw that out there anyway.
 

jeffjeff

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hi welcome to the forum. sorry to hear your tort is sick and i hope its one of the lucky ones.
 

Damien84

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Just got home from work an tryed to give the tort some water an fresh greens but once i put him in his water bowl he just gets right out an has no interest in his food im a little confused tho as everthing i have read about this issue says his shell should be getting soft but it doesnt seem to be the case just a fluid like substance under his plastron that pools together when i stand him up head towards the ceiling feet towards the ground. He doesnt seem to be losing movement of his limbs when i touch them he moves them just as always. Im so confused at this point some pictures i have seen show the plastron its self dark. This is not the case with my tort.
 

Gillian M

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Regret to know that your tort is sick, and wishes to get well soon.

A warm welcome to :tort: the forum.
 

Yvonne G

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What you are seeing on the plastron is thin shell. Your tortoise needs calcium and UVB. The calcium doesn't work or do its job inside the tortoise unless it is paired with UVB either from the sun or from an expensive UVB light. The shell material is thin due to lack of calcium and you're seeing the actual inside of the tortoise sloshing around in there.
 

Damien84

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Ok well at this point he wont take food or water i have a uvb bulb over him an also provide cal d3 most every feeding so on that aspect im not sure what to do different now that hes not eatting (just started 2 days ago)an now that i can see this liquid substance what can i do?? He just lays there the only time i can get him to open his eyes is for a short time when hes in his water bowl
 

Blakem

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Try a baby carrot food soak, the baby food in the little jars. Like warm water and a little scoop of carrot food. Make sure it can't get out. Keep the water Luke warm, and only have the water deep enough to the bottom of the shell. Carrot provides vitamin D. I'm not guaranteeing that this will help, but it's helped sick babies in the past. I'm not sure how you can get calcium in there. Hopefully others will say whether this is necessary. Good luck. Hoping for the best
 

Heather H

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I am so sorry for the loss of your baby. It's so hard to loose them. I'm sure you did your best. Hugs :(
 

Razan

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I'm so sorry for your loss of the little one. It hurts. We sympathize for you.
 

Damien84

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Felt so bad, while I was on the phone making plans to get another sulcata tort before this one had passed. I knew he was going to go but just didnt know when. I felt like I was giving up on him before he was even gone yet. I hate losing pets. =/
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Don't blame yourself.
You did everything humanly possible.
He was effectively already dead when you got him.
I am very, very sorry for your loss.
 

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