Hey all,
I have a baby cherryhead tortoise that is sick. I have had him for about nine months, and he has been sick, on and off, since June. I brought him to the vet over the summer who gave him a vitamin shot and antibiotics but said otherwise she couldn't find out what was wrong with him.
He does not walk around on his own, won't eat on his own. The vet gave me a protein powder that I have been mixing with blended fruit and greens and feeding to him with a blank syringe. He can't open his eyes without having a bath first; I give him a warm bath once or twice a day, before I try to feed him. Won't poop much, as he's not really eating much. The bottom of his shell is not hard, and he hasn't grown at all in the time that I've had him. He has some whitish discharge around his eyes sometimes and his skin has lost most of its pigmentation, it's grayish now and I think it should be dark brown. He's also a bit puffy around his arms and legs.
The substrate I am currently using is coconut coir and some sphagnum moss. The humidity in his tank is around 75%, and the temp in the cool end of the tank is around 70, warm end around 90. He doesn't walk around at all anymore though so I have been placing him in his hide in the warm end of the tank.
I know he needs to see a vet, problem is i don't know anyone around here (south coast MA) that would see him, the last vet wasn't much help. What can I be doing? Does anyone know a good tort vet in MA?
Thanks,
Emily
I have a baby cherryhead tortoise that is sick. I have had him for about nine months, and he has been sick, on and off, since June. I brought him to the vet over the summer who gave him a vitamin shot and antibiotics but said otherwise she couldn't find out what was wrong with him.
He does not walk around on his own, won't eat on his own. The vet gave me a protein powder that I have been mixing with blended fruit and greens and feeding to him with a blank syringe. He can't open his eyes without having a bath first; I give him a warm bath once or twice a day, before I try to feed him. Won't poop much, as he's not really eating much. The bottom of his shell is not hard, and he hasn't grown at all in the time that I've had him. He has some whitish discharge around his eyes sometimes and his skin has lost most of its pigmentation, it's grayish now and I think it should be dark brown. He's also a bit puffy around his arms and legs.
The substrate I am currently using is coconut coir and some sphagnum moss. The humidity in his tank is around 75%, and the temp in the cool end of the tank is around 70, warm end around 90. He doesn't walk around at all anymore though so I have been placing him in his hide in the warm end of the tank.
I know he needs to see a vet, problem is i don't know anyone around here (south coast MA) that would see him, the last vet wasn't much help. What can I be doing? Does anyone know a good tort vet in MA?
Thanks,
Emily