Sick Sulcata

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eclipse5161

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well a few days ago i noticed my sulcata was getting very lethargic. it has progressively gotten worse. he hardly moves at all now and im afraid i might lose him. what are some of the causes for a sulcata not moving? is there anything i can do to help him?

he has been getting outside time every day. until yeserday i layed him outside and he didnt move the 30 minutes i left him out there. today he hasnt moved at all except when i took him out of his tank and soaked him.
 

luvsulcatas

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eclipse5161 said:
well a few days ago i noticed my sulcata was getting very lethargic. it has progressively gotten worse. he hardly moves at all now and im afraid i might lose him. what are some of the causes for a sulcata not moving? is there anything i can do to help him?

he has been getting outside time every day. until yeserday i layed him outside and he didnt move the 30 minutes i left him out there. today he hasnt moved at all except when i took him out of his tank and soaked him.

Sulcatas are prone to pinworms, which can make them sick. Take a fecal sample to the vet and have it tested for pinworm and maybe coccidia, too. Both can make a sulcata mighty sick. But there is treatment for both, thank God.
 

Tom

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We need more info and quickly. How old? How is he housed indoors? What are his temps? There should be four: Cool side, warm side, basking spot and night. Diet? Pics of the enclosure would help too.

Maggie is an expert at saving little babies and she recommends a warm soak with human baby food mixed in with the water. Try carrot or yams. Alternatively a soak with some liquid vitamin drops might help.

Don't wait on this. Time is critical at this point.
 

tortoisenerd

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Has he been getting a calcium supplement daily in addition to the time outside (or a UVB bulb)? Has the shell gotten any softer? How old is this tort? You really need to get him to a vet immediately. Honestly, sounds like it might be too late already if this is a hatchling. I'm so sorry you are having to go through this. I would call tomorrow morning and see if anywhere is open that sees torts. By the time they show symptoms, it is pretty far along in their illness.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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Tom said:
We need more info and quickly. How old? How is he housed indoors? What are his temps? There should be four: Cool side, warm side, basking spot and night. Diet? Pics of the enclosure would help too.

Maggie is an expert at saving little babies and she recommends a warm soak with human baby food mixed in with the water. Try carrot or yams. Alternatively a soak with some liquid vitamin drops might help.

Don't wait on this. Time is critical at this point.

I use carrots, baby food of course, and bird vitamins. It sounds kinda too late for this guy. Is there any news on him today? Is his plastron dark and soft?
 

eclipse5161

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sorry for not responding sooner. i have been out of town for work since i last posted. anyways i feel awful because im in a very tough spot financially and cant afford to get him to the vet. he hasnt gotten any better and after talking to my fiance i think we may have unintentionally poisoned the little guy. we sprayed the border of our house for bugs and while i was working my fiance let him out to roam the yard and may have eaten some grass around the house. when i got home today i noticed his belly was soft and darker in color where it was soft. i took some pictures. the cut on the bottom was there when i got him about 6 months ago. the warm side of his cage is between 90-95 and coolside around 80-85. now that its summer time we typically let him outside to roam around for hours at a time while my daughter plays and we soak him for 20 minutes after we come in. i litterally have $6 to my name right now and cant get him to a vet for another couple weeks so does anyone have any suggestions on how to fight this?

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oh and i leave bits of cuttle bone laying around his enclosure all the time and he has been munching on it up until recently when he became sick. and i have a uvb bulb on his enclosure as well.
 

Tom

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All you can do at this point is HOPE he makes it. I'd soak him two or three times a day in warm shallow water and wet his food a lot to try to run lots of water through his system and flush the poison. Do you believe in God? You might want to pray.

So sad.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I would be soaking him in carrots, that's strained baby food. You can get a couple of jars of that with your money. You fill a small pan with water mixed with the baby food, warm water just like a normal soak only you add baby food. I would also add liquid bird vitamins. Soak him for about 20 minutes a day. Can't you talk your Vet into letting you pay for a visit on next payday?
A Vet could at least force feed him some critical care and get some nourishment into him. When I get one that is sick like that, I carry them around with me and make them stay awake. I think sometimes when they are so sick they sleep themselves off to death. So I wrap them in a towel and carry them around making them stay awake. I honestly don't think it looks too good for your guy, but you can't just give up. Call your Vet and ask them, the least they can do is say no. But if you explain just how sick he is that might help. Is his plastron soft? Can you get some baby food? You could get 3 jars for less then $4. At least try, don't give up on him...
 

Yvonne G

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I'm afraid that once the plastron turns soft, its pretty hard to get them to live. If its soft where that darkened area is, he'll need liquid calcium or injectable calcium along with sun or the UVB light.
 

danielledelynn

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I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but emysemys is right about the plastron being soft. We just lost our little guy about a week ago and his tummy (aka plastron) was very soft and looked like your little guys'. We got the calcium injection, soaked him in mashed up carrots, soaked him, loved him, and so on...he succumbed to his illness even though he was showing signs of improvement. Is there any way you could ask a reptile vet in your area if they could do a payment plan with you? It may not be as expensive as you think. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your sully.
 
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