Sick Sulcata

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William Crews

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Hello everyone!
I have a problem with a sick sulcata tortoise. First some background info. My sister-in-law and I each bought a baby sulcata one year ago. She brought hers home and I had not seen it since. My baby has been growing like crazy and I have not had a single problem with him at all, other than his shell is slightly bumpy. About a week ago I saw my sister-in-laws tort and I was horrified at what I saw. His shell was really flat and pyramided(not sure if thats a word), and he is less than half the size of mine. I looked closer and saw that he doesn't seem to have full use of his hind legs. I told her that I was taking him home with me, that she didnt deserve such a cool pet and not take care of him properly (i wish i had seen this months ago). She had no uv lamp and never brought the little guy outside, there was no cuttlebone and she didnt have any calcium powder. It made me sick to my stomach!!! I took him home and have been soaking him a couple hours a day because I thought he was dehydrated. I looked for a tort vet in my area and there are none. He wont eat at all and he hasnt pooped, not even in his soaks. Does anyone have any ideas on what is going on? I figure it has MBD and its so weak that I figure its not going to make it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, advice other than punching my sister-in-law in the face for neglecting this little guy!!
 

MichiLove

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That's so sad! How old are the babies now? It does sound like MBD but I don't really know. I am new Sulcata owner myself. I'm sure someone more experienced will come along to help you out soon.
 

lovelyrosepetal

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That is so sad. It sounds like MBD to me as well. They can recover but you need to do a lot of stuff to try to help it. Also if it is too weak to eat you should put some baby food in the water you soak it in and try to get it some nutrition that way, try to get it as much sunlight as you can,that I think will help a lot. There might not be anything you can do to save it. Others here will be able to help you a lot more. I would post some good, clear pictures and maybe pm a couple of people. Tom is really good with his sulcatas, emysemys is really good at helping tortoises and there are so many more on this site that might know what to do. Good luck with everything. Sincerely, Rose
 

sibi

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Man, you need to get this tort to a vet. x-rays will tell if he has mbd; in the meantime, keep up the warm soaks...2-3 daily for 30 minutes. Start giving calcium in some watermelon. That's a treat for torts, and I only give it to mine when they are sick and not eating. When you see the vet, ask to have his poop checked for worms. That would be a good start. Sibi

quote='William Crews' pid='530505' dateline='1347842572']
Hello everyone!
I have a problem with a sick sulcata tortoise. First some background info. My sister-in-law and I each bought a baby sulcata one year ago. She brought hers home and I had not seen it since. My baby has been growing like crazy and I have not had a single problem with him at all, other than his shell is slightly bumpy. About a week ago I saw my sister-in-laws tort and I was horrified at what I saw. His shell was really flat and pyramided(not sure if thats a word), and he is less than half the size of mine. I looked closer and saw that he doesn't seem to have full use of his hind legs. I told her that I was taking him home with me, that she didnt deserve such a cool pet and not take care of him properly (i wish i had seen this months ago). She had no uv lamp and never brought the little guy outside, there was no cuttlebone and she didnt have any calcium powder. It made me sick to my stomach!!! I took him home and have been soaking him a couple hours a day because I thought he was dehydrated. I looked for a tort vet in my area and there are none. He wont eat at all and he hasnt pooped, not even in his soaks. Does anyone have any ideas on what is going on? I figure it has MBD and its so weak that I figure its not going to make it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, advice other than punching my sister-in-law in the face for neglecting this little guy!!
[/quote]



Btw, you can take him to any vet. What he needs now is someone who can get the x-rays and poop examined. Then ask for the records, and send it to a specialist with torts and get his opinion.
 

shellysmom

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Hi! Sounds like MBD to me, too. Don't give up on this little guy. I've heard horror stories of torts that are in such bad shape they can't walk, and with some proper care and time they recover. Sunshine, warmth, hydration, proper diet and vitamin/mineral supplements can go a long way to help... There aren't any exotic animal vets anywhere near you at all? Yikes. I know there are people here who have had to correct MBD before, so hopefully they'll chime in. You came to the right place. :)
 

LuckysGirl007

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I'll bump ya! I know I have seen someone on here nurse some rescued Sulcatas back o health. Try a search on rescued Sulcatas and maybe you can find that thread to see who it was.
 
M

Maggie Cummings

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Soaking once a day for 20 to 30 minutes is enough time for him to get a drink. Get him in the sun as often as you can and give him baby food soaks for now. we have to get some nutrients into him. Offer him raddicchio and kale. They are both good produts and pretty stinky, they have a strong odor that should entice him to eat.
Start a regular schedule. Get up and soak for 30 minutes then offer food leave it in the pen for about an hour, then when you are sure he's done throw the old stuff away. Now he should spend his afternoon basking in the sun.
Get some liquid calceonate (sp?) liquid calcium)

See if you can get him to eat some watermelon. It's colorful and has a high water content that should help with the dehydration...



.quote='William Crews' pid='530505' dateline='1347842572']
Hello everyone!
I have a problem with a sick sulcata tortoise. First some background info. My sister-in-law and I each bought a baby sulcata one year ago. She brought hers home and I had not seen it since. My baby has been growing like crazy and I have not had a single problem with him at all, other than his shell is slightly bumpy. About a week ago I saw my sister-in-laws tort and I was horrified at what I saw. His shell was really flat and pyramided(not sure if thats a word), and he is less than half the size of mine. I looked closer and saw that he doesn't seem to have full use of his hind legs. I told her that I was taking him home with me, that she didnt deserve such a cool pet and not take care of him properly (i wish i had seen this months ago). She had no uv lamp and never brought the little guy outside, there was no cuttlebone and she didnt have any calcium powder. It made me sick to my stomach!!! I took him home and have been soaking him a couple hours a day because I thought he was dehydrated. I looked for a tort vet in my area and there are none. He wont eat at all and he hasnt pooped, not even in his soaks. Does anyone have any ideas on what is going on? I figure it has MBD and its so weak that I figure its not going to make it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, advice other than punching my sister-in-law in the face for neglecting this little guy!!
[/quote]
 

William Crews

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Thank you all so much for your quick responses, I sure hope he makes it. No pet deserves the treatment the was made to endure.
 

shellysmom

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Where are you located? Maybe someone here knows of a good vet in your general area???
 

lovelyrosepetal

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You can also look at the vet list to see if there is a vet that someone has already recommended. It might be helpful:)
 

Yvonne G

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Don't be so upset with your sister. Its just another case of reptile ignorance, and she didn't take the time to do some research.

Calcium and sun. This is the only thing that will turn your baby around. Maggie swears by Calcionate, and I never could find it, so I ordered it online. The one I got has a blueberry taste. Sibi's idea of injecting the calcium into watermelon was a good one. And if you can't get the baby to eat, you can squirt some liquid calcium into his mouth via an eye dropper. But sun...sun...sun!!! (Take care not to cook him)
 

William Crews

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Update,
After a week of no eating the little guy was so weak so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I crushed some spring mix with a morter and pestle until it was a paste, I added some water to make it more of a liquid than a paste, I filtered this liquid through a coffee filter and what I ended up with was a strong smelling green liquid. I added a little but of calcium powder and stirred it until it dissolved.I had an old syringe from filling ink cartridges for printers that I had never used and i sucked up a bit of this liquid and was able to get the end into the torts mouth( he was to weak to protest) and I slowly injected this liquid into his mouth and it looked like he was swallowing some. I probably gave him about a tablespoon of liquid and stopped. I figured he was definitely dying so what did I have to lose. The next day I was shocked to see that he was a lot more alert, he was just as weak but there was improvement. I administered a second dose and soaked him again. Later that night he was trying to scoot around without the use of his rear legs but he was moving around (still more progress). Yesterday I saw him even more alert and I soaked him again and he was trying to get out of the bowl I soak him in, which was a lot of moving for him and his rear legs were starting to work. I put him back into his enclosure and he began to eat his spring mix. I nearly cried!!! the little bugger seems to be doing loads better. I still havnt seen him poop but what goes in hopefully will come out, unless he is impacted. Thanks for the words of encouragement and hopefully he will continue to improve.
 

mainey34

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This is so disheartening. But thank the lord you stepped in to help. Let's just hope that things get better from here. Good man, William.
 
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