sick tort - i think - please help

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jue

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hi would like advice ! just got a 4 year old spur thigh male tort
has lovely flat shell -bright eyes-pink tounge -seems healthy -eating well - still waiting for poo- but hes uninterseted in daily life !!
all my torts are out there foreging but he is isnt - also his legs are not very strong !!
anyone any ideas or am i worring for nothing?
jue:(
 

egyptiandan

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Welcome to the forum Jue :)

Can you post pictures of your Spur thigh? How are you keeping him? Did you quarantine him?

Danny
 

jue

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hi
thanks for your greeting and reply
yes he is quarantined -
i have put him in an open top table with heat and uv bulb and he is just sitting under the heat !!
i will try to put photo on for you -
thanks
jue
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Jue:

Welcome to the forum!

I hope you are able to get some help here for your tortoise. Sometimes it takes a new tortoise a bit of time to get used to his new surroundings. Give him a soak and a place to hide. We'd love to see pictures.
 

jue

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hi yvonne
could u give me a few pointers on how to put photo on ????
been lookin for ages and cant work it out............

jue
 

Thetis

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jue said:
hi yvonne
could u give me a few pointers on how to put photo on ????
been lookin for ages and cant work it out............

jue

If they are the correct size you can upload them as attachments or if they are posted on a photo site, like photobucket, you can click the insert image button and put in the url for the picture.
The insert image button is the little button that looks like some mountains with a sun that is right above where you input text.
 

jue

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038.jpg

037.jpg

036.jpg


:cool: hi guys
think i have got photos on at last .......
thanks to you for advice :)
jue
 

Yvonne G

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Oh, Jue! He's a beautiful 4 yr. old!
 
M

Maggie Cummings

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welcome to the forum, what makes you think he is sick? Do you keep him on glass like is in the picture? Does he have any discharge from his nose? Is he eating? How are you keeping him? Lots of questions I know, but that will help us to figure out if he's sick or not. He's a beautiful tortoise...
 

jue

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maggie3fan said:
welcome to the forum, what makes you think he is sick? Do you keep him on glass like is in the picture? Does he have any discharge from his nose? Is he eating? How are you keeping him? Lots of questions I know, but that will help us to figure out if he's sick or not. He's a beautiful tortoise...

hiyas
i have taken photo of him on my table !! he is currently in a open table top -heat lam[ now about 80 - and uv lamp having 2 -20 min baths a day did a hard poop yesterday drinking and eating!! but he dosent move much at all -the person i got him from has moved and he said he seems depressed !! his muscle tone in his legs are weak-my other torts are strong legged -like tanks that they are and on the go - i have put him in the garden when sun realy warm and he just sits there !! no nasel discharge -eyes bright !! perhaps i am worring tooooo much -yea he is lovely isnt he....
jue:rolleyes:

emysemys said:
Oh, Jue! He's a beautiful 4 yr. old!

hi
yea he is lovely !!:rolleyes:could not say no as his family have moved and do not have the space for him :(
so hopefully he will live long and prosper ...........
jue
 

tortoisenerd

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Do you have information about how he acted at his previous home, and what type of substrate he was on? This inactivity might have been normal for him, and as pretty as he looks, it is possible he was kept on a type of substrate that was improper and his leg muscles didn't develop correctly. What do you have him on now for substrate indoors (I assume dirt or grass outdoors)? If he is eating well and looks good, I would give him some time. He might just be a little freaked out with the new home still. Is he in with your other torts? Typically a quarantine is recommended, but too late now. A fecal test for parasites at the vet is a good idea to do yearly for each tort, regardless of how healthy they look. I would want to have an experienced vet check out his muscle tone, especially if this continues for more than 2-3 weeks.

Do you mean that when you pick him up, he is more limp than you are used to, or what in particular makes you suspect low muscle tone? If he is just sitting when you put him in the garden, make sure you put him in the shade if it is really that hot because you don't want him to overheat and not move. The temps indoors should be more like a range from 70 to 95, than a flat temperature of 80, so I hope you just measured at one spot instead of reporting the temperature gradient. Make sure the bulb is UVB and if it a tube bulb, not older than 6 months, and if a Mercury Vapor Bulb, not older than 12 months. Make sure you have water in the enclosure too, but once you've had him for a week or so, I'd cut the baths down to one time every other or every third day. 40 minutes a day is a bit much for a healthy tort of that age, and can cause more stress.

You say he is eating well. Does he walk over to the food on his own, or do you pick him up and have him eat?

In short, since what you have said doesn't sound too worrisome, give him some time to settle in, make sure the temps are right, and keep an eye on him. It is tough for a tort to settle in to a new home. Also, it is tough to compare one tort to another as they are all different, but in time you do want to see activity daily from him to thermoregulate and eat. Good luck! Don't worry yet--none of this is too worrisome, and it may all be simply explained by settling in to a new home. As much information as you can get from the old owner about care and diet and substrate is best.
 

jue

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tortoisenerd said:
Do you have information about how he acted at his previous home, and what type of substrate he was on? This inactivity might have been normal for him, and as pretty as he looks, it is possible he was kept on a type of substrate that was improper and his leg muscles didn't develop correctly. What do you have him on now for substrate indoors (I assume dirt or grass outdoors)? If he is eating well and looks good, I would give him some time. He might just be a little freaked out with the new home still. Is he in with your other torts? Typically a quarantine is recommended, but too late now. A fecal test for parasites at the vet is a good idea to do yearly for each tort, regardless of how healthy they look. I would want to have an experienced vet check out his muscle tone, especially if this continues for more than 2-3 weeks.

Do you mean that when you pick him up, he is more limp than you are used to, or what in particular makes you suspect low muscle tone? If he is just sitting when you put him in the garden, make sure you put him in the shade if it is really that hot because you don't want him to overheat and not move. The temps indoors should be more like a range from 70 to 95, than a flat temperature of 80, so I hope you just measured at one spot instead of reporting the temperature gradient. Make sure the bulb is UVB and if it a tube bulb, not older than 6 months, and if a Mercury Vapor Bulb, not older than 12 months. Make sure you have water in the enclosure too, but once you've had him for a week or so, I'd cut the baths down to one time every other or every third day. 40 minutes a day is a bit much for a healthy tort of that age, and can cause more stress.

You say he is eating well. Does he walk over to the food on his own, or do you pick him up and have him eat?

In short, since what you have said doesn't sound too worrisome, give him some time to settle in, make sure the temps are right, and keep an eye on him. It is tough for a tort to settle in to a new home. Also, it is tough to compare one tort to another as they are all different, but in time you do want to see activity daily from him to thermoregulate and eat. Good luck! Don't worry yet--none of this is too worrisome, and it may all be simply explained by settling in to a new home. As much information as you can get from the old owner about care and diet and substrate is best.

hi kate
the under his heat lamp it is 80 and its a 4 ft table the other end is 15 so he has plenty of space to cool down he has water and a new uvb lamp- his owner said he was beeing kept in there mothers garden !he self hibernated this year and hes not been moving around much he came with a female who hes been with and shes same age ! she is off around the garden foreging and enjoying herself her legs are strong - i have horsefield as well and they are busy forgeing and basking ! i have kept them apart -large garden and totally enclosed- i will phone them and ask what substrates he was kept on they gave me his table top box which is very big so i know he wasnt in a viv !
substrates now are dirt-stones-bark-slate-and a hide
thanks for the advice i do have a brillient vet so i will give it a couple of weeks and pay a vist with him -
thanks jue
 

egyptiandan

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Is under his heat lamp 30C and not 80? If it's 30C, you might want to up that to 34C.

Did he self hibernate inside or outside?

When you go to the vet, get an x-ray. It's quite possible he has a bladder stone. They can cause the rear legs to not work if it is pressing against nerves.

Danny
 

tortoisenerd

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Definitely take up Danny's suggestion on the x-ray as that is a quick one to rule out a very serious issue, but hopefully it isn't that. If the other tort with him is doing well, then that more so makes me think he is sick and needs to go to a vet for a check up, x-ray, and fecal test. I actually think that is something to get done now, seeing as it sounds like this has been going on for maybe a week now?

I think that if there are no health issues, the max of 30 C could explain it...that is only 86 F. Their tummies need to be that at a minimum to be active and eating, so you need to have a basking spot more like 34/35/36 C like Danny said, as the tort won't always bask in that spot, and that way more of the enclosure is that warmer temp. That will also warm up the cool side hopefully, as 15 C is 60 F, and you want it more like 70 F at a minimum (21 C). When a tort is getting used to a new environment, a lot of time it will just sit in the area with a hide, so if your hide is in the 15 C area, then the tort is way too cold. Bump up the temps and also make sure there are hides in a moderate temp area and right next to the basking spot, and encourage the tort to spend time in that warm hide. My tort spends most of his day in his hide where it is 80/85 F (about 27 or 28 C). I wouldn't be surprised if as time went on with the warmer temps and maybe an added warm hide, you saw more activity. I wonder what temps the old owner kept the torts at? Some torts adjust better than others to changes, so one tort might be dealing well with the cooler temps, and the other isn't.

Good luck!
 

jue

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egyptiandan said:
Is under his heat lamp 30C and not 80? If it's 30C, you might want to up that to 34C.

Did he self hibernate inside or outside?

When you go to the vet, get an x-ray. It's quite possible he has a bladder stone. They can cause the rear legs to not work if it is pressing against nerves.

Danny


jue said:
egyptiandan said:
Is under his heat lamp 30C and not 80? If it's 30C, you might want to up that to 34C.

Did he self hibernate inside or outside?

When you go to the vet, get an x-ray. It's quite possible he has a bladder stone. They can cause the rear legs to not work if it is pressing against nerves.

Danny

hi danny
took your advice
went to vets - got a poo sample-
vet checked him over and today got results he has worms
so going in to have vet worm him-
he will x-ray him after -one thing at a time he dosent think he has a stone but will check that out and bone density then
he agrees with me that he dosent have much power in his legs etc.... but when were there he was on the move all the time .....making me out to be a worrier
so will keep u updated
thanks for your advice jue:D

tortoisenerd said:
Definitely take up Danny's suggestion on the x-ray as that is a quick one to rule out a very serious issue, but hopefully it isn't that. If the other tort with him is doing well, then that more so makes me think he is sick and needs to go to a vet for a check up, x-ray, and fecal test. I actually think that is something to get done now, seeing as it sounds like this has been going on for maybe a week now?

I think that if there are no health issues, the max of 30 C could explain it...that is only 86 F. Their tummies need to be that at a minimum to be active and eating, so you need to have a basking spot more like 34/35/36 C like Danny said, as the tort won't always bask in that spot, and that way more of the enclosure is that warmer temp. That will also warm up the cool side hopefully, as 15 C is 60 F, and you want it more like 70 F at a minimum (21 C). When a tort is getting used to a new environment, a lot of time it will just sit in the area with a hide, so if your hide is in the 15 C area, then the tort is way too cold. Bump up the temps and also make sure there are hides in a moderate temp area and right next to the basking spot, and encourage the tort to spend time in that warm hide. My tort spends most of his day in his hide where it is 80/85 F (about 27 or 28 C). I wouldn't be surprised if as time went on with the warmer temps and maybe an added warm hide, you saw more activity. I wonder what temps the old owner kept the torts at? Some torts adjust better than others to changes, so one tort might be dealing well with the cooler temps, and the other isn't.

Good luck!
hi kate
have upped the temperatures as u suggested and made sure his hide was warmer had him out today in the sun and he has eaten some .... tooke a fecal for the vet and he has worms.....goin into the vet to make sure he takes all the pancure over 3 days.......i want to make sure he takes it all so i would rather let them do it and we are going to have x-ray to check him out
thanks for the advice :D:D
will keep you updated when i have more news
:D:D
 

tortoisenerd

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Hope the worms get cleared up! They are very normal for torts to have, no worries. Small amounts are healthy but moderate to large amounts should be treated. It usually takes the dose of 3 days plus another 3 days awhile after if you do the meds at home, so I assume the vet is doing the single dose meds that act differently, unless they have you go back after a bit for another 3 days. Typically the first at home course of 3 days gets rid of the worms, and the second one a week? later gets rid of the eggs that have hatched since the first dose, but sometimes they do a one course treatment at the vet's and I don't know how that works. It will be easier on you and the tort to have it done at the vet like that. I'm lucky my tort will just eat a "sandwich" of medicine folded in lettuce so I watch that he eats it and doesn't get it on his face. Also get a re-test in a couple months to make sure the worms are gone, and nothing else has cropped up that was lying dormant. The meds don't actually kill the worms, but make it so that the intestines are a hostile environment to live in or something like that. That is great the vet is willing to give the doses. Also so glad you will get an x-ray for the peace of mind. Torts sure can run when scared! My tort is also willing to provide a fresh fecal sample for the vet on demand at the visit. :)
 
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