Sick Totoise

[Kimmy]

I have two African Leopard Tortoises, the smaller of the two, Shelby, began regurgitating his food a few days ago I took him to to the vets who presribed ant-biotics and also a worming mixture, he seems quite lively and until now his appetite has been normal, I would like to know what could be the cause, and if you think the treatment is suitable ?

Kimmy

 

[egyptiandan]

Hi Kimmy,
It quite possiblely could have been parasites that caused the vomitting. Other causes are foreign bodies (as in something stuck in the intestines), constipation or septicemia.

Danny

 

[Kimmy]

Hi Danny,
Thank you for your reply.

I gave Shelby the medicine for the first time yesteday and then he ate. A short time later he vomited again. He recieved the medicine today again but is yet to eat anything. The vet said that if he was not better by the time the medicine was finished that I was to take him back. Despite the lack of eating the only other chage to Shelby's behavior is that his mouth is sometimes a little wet in the corners. He is as lively as ever and still seems to have strength in his legs and head.

Neither of my tortoises have ever been sick before and I was wondering if it was common that while on the medication tortoises would lose their appetite? From reading other threads I know that weight loss is not a good sign.

Any advise that can be given to in any way help Shelby is very much welcome and appreciated,

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

Kimmy

 

[galvinkaos]

I hope Shelby feels better soon. Keep us posted.

Dawna

 

[tortoisenerd]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope Shelby is staying hydrated. I've heard with worming medications their appetite can be off (maybe it makes their tummy upset?).

 

[Yvonne G]

de-worming medications are actually poisons, so its not unusual for the tortoise to feel a little sick while on the meds.

Yvonne

 

[twtraudio]

wonder how your leopard got the worms since they are all captive bred since i believe in 2000 ( i could be off ) they banned importing on them.

 

[Kimmy]

Thank you all for replying.

I live in the UK and am not sure on the importing laws here but I bought Shelby 3 years ago and the owner said that all the hatchlings that he sold were captive bred. He also listed all the health checks that the tortoises went through before they were dispatched and I was sure worming was on the list. The vet was not sure what caused Shelby to vomit and he hoped that the anti-biotic would fix that problem. He thought it may have been a piece of grit or something similar that had got stuck. He also stated that the worming medication was just precautionary and at the time I assumed it to be simmilar to worming a puppy (ie - did not think that there may be no need for it at all as there was no possible way for Shelby to have gotten worms). I know that tortoises can pick up paracites and such from other tortoises but the only tortoise Shelby has been in contact with is my other Leopard, Kimba who I was also told was bred in captivity.

Shelby is cerainly staying hydrated as I keep giving him bath's and trying to entice him to eat, he is probably wishing i'd just go away and leave him alone lol.

Thankfully Shelby's final dose of the worming medication is tommorrow, It certainly sounds like horrible stuff, so he will hopefully get his appitite back soon. Thank you all again for helping me to further understand this and I hope all your tortoises are happy and healthy,

Kimmy

 

[Crazy1]

Kimmy, my well wishes are sent your way for Shelby's fast return to good health. Please keep us posted.

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...Is your vet a tortoise vet or a regular puppy/kitty vet who will see tortoises?

Did your vet do a fecal on his poop? Before his next visit, put a fresh poop in a baggie & have him/her do a fecal. Vets shouldn't medicate without a reason!

You might want to raise his basking temps a little until he is feeling better... 90-95 F

When you say his mouth is wet...can you open his mouth & see if you see any thick saliva in there? If so, he may have stomatitis.

Once he is past this, give all your torts a spoonful of pumpkin about once a month. It is full of fiber & helps to flush worms out naturally.
You can buy 100% pumpkin in the canned pie fillings section in grocery stores.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[Kimmy]

Thank you both for your replys,

the vet practice is the same as the same one that I take my dogs to and will treat a wide range of animals but the vet that we were seen by had to consult with a collegue who had specific experience with treating tortoises. The vet did not do a fecal but said that if the problem had not stopped by the time the medication was finished to take Shelby back and this would be done and sent for analysis. The medication has another 6 days to go until it is finished.

Unfortunately Shelby has still not eaten, so I have no idea whether the medication prescribed has fixed the initial vomiting problem. I really should have thought more or done more reasearch before starting the medication. If i had known that the worming medication was going to make Shelby lose his appetite I would have asked the vet if we could give him the anti-biotic to clear up the vomiting problem and then he could have had the worming medication after I knew he was healthy again.

There did not appear to be any thick saliva in his mouth this morning but his mouth was not wet this morning either so i'll definetly check again later.

I will also increase the temperature, I had initially considered doing this but thought it may make Shelby want to drink more and thought it best not to change the environment, and I had never considered giving my tortoises pumpkin before but will definetly do so in the future, it is always nice to find new things that tortoises are able to eat,

Kimmy

 

[Jacqui]

Kimmy, it's been a few days, is he eating yet?

 

[Kimmy]

Hi Jacqui,

I

---

Hi Jacqui,

I made an appointment with the vet for last Friday and about 2 hours before we were going to leave Shelby started eating, he only ate for around a minute but until then he hadn't eaten anything so I was really pleased. We went to the vet and I stated my concerns about Shelby not eating so she took a blood sample and is expecting the results back early this week. In order to take the blood the vet had to insert a needle into Shelby's neck and I immediatly thought Shelby would probably remain in his shell for a long time afterwards but thankfully by the time we got back to the car he was trying to find the exit to the carrier so the experience must have looked much worse than it atcually was.The vet has two leopard tortoises of her own and recomended I try feeding Shelby rocket, peppers and tomatoes and stated that it is possible he could have mouth rot although she looked at his mouth and did not see any visible signs. She was also pleased that he was very active but did think that he may be a little small for his age.

The vet stated that the results of the blood test should tell us exactly what is wrong with Shelby so I am hoping to find out some time before Wednesday. Shelby has been eating a little each day, no where near as much as he used to but I believe it is increasing and he has also not vomited again. So I am hoping that the initial medication worked and the blood test will state that Shelby is healthy. I tried giving both tortoises the food suggested they both loved rocket previously and that was all Shelby ate in a very small amount. Kimba tried the tomato before promtly spitting it back out with a disgusted expression but he did enjoy the peppers.

I was going to post on Friday as I know some people wanted me to keep them updated but I did not want to double post. I'll let you know the results of the blood test though,

Kimmy

 

[Crazy1]

Kimmy I am glad to hear that Shelby is eating at least a little something. Do you house both Shelby and Kimba together? If one gets ill usually both will especially if it is something like worms or URI. Please let your vet know when you talk with them if you house them together. Will be waiting to see how the blood tests comes out. Good luck thinking good thoughts and prayers your way for good news.