Smelly sulcata baby tort!!

[lisalove]

Ok, this is going to sound a bit bizarre!
My 4 month old baby sulcata, Nodder, suddenly smells like a barnyard animal who has joined the circus!!!
My husband tells me I have a very strong sense of smell, which is true, while I tell my husband his nose is for decoration purposes only- -so I thought I would seek out a more knowledgeable opinion.
Also, it's not poop I'm talking about, it's his shell I smell(which I softly brush during soaks).
As of the last 5 days, I have started adding a little TNT on his food and that is the only change I have made. I feed Spring mix with a very small amount of grassland tortoise food sprinkled over it, cactus and other weeds as well. He also gets Mazuri 3 times a week with a sprinkle of calcium.
Also, his enclosure is kept very clean and doesn't smell.
Is this shell smell normal and what is it? Such a large odor for such little guy.
Thanks for helping.

 

[Torty Mom]

Hmmmm that is very interesting. Crud, I wish I had read this before I went to our CTTC meeting tonight, I could have asked. The guy I sat next to has 4! Wish I had an answer for ya, I am sure someone in the know will be able to help you out!! Daisy Lou has some seriously stinky poo, for a lady!

Peep

 

[zzzdanz]

The shell isn't soft at all is it?

 

[lisalove]

The shell isn't soft at all is it?

No, not at all.
The plastron has the normal 'baby' softness, but that's it.

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Hmmmm that is very interesting. Crud, I wish I had read this before I went to our CTTC meeting tonight, I could have asked. The guy I sat next to has 4! Wish I had an answer for ya, I am sure someone in the know will be able to help you out!! Daisy Lou has some seriously stinky poo, for a lady!

Peep

Thanks Peep!!!
Maybe next meeting.
He has stinky poo too, but as for the shell--the mystery continues.

 

[zzzdanz]

hmmm..all I can picture is everyone running to sniff their Sully...Maybe he has gas

 

[Tom]

There shouldn't be any smell to him. If its not something in the environment, it could be an indication of some sort of infection or abscess.

 

[lisalove]

There shouldn't be any smell to him. If its not something in the environment, it could be an indication of some sort of infection or abscess.

Absolutely no smell at all? That scares me
No other signs of illness. Could there be an abscess I don't see if there is no swelling anywhere?
He seems very healthy, moves around great and eats great too.
Going to bring him to vet tomorrow-very worried now.

 

[lisalove]

hmmm..all I can picture is everyone running to sniff their Sully...Maybe he has gas

I'm hopeful after all of the sniffing, I'll get some feedback!

 

[coreyc]

I sniffed mine no smell at all

 

[Tom]

There shouldn't be any smell to him. If its not something in the environment, it could be an indication of some sort of infection or abscess.

Absolutely no smell at all? That scares me
No other signs of illness. Could there be an abscess I don't see if there is no swelling anywhere?
He seems very healthy, moves around great and eats great too.
Going to bring him to vet tomorrow-very worried now.

The only thing they should smell like is their environment. So the substrate or poop if he has walked or laid in it. The actual tortoise shouldn't have any smell. When I sniff mine all I can smell is their substrate, whatever food they've been trudging through, or poop if they have any on them before their daily soak.

 

[Yvonne G]

The only thing I could think of is that there's some fresh poop stuck in a crevice someplace. Give him a good soaking, then a close inspection to make sure he's not hiding a little present for you someplace.

Maybe the TNT has changed his metabolism in some way and he's just getting used to the new food. Send Joe at Carolina Pet Supply an email and ask him if anyone else has complained of this problem after switching to TNT.

 

[lisalove]

Thanks! I sent an email to Joe. I thought the same thing about the TNT. Both top and bottom shell smell, and it's not an infection smell, so I'm a little less worried, but I'm posting pics I just took for you to check my little guy out (as best you can through pics). I may be a little paranoid, but do his legs look ok or a little puffy? Anything else you notice that I'm missing? Whew...stressful!

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There shouldn't be any smell to him. If its not something in the environment, it could be an indication of some sort of infection or abscess.

Absolutely no smell at all? That scares me
No other signs of illness. Could there be an abscess I don't see if there is no swelling anywhere?
He seems very healthy, moves around great and eats great too.
Going to bring him to vet tomorrow-very worried now.

The only thing they should smell like is their environment. So the substrate or poop if he has walked or laid in it. The actual tortoise shouldn't have any smell. When I sniff mine all I can smell is their substrate, whatever food they've been trudging through, or poop if they have any on them before their daily soak.

I don't think I live far from you Tom--I may be knocking on your door to sniff your torts!!!!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not a vet, but I think I'd be a little worried too. He seems to be retaining fluids and that coupled with him smelling might mean something wrong with his kidneys. I don't mean to scare you, and sometimes when stressed they do tend to "blow up" a bit, but I think a vet visit (with a qualified tortoise vet) might be in order.

 

[lisalove]

I already have an appointment scheduled for first thing Monday morning.
Thanks Yvonne.

 

[Tom]

Yeah, I noticed the same thing about the "puffiness" too. And I don't like the look of his eyes either. Good luck and please keep us posted. I'd love to hear what the vet has to say.

 

[lisalove]

I thought he looked a little puffy.
I will for sure post after my vet visit.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Good call on the vet visit--that puffiness and coloring was the first thing I noticed. As for the smell--a tortoise shouldn't have a smell. In fact, everyone who visits our house is surprised our house doesn't smell like reptile. Its interesting that the smell and puffiness are likely related (since everything else typical seems to be ruled out). Poop can get stuck in some crazy crevices on the tort, but you'd notice the smell more on some areas of the tort than others. So, I'm stumped. Sometimes I have to take a wet paper towel to scrub out under the shell around the legs and tail and such. I don't think a soft brush is appropriate, but many use them. Good luck with the vet--hope you have a good tort specialist who can treat this aggressively.

 

[lisalove]

Good call on the vet visit--that puffiness and coloring was the first thing I noticed. As for the smell--a tortoise shouldn't have a smell. In fact, everyone who visits our house is surprised our house doesn't smell like reptile. Its interesting that the smell and puffiness are likely related (since everything else typical seems to be ruled out).


Thank you for the info.
I believe you mentioned before that you use TNT and calcium.
Let me pick your brain about supplements for a moment please.
I use calcium w/D3 3 days a week, TNT daily and I have a bit of cuttlebone in the enclosure. I plan on using calcium without D3 in Spring, Summer and Fall.
I put him in the sun for several hours when the sun is out-so almost
daily and he has a Powersun MVB.

Is there something you think I should do differently?

 

[Kristina]

I know you didn't ask me, lol, but personally I wouldn't use the TNT daily. As long as your baby is getting a good varied diet, 1-2X weekly is plenty, in my opinion.

 

[lisalove]

Just wanted to update-
Took Nodder to the vet and was told that he is overly hydrated. Only soak 3 times a week. They also wanted to give a vitamin injection which I declined. I have another appt for my vet first thing Monday still and will be going to her for sure.
He does feel a little heavy, so I think water retention does make sense.
Any thoughts?

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Just wanted to update-
Took Nodder to the vet and was told that he is overly hydrated. Only soak 3 times a week. They also wanted to give a vitamin injection which I declined. I have another appt for my vet first thing Monday still and will be going to her for sure.
He does feel a little heavy, so I think water retention does make sense.
Any thoughts?

UPDATED:

Just wanted to update-
Took Nodder to the vet and was told that he is overly hydrated. I should only soak 3 times a week instead of daily like I'm doing now. They also wanted to give a vitamin injection which I declined. I have another appt for my vet first thing Monday still and will be going to her for sure.
He does feel a little heavy, so I think water retention does make sense.
Any thoughts?