Sulcata swallowed a screw...

dmmj

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Putting a tortoise under anesthesia is NOT 'simple'. It's not the same as putting a mammal under anesthesia. Tortoise lungs are fragile and they don't always come out of it.
reminds me of poor Maggie and King Bob
 

BarefootInABug

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Putting a tortoise under anesthesia is NOT 'simple'. It's not the same as putting a mammal under anesthesia. Tortoise lungs are fragile and they don't always come out of it.
I apologize. I did not read my last post before I posted it. I mean that it is a simpler surgery now.
 

C. Nelson

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There is no reason why the screw shouldn't pass through harmlessly. Soak the tortoise daily to get the GI tract moving and feed a lot of spineless opuntia pads for the water contents and lubrication properties. Keep the soak water warm through out and leave him in the tub for an hour.

In the wild, tortoises eat fully spined regular cactus, and those nasty spines pass through with no problem. If you've ever looked at a turd from a grass eating species, you know they don't digest everything. I would not do surgery if it were my tortoise, but I would be checking every turd until I found it, and also looking for any indication that there might be a problem. Lethargy, lack of appetite or a change in behavior would make me immediately consider surgery.

Also, what type of fencing are you making? Tortoises need a visual barrier type of fencing, or they are likely to damage themselves. If you are using chainlink or hog wire, add a visual barrier along the bottom. You can use 16" tall by 8 ' long strips of plywood for this. One sheet of ply will get you 24' of coverage. Since your tortoise is small, you can use 12" high strips and get 36' of coverage per sheet, but you might have to go taller once he gets bigger.

Post a plastron shot showing the tail and anal scutes and we can tell you if you've got a male or female.

Excuse the pun, but, Good Point! I have often wondered why they can eat prickles from cactus in the wild and it doesn't phase them.
 

Donna Albu

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Putting a tortoise under anesthesia is NOT 'simple'. It's not the same as putting a mammal under anesthesia. Tortoise lungs are fragile and they don't always come out of it.
Especially at a teaching hospital where a student will be doing the work with the supervision of a vet. The student will be a doctor, but not a full fledged vet. Give your tort plenty of hay along with the cactus, and wait and see.
 

BarefootInABug

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I have not forgotten. So, turns out she is a she. She is home but still no screw. Just playing the wait a d see game as of now. I promise to post a final update when we know more.
 

BarefootInABug

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So, in the end he passed the screw. I have no idea where because we can not find it and we have looked through a lot of tortoise poop in the last month. There seem to be no ill effects. We know he passed it because it is gone on the xrays. Thanks for all the advice and support.
 

dmmj

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I was just going to ask how you knew if you didn't find it. Good to know everything worked out in the end :)
 

Alphakenc

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Im glad its a happy ending...what goes in hopefully all comes out...its a blessing ur tortoise are a strong torts even with that screw in the stomach :eek: what a Houdini tortoise !!
 
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