CaityChrys
New Member
Hi there ~
I’m Caity and I have a roughly 16ish year old male Greek tortoise. I’ve had him for 13 years.
I noticed last October that one of his legs was swollen a bit. When I talked to the vet he didn’t seem concerned so I let him hibernate. But when he woke up in the spring he was still swollen and so were his other legs. The vet claimed he didn’t see any swelling but at my insistence they did some X-rays and a blood test which came back with the conclusion of “possible” pneumonia. He was put on 2 different rounds of antibiotics neither of which helped to reduce the swelling. I ended up swapping vets in an attempt to find someone who would take me seriously. The next guy tried 2 other very powerful antibiotics but those did nothing as well. They tested him for parasites and a certain kind of bacteria which both came back negative. Vet number 2 ran a blood test to compare with the blood work from vet number 1. The only thing that was slightly off were the numbers for his kidneys. So the vet suggested putting a few drops of beta carotene supplements on his food and to try and hydrate him as much as possible. So that’s what I’ve been doing for over a month now: beta carotene, soaking his greens in water before feeding, lots of cucumbers also soaked in water, and several baths a week. But the swelling just seems to be getting worse. I’m at a complete loss! Thankfully he seems like his normal, bright eyed, stubborn, spunky, always hungry self ~ he doesn’t seem sick in any other way. If anyone could offer any advice I would greatly and forever appreciate it. It doesn’t seem to bother him at all but if it’s something serious I want to insist on getting him help before it becomes a more serious problem.
Thank you ~
I’m Caity and I have a roughly 16ish year old male Greek tortoise. I’ve had him for 13 years.
I noticed last October that one of his legs was swollen a bit. When I talked to the vet he didn’t seem concerned so I let him hibernate. But when he woke up in the spring he was still swollen and so were his other legs. The vet claimed he didn’t see any swelling but at my insistence they did some X-rays and a blood test which came back with the conclusion of “possible” pneumonia. He was put on 2 different rounds of antibiotics neither of which helped to reduce the swelling. I ended up swapping vets in an attempt to find someone who would take me seriously. The next guy tried 2 other very powerful antibiotics but those did nothing as well. They tested him for parasites and a certain kind of bacteria which both came back negative. Vet number 2 ran a blood test to compare with the blood work from vet number 1. The only thing that was slightly off were the numbers for his kidneys. So the vet suggested putting a few drops of beta carotene supplements on his food and to try and hydrate him as much as possible. So that’s what I’ve been doing for over a month now: beta carotene, soaking his greens in water before feeding, lots of cucumbers also soaked in water, and several baths a week. But the swelling just seems to be getting worse. I’m at a complete loss! Thankfully he seems like his normal, bright eyed, stubborn, spunky, always hungry self ~ he doesn’t seem sick in any other way. If anyone could offer any advice I would greatly and forever appreciate it. It doesn’t seem to bother him at all but if it’s something serious I want to insist on getting him help before it becomes a more serious problem.
Thank you ~
