Terrible vets

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nicolam38

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Last week a big bag that was red popped out from my tortoises behind,I took it to a vets a got her registered,he said it was a prolapse and he needed to operate and pop it back in,he did the operation and twice within the week,it popped out through the stitch,the vet said its normal and ignore it,I took her back a week later to have her stitches took out,at this time her tail was very swollen,she hadnt ate very well or had normal poos,he took the stitch out and something popped out again,he said it was her penis,after telling me her prolapse was probably caused by her trying to get her eggs out,,it cost me £72 and I took her home,the next day,it was still there,I took her back and another vet looked at her,she said the end had died and I needed to take her to a vets an hours drive away from me,I did this and the vet that was a proppa reptile vet said it needed sorting and fifi may not pull through,,,she did but half her insides had died and had to be removed,she had septasemia and was very poorly,I had to pay a further £350,she is now on pain killers and antibiotics for a week,I'm happy to say fifi is back to her happy normal self but I would like some help as in where and how can I report the vet who first treated my tortoise as it has cost me a lot of money and I was finished up from work on Friday and I'm a single parent to 3 children,,I would really appreciate any help,,thanks
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Nicola:

Welcome!

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but your fist vet did the right thing.

If you don't treat the underlying reason for the prolapse, it will just keep happening.

The first thing the vet does is push the prolapse back inside and take a couple sutures to hold it in. Hopefully this works and the prolapse doesn't come back out. But...

If the tortoise has a bunch of stones or hard urates that need to be passed, or is egg bound, and the tortoise is straining to get them out, but they're too big to fit through the space, then the straining causes the prolapse again. It doesn't matter if its the penis, or if its the female parts. It will keep happening until either the stones or eggs have been removed.

As the tortoise's care-giver, it is up to YOU to make sure that the prolapsed parts don't dry out. If they do, they die and have to be amputated.

I'm very sorry you and your tortoise had to go through this. It is a very common problem and no fun at all for either you or your tortoise. But everything you've told us sounds perfectly normal to me. The vet did fine.
 

wellington

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Sorry, about your ordeal, happy your tort is doing good. Where are you located? You could talk to the last vet you went to and find out if he/she will help you out at all on getting your money back from the first vet. Also talk to the first vet and explain what happened. Maybe he/she will do something for you. Also, if you paid by credit card, you could fight the charges through them. in the long run, you probably won't get any satisfaction except to report them. However, need to know where you are located in order to know who to report to.

I posted at the same time as emysemys and she knows way more about prolapse then me. So, it sounds, unfortunately, that you have no recourse. Sorry:(
 

JoesMum

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Hi niki. Whereabouts in the UK are you?

It sounds like your vet did exactly the right thing. Unfortunately these things don't come cheap. I hope your tort recovers quickly.
 

nicolam38

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JoesMum said:
Hi niki. Whereabouts in the UK are you?

It sounds like your vet did exactly the right thing. Unfortunately these things don't come cheap. I hope your tort recovers quickly.

Hi I'm in widnes,Cheshire ,thanks
 

nicolam38

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emysemys said:
Hi Nicola:

Welcome!

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but your fist vet did the right thing.

If you don't treat the underlying reason for the prolapse, it will just keep happening.

The first thing the vet does is push the prolapse back inside and take a couple sutures to hold it in. Hopefully this works and the prolapse doesn't come back out. But...

If the tortoise has a bunch of stones or hard urates that need to be passed, or is egg bound, and the tortoise is straining to get them out, but they're too big to fit through the space, then the straining causes the prolapse again. It doesn't matter if its the penis, or if its the female parts. It will keep happening until either the stones or eggs have been removed.

As the tortoise's care-giver, it is up to YOU to make sure that the prolapsed parts don't dry out. If they do, they die and have to be amputated.

I'm very sorry you and your tortoise had to go through this. It is a very common problem and no fun at all for either you or your tortoise. But everything you've told us sounds perfectly normal to me. The vet did fine.

Hi it popped out twice while the stitch was still in and the second time it was turning black,he did an X-ray and said there was nothing in her shell,the second vet told me if he would of done it proppa her indices would not have died and her septasemia was caused over the week because of the problem,they said its very rare they treat reptiles
 
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