Tort doesn’t feel good

zovick

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Hi guys,

Im driving myself crazy with this tortoise. The only thing I can get him to eat is Mazuri. He does walk from where I put him to another place to stash. Doesn’t look well to me. Now I can’t tell if he looks alittle yellow. I would imagine torts can get jaundice, too?
I’m thinking I should just take him in for bloodwork and X-rays. Where do they draw blood from a tortoise? How do they give fluids? ( if at all?)
@Tom @zovick
Hopefully you won't need to go to the vet, but to answer your question about the venipuncture site for tortoises, there is a plexus of veins just under the surface of the skin between the base of the neck and the front leg on either side. This is the easiest place to get blood from a tortoise for lab work.
 

Melissacoop

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These are good signs.

Did you do the bathtub thing? I think he may have had a blockage. The bathtub/tortoise treadmill will help it pass. Just like a horse with colic that wants to lay down, you have to make it get up and move.
I tried. He didn’t move. Lol. He’s acting so timid with every sudden move. He did actually expel a lot of cloudy urine with some urates which was shaped like a plug like that may have been stuck. They were creamy though. Not dry at all. He did eat some cactus and hibiscus today. Not a lot but a fair amount. I’ll just keep soaking let him take his time.
 

Melissacoop

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Hopefully you won't need to go to the vet, but to answer your question about the venipuncture site for tortoises, there is a plexus of veins just under the surface of the skin between the base of the neck and the front leg on either side. This is the easiest place to get blood from a tortoise for lab work.
Like the jugular vein? Do they sedate them for that?
 

zovick

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Like the jugular vein? Do they sedate them for that?
It is a spot where veins from the head and legs come together forming a sort of bubble under the skin in the area between the base of the neck and the front leg on each side. From there the blood drains back to the heart to be re-oxygenated and recirculated.

It is done with a simple needle stick just as in humans and no anesthesia is used as a rule. A good vet can do this in a few seconds.
 
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Melissacoop

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It is a spot where veins from the head and legs come together forming a sort of bubble under the skin in the area between the base of the neck and the front leg on each side. From there the blood drains back to the heart to be re-oxygenated and recirculated.

It is done with a simple needle stick just as in humans and no anesthesia is used as a rule. A good vet can do this in a few seconds.
Ok. Thank you for this information . It’s looking like I won’t need to take him after all but I like to be educated!?
 
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