Tortoise fell off and not eating anything

[pritesh123]

Hello everyone,
I'm new to tortoise form.
I'm putting my concern here.
My tortoise fell off stairs and he is not eating anything, he sleeps all the time, sometimes he suddenly starts moving. Today I was giving him water but it came out of his nose and mouth. I'm really scared and I don't any tortoise vet.
Please help me here.

 

[Ink]

Hopefully @Yvonne G can help. How far did he ?

 

[Yvonne G]

When a tortoise drinks water he drinks through his mouth AND HIS NOSE, so seeing water come out his nose is nothing to worry about.

Just give him time to realize he's safe and he'll start eating again.

 

[pritesh123]

He fell off from 4 regular steps.

 

[pritesh123]

D

When a tortoise drinks water he drinks through his mouth AND HIS NOSE, so seeing water come out his nose is nothing to worry about.

Just give him time to realize he's safe and he'll start eating again.

I did contact to a vet online.
He prescribed Meloxicam oral suspension.
Seems like he also has swelling around his tail.
Also it appears that he is trying to push out waste but he is not able.
I'm also sacred bcz one of the vet was prescribing an injection.

 

[pritesh123]

This yellow stuff is coming with his urine.

 

[SinLA]

can you post photos of the tortoise, and also how far he fell? Also how big, how old, etc?

 

[Tom]

D

I did contact to a vet online.
He prescribed Meloxicam oral suspension.
Seems like he also has swelling around his tail.
Also it appears that he is trying to push out waste but he is not able.
I'm also sacred bcz one of the vet was prescribing an injection.

You need to review your housing and husbandry and make some changes. First and foremost, get the tortoise in a a large enclosure instead of loose in the house or yard where it can fall down stairs and hurt itself. Next, be sure you are soaking early and often. The yellow stuff is urates. Urates form when they need more hydration. Finally, make sure the tortoise has the correct temperatures. They need a basking lamp when indoors, even in a warm climate. Same thing goes here for a desert tortoise.

Here is the care sheet:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[pritesh123]

can you post photos of the tortoise, and also how far he fell? Also how big, how old, etc?

He is 3.5 years old.
He fell (rolling) from 3 stairs one by one. Each stair is 1 feet high. He fits in a hand.

 

[SinLA]

He is 3.5 years old.
He fell (rolling) from 3 stairs one by one. Each stair is 1 feet high. He fits in a hand.

Ok he is way too little to be roaming your house. Honestly no tortoise should roam a house. It looks good on instagram but it’s deadly, especially for one so little. Please read the links Tom provided above. He needs an enclosure appropriate for his size and species

 

[pritesh123]

A

Ok he is way too little to be roaming your house. Honestly no tortoise should roam a house. It looks good on instagram but it’s deadly, especially for one so little. Please read the links Tom provided above. He needs an enclosure appropriate for his size and species

At night time he stays in house otherwise he stays and roams outside,
But I have learnt my lesson and I don't want to loose him. I'll follow the complete guide.
Thanks

 

[pritesh123]

You need to review your housing and husbandry and make some changes. First and foremost, get the tortoise in a a large enclosure instead of loose in the house or yard where it can fall down stairs and hurt itself. Next, be sure you are soaking early and often. The yellow stuff is urates. Urates form when they need more hydration. Finally, make sure the tortoise has the correct temperatures. They need a basking lamp when indoors, even in a warm climate. Same thing goes here for a desert tortoise.

Here is the care sheet:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

I'll follow the care sheet.
Thanks Tom

 

[ZEROPILOT]

D

I did contact to a vet online.
He prescribed Meloxicam oral suspension.
Seems like he also has swelling around his tail.
Also it appears that he is trying to push out waste but he is not able.
I'm also sacred bcz one of the vet was prescribing an injection.

What type of injection?
Why would any injection be required for the things you mentioned?
Don't allow it until a few of our very knowledgeable members chime in.

 

[pritesh123]

You need to review your housing and husbandry and make some changes. First and foremost, get the tortoise in a a large enclosure instead of loose in the house or yard where it can fall down stairs and hurt itself. Next, be sure you are soaking early and often. The yellow stuff is urates. Urates form when they need more hydration. Finally, make sure the tortoise has the correct temperatures. They need a basking lamp when indoors, even in a warm climate. Same thing goes here for a desert tortoise.

Here is the care sheet:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Hi Tom,
Would you please guide me which basking lamp I should get for my star tortoise?

Is this lamp fine?

https://amzn.eu/d/1dl68Bl

 

[pritesh123]

Today my tortoise pooped. And he seemed better than yesterday, he was also roaming.
But in the evening he made a strong noise 4 times with his mouth open.
And I checked his butt or tail is swollen (looking bigger than yesterday)

What could be the reason?
What should I do as there's no offline vet who can help me?
Please help me.

 

[TammyJ]

As you have said, you will read and follow the care sheet that has been provided.
In about 90% of cases of illness or injury to tortoises, soaking in warm water for 30 minutes or more twice per day, will help with healing and recovery, for instance, in cases of constipation, moving around in the warm water will bring on the poop. Your tortoise is beautiful, and deserves to be given the best care you can give him.
Yvonne, Tom and Zeropilot are all great tortoise experts among others here, and their advice is to be closely adhered to, to give your tortoise the best chance for recovery.
The other thing you can do here is to post some pictures of the tortoise including the rear end which you say is swollen.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,
Would you please guide me which basking lamp I should get for my star tortoise?

Is this lamp fine?

https://amzn.eu/d/1dl68Bl

No on that lamp. You want a regular incandescent flood bulb. You get them at a hardware store, not from a pet store or reptile product seller. And the basking bulb is just one of the four bulbs you need.

Today my tortoise pooped. And he seemed better than yesterday, he was also roaming.
But in the evening he made a strong noise 4 times with his mouth open.
And I checked his butt or tail is swollen (looking bigger than yesterday)

What could be the reason?
What should I do as there's no offline vet who can help me?
Please help me.

That sounds like it could be the start of a respiratory infection. The cure for this is warm temps day and night.

If the tortoise is constipated, the solution is lots of soaking. Keep the water warm for the entire soak. Soak daily for 40-60 minutes.

 

[pritesh123]

As you have said, you will read and follow the care sheet that has been provided.
In about 90% of cases of illness or injury to tortoises, soaking in warm water for 30 minutes or more twice per day, will help with healing and recovery, for instance, in cases of constipation, moving around in the warm water will bring on the poop. Your tortoise is beautiful, and deserves to be given the best care you can give him.
Yvonne, Tom and Zeropilot are all great tortoise experts among others here, and their advice is to be closely adhered to, to give your tortoise the best chance for recovery.
The other thing you can do here is to post some pictures of the tortoise including the rear end which you say is swollen.

 

[Sarah2020]

Tortoise should be no where near stairs! They should be in a safe secure enclosure with correct heat, light, food substrate and water providing a healthy secure life. He is probably terrified and wants to avoid this again. As mentioned soak in clean shallow warm water for 30 mins daily this can get the bowls moving. The white is urates and it looks good as in not lumpy. Hydration helps this to be soft and milky. Ensure your tortoise has access to a cuttlefish or calcium to help strong shell growth.

 

[pritesh123]

No on that lamp. You want a regular incandescent flood bulb. You get them at a hardware store, not from a pet store or reptile product seller. And the basking bulb is just one of the four bulbs you need.


That sounds like it could be the start of a respiratory infection. The cure for this is warm temps day and night.

If the tortoise is constipated, the solution is lots of soaking. Keep the water warm for the entire soak. Soak daily for 40-60 minutes.

Just now, he made that sound and I noticed water around his nose.