Tortoise not eating after attack

[Sarah McCabe]

Our bearded dragon bit our baby russian tort on the face, caused quite a bit of damage, both eyes were closed and the would was between them. Brought him to the vet straight away and he was given antibiotics . His face seems to be healing well, one eye is open and looks fine but other still shut. i am worried as he hasnt eaten a thing in over a week.

he was back for a check up yesterday and vet seemed happy enough and tube fed him some critical care food, in the hope it might stimulate his appetite. he said his beak is strong and so he should be able to eat. Soaking him twice daily to make sure he is hydrated but he still wont eat. Before the accident he was a great eater and loved his food. Have tried all food with him and he just wont touch it.

I dont him to suffer a long painful death, if he is going to pass would rather get him put to sleep than prolong suffering.

Has anyone experience this and the little tort survive?

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Im sure he will come around.. hes been through a stressful time. Tortoises can go quite awhile without eating.. continue the soaks to be sure hes hydrated and im sure everything will be fine. Good luck! And keep that beardie away

 

[Sarah McCabe]

Im sure he will come around.. hes been through a stressful time. Tortoises can go quite awhile without eating.. continue the soaks to be sure hes hydrated and im sure everything will be fine. Good luck! And keep that beardie away

The beardie and him are kept seperate. My partner was introducing them turned his back for a second and it happened. He feels awful so really hope he will be okay

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

U have any pics?

 

[Sarah McCabe]

This is the pic straight after it that we sent to vet. Would is well healed now just his right eye that is still closed

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Aww poor lil guy. Just keep it clean.. i wouldnt put him on any substrate till he heals up. Maybe just some paper towels on the floor of enclosure and keep him warm

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Accidents happen so dont kick urself to much over it... just learn from the mistake

 

[Sarah McCabe]

Aww poor lil guy. Just keep it clean.. i wouldnt put him on any substrate till he heals up. Maybe just some paper towels on the floor of enclosure and keep him warm

Will give him over weekend and contact vet again for further advice. Just breaks my heart if he is suffering

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Keep us updated on the lil guy. Wish him the best

 

[Maro2Bear]

You could do soaks in that super duper concoction of pureed carrots & pedialite. I’ll defer to others, but I think it’s too early to be force feeding. The poor thing is traumatized, sore, healing. Good luck!

 

[Yvonne G]

Sheesh! You wouldn't think a lizard could inflict that kind of damage.

The tortoise is traumatized and stressed out. It's going to take him a while to realize he's safe once again. One thing to help him feel safe is to leave him in his enclosure. You might try keeping that closed eye lubricated, so it doesn't get hard and crusty. There's an eye gel called Veterycin. If the pet store doesn't sell it you can get it online.

 

[Sarah McCabe]

I know I didn't think beardie had sharp teeth but lesson learned. He still has anti biotic drops have to put in his eyes twice a day so that keeping it from drying out. Thanks so much for all advice

 

[vladimir]

Please keep us updated on how your little guy is doing. Hoping for a fast recovery

 

[Sarah McCabe]

So gave little Shelby a carrot puree bath. Not sure how it went he opened and closed his mouth a good bit and definitely took some of it on board. Both eyes are open today, still swollen but progress I hope!!

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Awesome! Keep up the good wrk.. he’ll be back to normal in no time

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Thanks for the update

 

[Maro2Bear]

So gave little Shelby a carrot puree bath. Not sure how it went he opened and closed his mouth a good bit and definitely took some of it on board. Both eyes are open today, still swollen but progress I hope!!

Good job.

 

[Sarah McCabe]

Guys sorry to bother ye again but just wondering if it's normal for him to be sleepy and burrowed into a corner all the time. I k ow he traumatized just wanna make sure it's not gonna do more harm. than good. That's all he does when out him back after his baths, is burrow down

 

[Sarah McCabe]

Don't think it's looking too good for poor Shelby. Did another carrot puree bath today and he just wanted to sleep in it. He is fairly lifeless and all he wants to do is sleep. Only opens his eyes for very short period of time

 

[MichaelL]

Guys sorry to bother ye again but just wondering if it's normal for him to be sleepy and burrowed into a corner all the time. I k ow he traumatized just wanna make sure it's not gonna do more harm. than good. That's all he does when out him back after his baths, is burrow down

It's normal for him to burrow down. That's their way to feel safe and secure.