Tortoise Swollen and Dead

[VictorP]

Today I came home and went outside and found that one of my leopard tortoises died. His legs and neck were all swollen and extended out of his shell! There were flies and super small worms I'm guessing maggots on his neck. All of the other ones were fine how could this have happened? Is it that it got bit by something? Ants? Rat? so sad

 

[wellington]

OMG, I am so very sorry. I have no idea what could have happened. I would try to figure it out seeing you have more. I would keep the others maybe in another enclosure until you can figure out what happened. Again, so sorry.

 

[Yvonne G]

After a body has been dead for a while, all the gasses start to build up inside and the body swells. He didn't die because of the swelling, the swelling happened because he died. No one will ever know why, unless you have the tortoise necropsied.

I'm so sorry this happened to your tortoise. Was it a large tortoise? Very sad!

 

[VictorP]

he was about 1.5 years old and 6" long

 

[forujade00]

I am sadden for your loss.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Any chance he got any slug or snail bait? Poisonous plants? Had it been acting normally in the days prior to its death?

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Ohhhhh nooooo. Sadness. I am so sorry.

 

[VictorP]

nope no slug medicine but I recently expanded their outdoor enclosure

 

[AnnV]

Very sorry for your loss. What a terrible shock to come home to.

 

[sibi]

Sorry to hear of your tort's death. I would have a necropsy performed if I were you, especially if you have others you'd want to protect.

 

[mike taylor]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I'm still shocked from reading the title. I am so very sorry.
I hope you are able to piece together what may have happened so your others are surely safe.

 

[luvpetz27]

I am so sorry for your loss.
Hugs to you!!

 

[VictorP]

alright today I moved all of them into my indoor enclosed patio and build a good sized area surrounded by blocks and has lots of hiding areas. could the cold have killed them? It dropped down to 50 degrees once.

 

[deadheadvet]

Leopards can take it down to 50 on occasion. Wouldn't make it a habit. I get worried when it goes down below 60. I'm concerned about the extended neck. Possibility of insect bite comes to mind. Wasp or Hornet could have stund the tortoise in the head, neck or throat. Especially with the swelling. Depending on how long the tortoise has been dead, the necropsy may yield not much, with a lot of autolysis of the tissues, may not get cause of death. Sorry about your loss.
Recently lost a Radiated adult male unknown cause. Talk about a bite in the ***.

 

[AnnV]

Sorry to hear about your loss too, Deadhead. I'm a huge Radiata fan and wannabe keeper.
Not knowing is the worst! You have an advantage over most of us, so it must be extra frustrating for you.

 

[deadheadvet]

Yeah, when pathogens are always a possibility unknown cause of deaths can really be problematic. Since that animal died, I have had animals in separate set ups to absolutely sure I wasn't dealing with a contagion. So far everyone is fine. Tough having multiple animals in multiple set ups for months on end. I have tortoises scattered in different parts of my house until the spring. Lucky I have the space. I even have a group at my vet hospital.

 

[Leopard Tortoise Lover 16199]

That is very sad to hear.
I hope you find out what happened.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

My heart dropped with the leopard passing away and dropped again to hear about the adult radiated. Oh goodness. These are the worse things to read but thank you for sharing, as it might help others in the future in some way. I am so very sorry for both of these losses. So.Tragic. Sigh. : (