RACCOON EGGS
New Member
Glad to hear he is still doing ok. It is so impressive he has made it this far! Keep up the good work and thanks for the update.
This week marks a year since the turtle was diagnosed with "a large tumor, most likely cancer".
Though he still has issues, and major ups and downs, the difference from his nearly-dead posture a year ago is striking.
Fighting back whatever the respiratory infection was, was the biggest step.
He's still on a decline and still on his meds, and I'm deeply grateful he's stuck around.
We love this turtle so much, and after such a long time his behavior has definitely adapted to being with us.
Even now I can't really imagine him not being here.
The key for giving him red peppers is to chop them smaller, I think because they're firmer they may be harder for him to swallow.
Mushrooms have become the go-to food to make sure he eats (used to be oranges), and he'll still gobble them up with finely chopped coarse greens.
And he's still pooping regularly.
Thank you all so much for your interest and support! It has helped a lot knowing I'm not alone in this turtle-loving-madness.
Excelsior!
Arzu78, I cannot believe you read the whole 6 pages! I did a quick scan and golly I repeat myself a lot, I hope it helped you sleep well if nothing else. To be fully honest, I didn't post much of the bad days, which are there too. RACOON EGGS always looks so happy when the news is more positive, I couldn't help it.
I have more to think about now. That "mass" has me wondering, and when I wrote his nurse and vet about the one year mark, even the nurse said: "maybe it isn't cancer". Perhaps it is a cyst or some other benign tumor. He still has trouble breathing and anesthesia for a biopsy scares me. Removing it would surely involve opening his plastron and patching the piece back on. I don't think I could put him through that or if he'd even survive it.
Maybe I need to shift out of "hospice mode" thinking. I don't know. I cannot help but think those bad days will return. This past week he honked again for the first time in quite a while. The meds still very much seem to help, I'm shy of changing anything there either.
But you know..?, pondering his treatment is much better than making his funeral arrangements.
RACOON EGGS, really we're the lucky ones to have such a personable tortoise who's willing to stick out a few decades with us.