After Surgery care
 

Seems like ages since I was last posting - hope all are well 8-) Need some thoughts please, especially as it's a bank holiday weekend, 2 out of 3 of my "local" exotic vets are on holiday and I'm panicking :(

Saffron, my elderly TGG had lost her appetite over the last few weeks so went on a trip to the vets, who did bloods which came back with high calcium. Follow up X ray revealed she had one egg, so she had surgery Tuesday 17th to remove egg and also ovaries to prevent the problem happening again. When I picked her up on Wednesday, was advised not to bath her and book a post op appointment in 7-10 days. Have booked the appointment which due to vet holidays etc, is not until Monday week, 1st June.

Saffron is moving around a little and is much more "off the ground" than she was but still has not eaten anything, or drunk and spends most of her time sleeping. The vet nurse did say on Wednesday that they had given her liquids by tube after the op to keep her hydrated, but I am really starting to worry.

Anyone know how long after an op like this does it usually take for a tort to feel like eating? :???:

Hope things are ok x

I really don't know Lynne, but I would imagine it could take a while for her to recover, and she might be off her food a while. I know I would be of my food after and opp like that. Can you not see a vet a bit sooner ?

Have now managed to get an appointment for Thursday, had hoped for today but the one remaining exotics vet is in Surrey where I believe he does some consultancy work :( Saffron remains adamant that she will not have food - not even a slice of strawberry. Apart from going to and from her basking area she's not really moving much but when she does, her shell is well off the ground which is a positive. She is on paper and does not appear to have had a pee or done a poo, but then, guessing she hasn't got anything much to pass. Put her by her water bowl again today and swished it around and she did make the effort to have a couple of sips. Weird that when I offer her food from my hand she tends to move away, almost as if she's thinking "I don't think so!" She seems to have got her runny nose back too, but pretty sure that is stress - goes well with my watery eyes. :( I have noticed that she seems to have a dark mark on either side of her face where her head joins her neck and wondered if it might be bruising from one of the procedures they had to carry out, so have tried to steer clear of her head but have been using a syringe to pop a tiny bit of water in her mouth in time with the moments hen she "gasps" a little. Last antibiotic injection today, unless of course I have to start again on Thursday :roll:

Sending hugs :(

I'm sure you could ring the practice and ask if one of the exotic vets could call you back. Your tortoise is their patient and if you have concerns following surgery then it's their responsibility to discuss them with you, even if your appointment isn't until next week. And they may say pop in with her. If they say he's in Surrey, you could ring the Surrey practice. Sometimes you have to be a bit pushy!

Lorna

How did the appointment go? xx

Thanks for your thoughts and kind words & hugs all :-)

Update on Saffron - Pleased to say that she had a long drink Wednesday and looked a little more alert, she also had another drink yesterday before she whizzed off to her appointment with Lance. He is happy with the healing, so she can now be bathed and go back on soil, which I'm sure she will appreciate. (Don't think she liked being on paper!) She's weighing in at 2342, which is down from 2400 a few weeks ago but Lance is not too concerned that she is not eating yet as she is still a fairly good weight; she is still 400 approx. heavier than when I first had her last August. He agreed that the egg looked a little calcified and that given there was very little activity in the ovaries, it had probably been there for a little while. The mystery surrounding the lack of painkillers was covered - she apparently has a limited kidney function and judgement call was that painkillers were not a risk to be taken. However as she is now drinking and looking more alert, we now have 4 days of pain killers to ease her over the recovery period. Must admit, I'm glad about that - poor girl certainly looked as if she was in some pain for the first few days. Feeling much calmer about her now, hopefully onwards and upwards and bless, was only charged £12.76 for the drugs! :-)

Oh bless her, Lynne. She's certainly been through it and you too, worrying about her.
Glad to hear she's drinking and hopefully she'll soon be feeling loads better. x

So glad she's beginning to pick up, I'm sure she will keep improving now.