Poorly Tortoise :(

[EmilyP]

Hi, I've had my Hermann's tortoise for six years and never really had any problems with her until now. Since she came out of hibernation this year (at the end of March) she has been very unhappy and not eating well. We took her to the vet on Monday and he said she looked very pale and weak and that her eyes were sunken in. He said he wanted to keep her in over night and get his colleague to look at her the next morning. We rang up Tuesday and he said that she had eaten a little bit but he was still concerned and wanted to keep her in another night, he then said the same Wednesday.

Thursday we rang up and he said she was riddled with worms and that he had now wormed her but that she did not reacted well to it, but the thing is, when we first got her in 2007 we took her straight to the vet because she wasn't eating well and the same vets told us that you don't ever need to worm them. I know now this is wrong.

We brought her home Friday and have been giving her regular warm baths and trying to get her to eat but she still wont, her eyes are still sunken in, she’s still very weak and basically doesn't seem any better.

I’m new to this site and she is my first tortoise, I didn't know if anyone had any advice as to what to do next or what might be wrong with her.

Thanks, Emily

[egyptiandan64]

The best thing to do Emily is to have a vet install a feeding tube. This way you can feed her via the tube on a regular basis, but she will still be able to eat on her own if she wants to.

Danny

[lynnedit]

A feeding tube is a very good idea. This does seem fairly urgent.
Sounds like you have some concerns about the vet? Is he a Reptile vet? Experienced in treating tortoises?

[Daryn]

Sunken eyes is usually a sign of dehydration

[alley cat]

What did the vet mean by "didn't react well to the worm treatment" and what did he use? it would take a little while to be effective anyway.
Not eating since March is a long time, Dans advise about the tube is probably the way to go, make sure it is done by a specialist vet though, from what you have said about your vet I would be questioning everything!

[pagan queen]

Do you bathe her in warm water? This could help with hydration also you could add some critical care formula or reptoboost.
Keep the basking temps up to around 32 degrees at least a couple of degrees higher might be better and keep the night time temperature at about 20 degrees.

[sky]

Hi Emily, sorry to hear your tort is not to well, keep up her baths, every day.
If you can't get a feeding tube fitted, try using Abidec in the bath water, you can buy it in the supermarket or chemist the one in the orange box. a few drops in the bath water every day, may help!

[EmilyP]

Thank you for all your reply's.
The vet we took her to was a zoo vet but he handed her on to another one and we don't really know what type vet he is but we were told is is a tortoise enthusiast. She does eat tiny bits of food but its like she is too weak to bite chunks off, what she does eat is mainly fruit, which i know is bad but i figure its better than nothing.

We have been giving her baths in warm water, the vet said to leave her in for half an hour but she usually gets distressed after 10-20 mins so we take her out. I don't really know what was meant by she didn't react well to the worm treatment because from what I've seen she is the same as when we took her to him originally.

How does a feeding tube work, is it just the same as any other feeding tube?
I will try to find some of the stuff to put in the bath water, thank you.

I'm not really sure our vet is the best man for the job, does anyone know of any good vets for tortoises in Devon?

thanks again, Emily.

[alley cat]

Can you post your email address, I have some info for you but I can't private message you as you have not posted enough times.

[Alex]

I think Jeff (usename Jeff) is around that area of the country, he will know a good tortoise vet.

Reptoboast to the water is a good idea, you can also try adding a bit to the food (wet the food first) and see if the tortoise will take it ( or abidec which is available. in boots etc)

Do you know the tortoises weight and how it compares to the weight to length chart know as the jackson ratio (if you have not heard of this, this website, or others similar will help - http://www.tortoise-protection-group...k/site/171.asp - scl refers to straight carapace length which is the length of the shell basically - http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm - rather than head to tail)