29-08-2006, 04:39 PM | #21 |
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You're absolutely right, Carl. Well, we're proud of you for persevering with this, and you never know -- some of your good advice might just penetrate those thick skulls at some point and the torts might have a better life.
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29-08-2006, 06:52 PM | #22 |
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It's absolutely true that it can take 20 years to kill an adult tortoise on bad diet and husbandry regime. Of course once the tortoise is formed it will not look any different other than it's internal organs will gradually be failing. In some cases this can be rectified, but damaged kidneys and liver usually kill the tortoise in the end It's eyes can appear healthy for a long time after it's too late to save it.
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29-08-2006, 07:44 PM | #23 |
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well i will admit the tort looked healthy to me but im not too sure what unhealthy eyes will look like, i have 4 tortoises and all their eyes look different and i dont have a good eye for this kind of thing.
Good news (i think????) after all my moaning the lass has gone to a pet shop for equipment, thats y i dont know if its good news. anyway she has been ripped off a bit and a bit mislead (i will explain) but she has left the pet shop with calcium powder a spot bulb holder a spot bulb and betadine. she has been ripped off because the spot bulb cost her £5 so it isprobably one of those uva ones, so it might regulate the torts mood a bit. i told her to get betadine because there was a tiny bit if shell rot (i think) on one side and i told her it needs scrubbing with a solution of betadine. They told her that if it is wet rot??? then the tort will be dead in 48 hours. They also have pushhed her a little bit in the right direction of diet but not enough, they have told her to feed it green lettuce instead of iceberg and a list of other leafy supermarket products, a bit of an improvement but i wish she would just listen to me. I predict that in 2 days when the tortoise probably hasnt eaten the new food and calcium powder that she will think it is starving and she will revert to her old ways. |
29-08-2006, 08:00 PM | #24 |
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Hatchling
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Got back in today from work and have just read this thread and it brought a tear to my eye - those poor torts trapped in that place being kept that way.
If people dont know then thats fine providing they are willing to learn and improve as they gain more knowledge etc. Well done to you for all you have done so far, keep up the good work
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29-08-2006, 10:06 PM | #25 |
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Betadine will treat both wet and dry shell rot. One is fungal and the other bacterial, so as betadine is an antibactierial antifungal wash, both are covered. It's the first time I have heard of a pet shop selling it though.
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29-08-2006, 10:12 PM | #26 |
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Hatchling
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really. that is weird then, they said that if the tort had wet rot it would be dead in 48 hours, is this bull s**t or true??
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29-08-2006, 10:45 PM | #27 |
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It is complete bull poo Carl Who told her this?
Wet shell rot is bacterial and if it has affected the tort to the state that a bloody area is visilble it needs injectable antibiotics too, but it is cureable. Takes a while but it works. Sue |
29-08-2006, 11:00 PM | #28 |
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so after this long thread it seems best that this female only be breeded if its husbandry were changed for a long time so that it was at full health agsin. and the reason she hasnt layed any infertile eggs (or at least none have been found) is because of the husbandry she has had.
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29-08-2006, 11:14 PM | #29 |
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Well as already mentioned Carl, female torts do not have to be with a male to lay eggs but it does usually help to spur them on. Personally I would not attempt to breed from a tortoise that has suffered from bad husbandry while growing as inner damage is not always evident until something goes wrong with the egg production. Eggs which are retained can prove fatal as many long standing keepers will tell you, and if the tortoises bone structure has not developed well then eggs can be impossible to pass, causing peritonitis and death. One of my large rescued females started to breed a couple of years back and it was a worrying time, not knowing her past. She is elderly and laid long thin eggs which were infertile. This was lucky as she could equally have produced large round eggs which may have been impossible to pass. How old is the tortoise and was it imported as an adult?
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29-08-2006, 11:24 PM | #30 |
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thanks, that is good info i would never have thought of. The age of the tortoise is unknown as they were given it from the rspca 7 years ago, the pics are here http://forums.shelledwarriors.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=900
I would bet my mortgage on it being imported though, isnt every tortoise over the age of about 15. |
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