Tortoise not eating and losing weight

[Widgitwoo]

they are kept on a mix of top soil and sand - they used to be kept on wood chip before I had them and they do go outside - the outdoor area is swept before they go in it so shouldnt be any loose stones but this is the most likely place she may have picked them up - my plan for today is to sweep that area and make sure there is no loose stones

[CherryBrandy]

hopefully it will all break down and come out. Lettuce is a good laxative also. And as I am finding so is teasel. (not me the Torts of course). CB

[Anyfoot]

Originally Posted by Widgitwoo

they are kept on a mix of top soil and sand - they used to be kept on wood chip before I had them and they do go outside - the outdoor area is swept before they go in it so shouldnt be any loose stones but this is the most likely place she may have picked them up - my plan for today is to sweep that area and make sure there is no loose stones

Hi there. How's your torts health coming along. Any signs of recovery yet?

[Widgitwoo]

Sorry for not replying the notification emails either didnt come through or went to my junk box.
Its been a long couple of weeks - sadly Tilly didn't make it. :'(
The laxative didn't work so the vet had her in overnight and did a few enemas on her. She was full of wood chip - the lady who had them before me had always kept them on wood chip - had been feeding them bagged lettace and tomatoes and they only had a heat lamp, no uvb lamp so we guess she had been eating it to make up for the things lacking in her diet.
The vet kept going with the enemas and pushing fluids - he works part time in 2 vets so I kept having to pick her up and take her to different places and keep her at home on his days off. this carried on for nearly 2 weeks but sadly I found her dead one night when I was checking on them just before bed.

I had the other 2 x-rayed to make sure they hadnt eaten it as well and they are both fine. I am now slightly paranoid with them due to what happened with Tilly but my vet has said I am doing everything right and I am double checking what I feed them on a regular basis to make sure everything is safe.

[Anyfoot]

Aghhh. So sorry to hear this, it's very easy to start doubting yourself when a tort dies on you. I've been there. Unfortunately we never know what internal damage has been done when we buy torts from other keepers.
If I was you I would start a thread on how you care for yours so you can gain confidence again and maybe pick up some tips off others.
Sorry again.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Widgitwoo

Hi.
I am a bit worried about one of my tortoises, Tilly. She is about 5 years old and I have had her about 2 months.
She is not eating - last time I saw her eat was on Saturday when I had her out in the garden with me, but it was only a small dandilion leaf
I have tried a variety of the plants that I normally give them (all grown in my garden) but she doesn't seem at all interested, to the point if I put food in front of her she turns away. I have bought some dried flowers from this site and she is even less interested in them.
She is still weeing (does seem to smell a bit more than normal but not sure if I am just noticing it a bit more due to it being warmer weather) and is pooing - little more runny than normal.
When I get her out she is moving around as normal but in her enclousure just sits under the UV heat lamp and occasionally goes and gets in her water dish.
I have been bathing her everyday to make sure she is hydrated and clean (she is quite a flat tortoise, and doesnt lift her back end up a lot - she can she just doesn't when walking around, due to last owner not having the correct envirnonment, and her bottom gets dirty so I have to wash it every day anyway)
The other 2 I have (one in with her, one in a separate enclosure) are fine, eating normally no change.
Nothing has been changed inside the enclousure, the tempreture under the lamp is checked daliy to be 30 - 33 degrees. Neither of them seem to go to the cooler end of the enclouse like they used to - tempreture and environment hasn't changed there so I dont really know why. The lamp is on from 10am to 10pm
I weighed them all today and the one in with her has put on 32g in the last 2 months, the one who is separate has lost 26g but Tilly has lost 107g
Is this something that can just happen and she will sort herself out or should I get her to the vets?

I would change the times you have the heat on, as tortoises like to warm up with light. So putting heat on much earlier when its dawn would be better. Say 7 in the morning until dusk. As tortoises generally are asleep when its getting darker.
I would also get the one thats losing weight to a good tortoise vet, as most general vets have little or no knowledge of tortoise husbandry.
How were they kept before you had them?
As tortoises do not like change, and it can be the simplest of things that can upset them.
A picture of your setup and the tortoise might help us to help you:0)

[emma_mcraf]

Originally Posted by Widgitwoo

Sorry for not replying the notification emails either didnt come through or went to my junk box.
Its been a long couple of weeks - sadly Tilly didn't make it. :'(
The laxative didn't work so the vet had her in overnight and did a few enemas on her. She was full of wood chip - the lady who had them before me had always kept them on wood chip - had been feeding them bagged lettace and tomatoes and they only had a heat lamp, no uvb lamp so we guess she had been eating it to make up for the things lacking in her diet.
The vet kept going with the enemas and pushing fluids - he works part time in 2 vets so I kept having to pick her up and take her to different places and keep her at home on his days off. this carried on for nearly 2 weeks but sadly I found her dead one night when I was checking on them just before bed.

I had the other 2 x-rayed to make sure they hadnt eaten it as well and they are both fine. I am now slightly paranoid with them due to what happened with Tilly but my vet has said I am doing everything right and I am double checking what I feed them on a regular basis to make sure everything is safe.

So sorry to hear this about Tilly. How awful for you. x

[Jan W]

I was very sad to read about Tilly. You did an amazing job at trying to help her. It sounds as though she was given every chance possible. She was so lucky to have you care for her. It warmed my heart to read about your efforts.

With best wishes

[CherryBrandy]

poor tilly , that is very sad to hear. As jan said you did a marvellous job, please do let people know about wood chip though. time and again we warn on here about it imploding within, but people say my one wouldn't eat it, he has never touched it, well they do and sadly it doesn't end well. Just don't risk it is my view. Hope you are ok and the others I am sure will be ok too, CB

[burnt toast]

So sorry to read this