07-03-2011, 11:11 PM | #1 |
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Egg
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Worried about my tortoise :(
I'm worried about Reggie my little 2 year old Hermanns. He had a swollen bum so we took him to the vet and she diagnosed him with worms but also MBD and so he has worm medicine we have to syringe feed him every day and also a calcium supplement to syringe feed him. He hates the syringe feeding and I hate it to cos he has such a strong little neck and I don't want to hurt him holding him too tight. He came back from the vets on friday (today is monday evening) and has only eaten a handful of dandelions since then, he will hardly look at his food. The vet told me to bathe him every day until the worms are gone and his swollen bum has gone down cos he was straining hard trying to pass anything. I have been doing so but he's not passed a single poo since he came home. Sometimes (like just now) when I'm bathing him he strains really hard and it looks like poo is coming out but then it gets sucked back in again.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Could it be the medication is making him constipated? any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Reggie and Carol |
07-03-2011, 11:15 PM | #2 | |
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How was it diagnosed with worms? What is the origin of the tortoise? Have you seen it pass any worms? Is the vet vamiliar with reptiles? Did you hibernate the tortoise? What are the conditions under which the tortoise is being kept?
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07-03-2011, 11:18 PM | #3 |
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I've never heard of worm medicine making a tort constipated, but I might be wrong there. It usually makes my torts pass very runny poo for about 24 hours afterwards. Is it panacur?
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07-03-2011, 11:26 PM | #4 |
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If... by some chance... the tortoise did have a huge worm infestation it could block up the tortoise with a massive die off after medication. The chemical imbalance, itself, could cause an interruption of the digestive system.
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07-03-2011, 11:37 PM | #5 | |
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Egg
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Quote:
When you say there will be a large die off of worms do you mean he will pass them when they die? I have not seen any worms in his poo (would they be visible to the eye?) and yes it is Panacur. Thanks again |
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07-03-2011, 11:45 PM | #6 |
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Hatched
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Yes they will be visible when he passes them, my tort had a heavy worm infestation when i first got him and actually he did not have loose stools which surprised me as he had a very heavy load of them. I can't remember how long after the treatment i started to see them but you won't miss them when he does pass them in his stools.
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2 year old testudo hermanni hermanni - Jimmy |
08-03-2011, 12:08 AM | #7 | |
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You didn't mention temperatures but with a heat mat you really don't have to. I'm sure the tortoise has access to heat. (I think heat mats are a good thing if you are careful using them.)
You really didn't mention how the vet determined that there were worms. Did the vet check for protozoa? Both worms and protozoa are diagnosed using a microscope. For the worms they are looking for the eggs and for the protozoa they are looking for the moving protozoa in a fresh fecal. Both require different treatment. If you've had the tortoise 2 years the vet guessed wrong because protozoa is more likely the problem than worms. The protozoa can do more damage than worms. Quote:
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08-03-2011, 01:09 AM | #8 |
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Hi Carol,
You have indeed gone to a very good practise. As the tortoise is already undergoing treatment, the best advice I can offer is that you you give them a call with your concerns. I'm only saying this as they have a superb reputation, I'm not being rude. |
08-03-2011, 07:23 AM | #9 |
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They are supposedly very good but having said that, do people always actually get to see fully qualified vets there or can it sometimes be left to an advanced student? Not sure how they work.
I would be more concerned about it being diagnosed with the MBD, from recent experience I have found the Solarglo bulbs to be not producing a lot of UVB so you should make sure that it gets regular Nutrobal and limestone flour and don't just rely on the bulb alone to provide D3. Could it not be a bladder stone? |
08-03-2011, 08:23 AM | #10 |
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Egg
Join Date: Oct 2010
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My tortoise had a huge bladder stone when she was three years old. Her cloaca was swollen and she was straining.
Lorna |
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mbd, swollen, worms |
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