Shelled Warriors Forums
 

Go Back   Shelled Warriors Forums > Tortoise Information > Tortoise Health and Vets

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-03-2011, 11:11 PM   #1
**Carol**
Junior Member
Egg
 
**Carol**'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Posts: 25
Default 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
**Carol** is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2011, 11:15 PM   #2
EJ
Senior Member
Adult
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 8,277
Default

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?

Quote:
Originally Posted by **Carol** View Post
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
__________________
Ed
Tortoise Keerpers @
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tortoise_Keepers
and
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/284442591651347/
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care
EJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2011, 11:18 PM   #3
Petrus
Banned
Juvenile
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 997
Default

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?
Petrus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2011, 11:26 PM   #4
EJ
Senior Member
Adult
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 8,277
Default

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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Petrus View Post
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?
__________________
Ed
Tortoise Keerpers @
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tortoise_Keepers
and
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/284442591651347/
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care
EJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2011, 11:37 PM   #5
**Carol**
Junior Member
Egg
 
**Carol**'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Posts: 25
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by EJ View Post
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?
He was diagnosed at the Dick Vet in Edinburgh, it's the 1st time I've taken him to the vet since I got him and they are the only vet I know of in Edinburgh that see exotics and they are supposed to be very good. I got him just over a year ago from a pet shop and he has been perfectly healthy until this happened. He didn't hibernate no, I thought he was a bit young and I am too unfamiliar with the process. He is kept in an open top enclosure about 2 ft by 2 ft with half topsoil substrate and half newspaper (though at the moment its all newspaper til he is over his worms) He had a separate uv and heat lamp but when I got him home from the vet the heat lamp blew when I switched it on. So I have ordered him a solar glo which he used to have because I think they are much better than separate bulbs. It should be here tomorrow but until then his only heat source is a heat mat (I know this isn't the best heat source but it's all I have temporarily)

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
**Carol** is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-03-2011, 11:45 PM   #6
Paige Lewis
Member
Hatched
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Swansea, Wales
Posts: 265
Default

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.
__________________
2 year old testudo hermanni hermanni - Jimmy
Paige Lewis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2011, 12:08 AM   #7
EJ
Senior Member
Adult
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 8,277
Default

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:
Originally Posted by **Carol** View Post
He was diagnosed at the Dick Vet in Edinburgh, it's the 1st time I've taken him to the vet since I got him and they are the only vet I know of in Edinburgh that see exotics and they are supposed to be very good. I got him just over a year ago from a pet shop and he has been perfectly healthy until this happened. He didn't hibernate no, I thought he was a bit young and I am too unfamiliar with the process. He is kept in an open top enclosure about 2 ft by 2 ft with half topsoil substrate and half newspaper (though at the moment its all newspaper til he is over his worms) He had a separate uv and heat lamp but when I got him home from the vet the heat lamp blew when I switched it on. So I have ordered him a solar glo which he used to have because I think they are much better than separate bulbs. It should be here tomorrow but until then his only heat source is a heat mat (I know this isn't the best heat source but it's all I have temporarily)

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
__________________
Ed
Tortoise Keerpers @
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Tortoise_Keepers
and
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/284442591651347/
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care
EJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2011, 01:09 AM   #8
Kirkie
Senior Member
Adult
 
Kirkie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,887
Default

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.
Kirkie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2011, 07:23 AM   #9
Alan1
Super Moderator
Adult
 
Alan1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Sunny Scotland
Posts: 21,512
Default

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?
Alan1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2011, 08:23 AM   #10
Lorna
Junior Member
Egg
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 42
Default

My tortoise had a huge bladder stone when she was three years old. Her cloaca was swollen and she was straining.

Lorna
Lorna is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
mbd, swollen, worms


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:37 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.