Poorly Sulcata

[judith ann]

Well here we are £699 in debt but was able to pick up Fluff and bring her home.She has a feeding tube in so is on critical care but still not feeding on her own.Has any one else been in this situation before and was the outcome good or bad ? They still realy dont know what was wrong as blood tests and x rays did not show up any thing . The only hicup was that her kidneys were not working as they should .Very important to keep heat up ,can any one tell me why this is so critical. When its hot we put her out but she just goes and hides.How long do i keep this up? Am going on holiday in two weeks and was hoping that i dont have to pass this care onto my daughter who is looking after my managerie.Any support will be gratefully received . Judyxx

[rodneyvet]

Hello
What signs has she been showing.
Do you know what treatment she is on?
Any faecal examinations done?

[judith ann]

Have now put the glass back on the front of the viv to keep temps up for Fluff.Just a little querie though ,the vet says temps should be 30 36 day 20 26 night ,where do i take it from ? because she is so big when i take the reading on her back it is quite high when she is under my ceramic heater but only 30 at cool end .The thermostat is set at 32 but temp on her back can go as high as 40!!!!! Cant raise heater any more and Fluff is to poorly to move into lower temps .Am worried she will cook !!!!!The gap from the top of her shell to heater is 7ins. Judyxx

[judith ann]

She had x rays done and blood taken which showed her kidneys were not working properly .She had anti biotics but now home with me is only on critical care tube fed .I am having to wake her to bathe daily and if its warm enough will go outside but walks very wobbly and slowly and just takes herself into a corner .I cant see her getting any better and dont know how long she can keep this up .The vet says that he doesnt know what triggered this. Judyxx

[egyptiandan64]

To bad you didn't get a picture of the x-ray so you could post it here.

Danny

[Mrs Frog]

Oh Poor fluff and poor you

It is so difficult as we dont know much about them do we?How they were raised?They are both the same age but her sister is a third of her size
Could it be the lack of fluids before we even took them on,or their diet??
I know that without the temps being 34 in the day and 20 at night Thumbelina does not stir and she has baths now twice daily and she had terrible constipation
I hope you get some good news soon

[rodneyvet]

Its hard to really comment without seeing the blood results or the radiograph. However if i were to have a tortoise with renal issues, I would be hospitalising for fluid therapy until the renal parameters had normalised. Flushing out the wastes from the kidneys reduces damage to them and makes these torts feel much better. There is the option of endoscopy to evaluate what is going on internally and possibly biopsying the kidneys if that is necessary. It would be good to see the xray at least if that is possible?
All the best/

[suttysue]

What a nightmare for both her & you. I am sure you are doing all you can for fluff 7 you cant do anymore. Keep us informed how you both get on.
Good luck
sue

[emma_mcraf]

Wishing Fluff a speedy recovery. Please let us know how she is getting on. x

[judith ann]

Went back to vets yesterday for more blood tests .Another £100 !! They said that it wasnt exactly renal failure just dehydration .No improvement so am just awaiting results of blood test .Thank you all for your support . Judyxx