I have rescued a Horsfield tonight who is very unwell, puffy eyes almost white flesh soft shell no wieght!! I was discusted, I've had a look at the vets page but none are near me. Does any one have any idea as to what I can do for this little guy & if there's a suitable vet burnley, blackburn or manchester???? we've had our own hermans for years & never needed a vet, but this little guy is very unwell :-(

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/shelled-turtles-tortoise/233026-vets-recommended-tortoise-vets-11.html   

I am sending you this link to a vet list from another  dedicated reptile site. I do hope one of these vets is accessible for you. You do need good advice, and soon. Please let us know how you get on. Incidentally, for anyone keeping tortoises, I do suggest you make contact with a good vet BEFORE you have any issues. Then you are ready for any emergencies.

Tortoises can develop issues over very long periods, yet appear to be fairly OK. Occasionally, things then turn bad very quickly, at which point even a few hours can make a difference and affect survival rates. It is stressful enough to have a sickly tortoise...but a lot less so if you already have a good exotics vet lined up. I do hope you can help this tortoise!

Regards, David nr York

I have found a reptile vet in Keighley, who i shall be contacting,  I have been lucky on this, occasion as our normal vets have a temp in who has done a lot of work with tortoises in the past & recognised the symptoms as a vit A deficiency, eye infection & dehydration ,  all of which could have been avoided with better husbandry poor thing had been kept in a glass viv on wood shavings fed on smart price salad.

Good luck with the new vet. Please keep us up to date with what he suggests...and the results too. We all must share ideas and experiences. I am glad you are acting so quickly, it could make a real difference to the outcome.

Regards, David nr York.

Hi Guys
Sorry just tapped into post. Thank goodness Dave was able to give you a list for a vet near you, I hope the little fellow starts making a recovery soon. Like you say it so unnecessary for this to happened, good job he found you
Jane

Quick update the vet at Keighley actually practices from Bradford witch is a good hour & half away from me, but I can not recommend this lady enough passionate & knowledgeable & works for the international zoo veterinary group.

 Cricket as she has now been named is improving everyday, I have to inject her every week for five weeks with multivitamin, I have nekton msa , nekton rep for her food on the vets advice & an electrolyte powder for her daily soaks. also i  am running two 10% UV tubes.  

The vet has pushed for us to inform the rspca due to her "never seen a tortoise in such bad physical condition" she pointed out that if her shell is soft then so are her bones which intern will cause her constant pain as her bones can not support her weight But all this said the long term prognosis is good & thats the main thing

How great... an update, and good news at that. Most people never give updates, so full marks from me.

It is very good  to have found a keen and knowledgeable vet to help. It sounds like a long slow road to improvement, an even then no certainty of total success. Lucky this beastie landed up with you. Please give us regular updates. New postings seem easier to detect than additions to existing posts...if I am doing something wrong, can anyone let me know? 

Regards, David nr York.

Hi David, to follow progress/updates of a post, do the following:
When you reply to a post, there is a green box above the box where you type your reply message. The first line of the green box says 'Title', the next says 'URL' the fourth box says 'get email notification' tick this box and you should get notification if someone replies.
Hope this is clear! regards Vivienne

Thanks Viv...you can teach old dogs new tricks.

I am getting more savvy(?)  as I age...

Now, can I do what you suggest?    Regards, David nr York