just before xmas my partner bought me 2 baby leopard tortoises but when he bought them the seller only showed him 1 of them as he said the other was sleeping but when we got back home we i had them checked out only to be told 1 of them has an infection which was the 1 that was apparently sleeping but when i rang the seller he just said it might of just been hard on the tortoise with the travelling & to give him a couple of days to adjust, but when i took them both to my local specialist vet they kept the ill tortoise in & was in there for a week which the vet then diagnosed him as having pneumonia! i contacted the sellers again & they told me to take him out of the vets & that they would arrange to have him collected & taken to there vet but when i did the sellers no longer answered my calls or texts to there home number or mobile & it was 6 days later before i could get him back to the vets due to it being the new year. if anybody has any info as to what i can do about these sellers please get in touch as i dont think they should be allowed to sell

Hi Tracy & Mick.

We spoke on the phone the other night and you also spoke to Jo.

The way you have both been treated is appalling and i think this case needs to be investigated further. Have you heard anything back from these so called breeders yet or are they still ignoring your calls.

Ali (TPG)

hi ali no they are still ignoring all calls but im taking terri back to the vets today for another check up hopefully all will be well as he is doing a lot better now & his eyes are open more & he is a lot more active than when we 1st got him so we will keep our fingers crossed, did jo forward the photos of terri & shelby? if not i did put some photos up in the gallery of them both. many thanks tracy & mick

Hi Tracy and Mick,

I'd love to see their photos, but can't find them. Are they in the Members Gallery?

Nina

Hi Tracy & Mick

I keep leopards and I'm a moderator on the leopard_uk group.  If you need any help/advice at all please just ask for it as I know, from experience, that leopards aren't the easiest of tortoises to care for unless they are in tip top shape and then they are easy.

Most of mine (15 of them) have problems as they are rehomers with not too good a past history and so I have some experience of dealing with ill leopards.  Just remember you can always ask for help on here or on the leopard group.  Hopefully you will have downloaded the care sheet by now, but that just gives general advice; so for anything more specific just let us know.

Please keep us updated with their progress as I am following your story closely.  I live in Yorkshire but don't know of the supplier you got your little torts from but I'm working on finding out who they are.  I have seen them advertising on Preloved previously so I guess these were not pet tortoises that you bought.

Helen    

Hi Tracy & Mick,

I think we may need to have another chat with you both as you have clearly paid out alot of money getting this tortoise better. This needs looking in to.

Ali

hi nina the photos are in the gallery under terri & shelby many thanks tracy & mick

hi helen i had terri at the vets today & the vet is over the moon with his progress he said he cant believe he is the same tortoise we took in for a check up on xmas eve but he is still on the 4week antibiotics course & his eyes are much better the only thing we need to try & do now is to try & get him to eat food as we are still having to syringe feed him into his tube many thanks tracy & mick

hi ali we really appreciate all the help & advice we have received with our concerns about terri & we just hope something can be done about these sellers, i know we have spent a lot of money on vet bills but just to see terri healthy makes it all worth while many thanks tracy & mick

hi nina just noticed the photos are not uploading keeps getting timed out if you would like us to send you some photos please email us at mickntracy@hotmail.com

Out of curiosity what antibiotic has your vet prescribed?  I'm so pleased for you that Terri seems to have turned the corner.

Try offering a little cucumber.  Hold a thin sliver, using tweezers, just above his nose and see what happens.

You will need to downsize your photos to 'small' before they will upload.  There are some instructions in the gallery.  If you can't do it send them to me and I'll upload them for you.

helen@tortoise-protection-group.org.uk

Helen

hi helen the antibiotic is called baytril many thanks tracy & mick

Hi I've received your pictures and I'll upload them shortly for you. 

Is your vet an exotics specialist or just a vet with an interest in exotics?  I'm not wanting to sound rude here but there is evidence that baytril is not an appropriate antibiotic for leopards as it is for other species of tortoise; so I was wondering why it was prescribed in this instance.  Some leopards have a very severe reaction to it (fortunately yours hasn't) and there is some evidence that it stunts their growth. Usually vets look for an alternative antibiotic for a leopard.

For an antibiotic to work effectively the temperature must be kept up over the 24 hour period and not allowed to drop at night.  Throughout this time hydration is important and so it wouldn't hurt to bath your tortoise 2 or 3 times a day whilst it is on medication.

Helen

the vets is called the dick vet for small & exotic animals there based in midlothian if you would like to look them up on the internet many thanks tracy & mick

Unfortunately I've been unable to upload your pictures to the members gallery there seems to be a problem so I'll try and get that sorted out.  Meanwhile I've attached them to this message.

I've sorted the problem on the members gallery and your pictures are now upoaded in MickandTracy album.  If you want to give me a description for each picture send the details to me by clicking on my tpgadmin name at the top of this message.

Sorry it's taken so long.

Helen

thanks very much helen for your help in uploading the photos of terri & shelby many thanks tracy & mick

terri is the ill tort with the tube

terri has ate a little bit of cucumber which is another step in the right direction to him getting better  yippee!!!!!!!!!

glad to hear that your torty is on the mend now. My leopard is on Flagyl but I am having a right old job getting her to open her mouth to syringe it in!

the pics of your torts are gorgeous. I hope one day when I have a large garden to keep a nice little colony of leopard torts as I find them fascinating to watch.

just to let everybody know the vet removed terri,s tube on monday, it looks like he is a secret eater (the little sod lol) vets are over the moon with his recovery & hopefully the vet bills will stop

What great news! It's been a long haul, hasn't it, but you and Terri got there in the end and I'm really happy for you. It will be all plain sailing from here on {g}.

N

hi just to let you all know terri died this morning 10.20am 1/4/09 he was at the vets yesterday for an xray & had to have his tube put back in but he didnt pull through & the vets kept him in overnight in an intensive care unit the poor thing has gone through so much & we & the vets have done everything possible & the vet yesterday said it looks like terri was sicker than they 1st thought we will really miss him & something should be done about people selling sick tortoises as its the buyer that gets all the heartache when they dont make it. r.i.p. terri

HIya,

I'm so very sorry to hear of Terri's passing. There's a very good chance this person isn't a breeder at all and they should be held accountable for selling this poor sick tortoise and the stress it has caused you.

Please email us with all the details you have on the seller tel No. etc and we'll look into it.

How's the other little one doing?

Kindest Regards
Darren
contactus@tortoise-protection-group.org.uk

Oh I could cry for you how sad.

You did all that you  could for Terri and I'm sure in his short life he knew that.  He will no longer have to suffer, but unfortunately it doesn't stop the heartache.

I think I should be going back to the seller and letting them know, in no uncertain terms, that the sick tort you bought from them has died and I should be asking for compensation.  It doesn't replace Terri, I know that.  I'm wondering if your vet believes that Terri was sick when you bought him too and would be willing to write a statement to say so if you decide to sue.

Helen

when we 1st took terri to the vets for a check up 3 days after we bought terri & shelby the vets kept him in & told us he had been sick for a while & that he didnt just get sick in the 3 days of us buying them both the vet even said the seller must of known he was ill, the poor bugger has been through a lot with the pneumonia aswell we will miss him so much

This is such sad reading. You faught so hard for Terri and I totally agree with you 100% that it is always the new owner that suffers the hearbreak, no matter how hard they try to over come the numerous illnesses that the tortoise has came to them with.

Take care

Elaine

I'm so sorry to hear that Terri has passed away! He was one brave little tortoise, to have fought so hard for such a long time, after such a poor start in life before you got him. You've both been real stars in the way you've looked after Terri and Shelby, and tried so hard to give them a good life. You must be really devastated now, and just know that we're all thinking of you.

Nina

just want to say a big thanks to everybody for the comforting messages, we are both devastated as we thought he was on the mend, we took him to the vets all the time regardless of the cost as every animal deserves a chance in life