hi my horsfield tort mario has lost 30g in the last 2weeks he hasnt been eating alot at all just picking everynow and agen

his weight was 405g and is now 375g his lenth is 125mm

his house set up is a megaray 100w uv bulb and the temp below it is 25/30 and a caithness slate rite below it to hold the heat he always seems to go to the end off the slate and start to burry down(right hand corner of the pic) he sleeps there all the time it seems to be his spot he hardly stays under the lamp unless eating

ill upload a pic so you can see what i meen its an old pic the layout has changed slightly more things in the house plus the lamp at the far end is no longer there. ohh and i no the thermostat is reading high he wasnot in the house then and the slate was sitting higher than ushual as i just cleaned the house out

anyway i took him to the vet and she told me to take him back tmorrow for an xray because she thinks it may be metrobolical (think thats the word)bone disease and if it is she wants to put a tube down the side off his throat so i can liquid feed him untill he starts to pic up and eat properly

i was just wondering could it be anything diffrent i only used to bath him once a week so made me think there could be a chance of him just being dehydrated he has 2 trays with fresh water aswell but hardly goes near them

any advise would be great

for sum reason it wont upload the pic

cheers

Hi Jamie,

The enclosure looks great:-)

I'd be inclined to bathe him daily - it helps to increase their activity and also maintain hydration, then offer food directly after bathing. You could also try Reptoboost, by Vetark. I've used this on a number of occassions with problem hatchlings and sick tortoises with great success and know of many others who have used it with positive results too. I mixed it with their bathing water, then washed it off after.

Is his nose dry?
Passing stools and fluids ok?

Good luck at the vets

Regards
Darren

Hi Jamie

You don't have access to an exotics epert in your area do you?  The vet you are using is a domestic vet with an interest in exotics isn't she?  I'm wondering if  she is going to be doing invasive procedures such as this following results of any bloodwork being done?  I do however, think that this amount of weight loss in just 2 weeks is excessive. 

Do you have any pictures of your tortoise we can look at.

Helen

hi darren

his nose is dry and he is passing fluids ok stools not so much as he hasnt been eating alot

i have reptoboost i used it when he had worms before and just after his treatment

he has been put in for an xray i told the vet to phone after to let me no what it showes and what her plans are i felt the whole tube thing would shurley be a last resort

do you think he will be getting enuff uv if he is always to the right off his lamp and not directly under it

thanks for the help

hi helen

no i dont since i live in johnOgroats an exotic vet is pretty much impossible to get to

i did push the bloodtests when i was in this morning so hopefully they will take some i was just going to phone in a little while to see if anything has been done yet

sorry i dont have any clear pics ill take some new ones as soon as i get him back home and post them up for you

thanks for the help

iv uploaded 2 pics off mario and 1 off his current setup let me no if u can spot any problems

iv orderd a Repti-Sun 2.0 from kimbosreptileworld to hang above to light it up abit more duno if this is a good or bad idea

Hi Jamie,

May I ask what temperature is directly under the lamp at shell height please?

Tortoises don't always sit directly under the lamp, they may choose an area just off centre in order to warm up at a rate the tortoise decides.

It is quite a lot of weight to lose and if he continues to lose weight tubing would certainly be an option to look at, though as you suggest it would be better to get him eating by himself. The re-introduction of daily bathing in Reptoboost may well help.

If he only had the one worm treatment - it would be advisable to get a faece sample checked as one treatment isn't always effective and several treatments may be required to remedy a worm problem.

An x-ray is the best way to check the bone density (possible mbd), though as always, the more tests that are run will give a wider picture of exactly what is going on.

Nothing wrong with adding further lighting away from the Megaray bulb you already have - I've got some extra tubes coming here for my tortoise house and greenhouse - away from the Megaray lamps

How has his eating been today - any improvements?

Regards

Darren

hi darren

his xray showed his bone structure aint great but its not bad ither it could simply be that he wasnot looked after properly before i got him

i am going to bath him in reptiboost daily and see if that helps the vet did giv me wormer but i dont no if i should give it to him if im unshure if he has worms or not

his eating hasent improved because he hasent eating anything yet but as far as activity goes he is roaming around quite the thing if anything more than normal

thanx for the help

Hi Jamie,

Which wormer is it you've been given please?

i forgot to tell u the temp at shell hight is 25 and reaches 30 around 4/5pm then hardly goes higher maby reach 31 if the room is warm but is rare

i just looked at the wormer and its panacur for SHEEP

its 0.75mls then the same 3weeks later

Hi Jamie

Is there any update on your tortoise for us? 

If you are still unsure about the advice you are receiving from your vet, knowing that she is not an exotics specialist, perhaps the TPG online vet, Kevin Eatwell, could answer some of your concerns.

Helen

Hi Jamie,

To be honest, I'm not absolutely sure how much difference there are between the various Panacur wormers. The ones I've looked at all seem to be Febendazole based. One of the biggest concerns with worming solution is that it doesn't contain Ivermectin. This is used on horses and is absolutely lethal to tortoises.
I've mailed Kevin Eatwell to see if he can shed any light on it.

HTH
Darren

hi

em he is just the same not eating anything after his bath in reptoboost he is active enuff he climbs and just wanders around but wont eat his dandy leaves

as for the wormer it is the same stuff i got last time and it seemed to work fine still havent gave it to him yet

but if he continues to not eat maby i should

last time he had worms he never ate all he did was sleep

HI Dave,

I'd be inclined to take a stool sample to the vets for screening, this will at least confirm whether he has worms and the wormload. I would honestly start looking to take him to a good reptile vet. The one you are seeing doesn't sound too clued up.

Darren