Hi again! i need more advice please, while i was bathing Urwin today and when he started to poo! there was a load of stringy things that came out of his bum ( they looked like little cotton strings ) are these worms??? I phoned my vet yesterday just to ask if they could screen him for worm's and they said yes and it would cost £50 pounds. I have my other pets with this vet-but- not sure if they are a specialist for tortoises!  but if these are worm's can i skip the screening part and go strait for the worming?? and if their not specialist in torts can they do this safely? Oh Urwin's eyes didn't open fully today and seem a little sunken can this be due to worms? sorry to be a pest but i fined this site to be AMAZING!!! please help ASAP.    Thank you  Angie

Hello there

it's a bit hard to say without gory photos but tortoise worms do come in all shapes and sizes so it could be your tortoise is voiding large worms.

It is well worth locating a vet that specialises in tortoises, there is a list in the vets and health issues heading on the left.

I know that Hannah Bould , one of the recommended vets will screen samples sent to her by post. The last details I have for Hannah is
http://www.vets4pets.com/practice.asp?dbid=48

Open
8:30am – 7:00pm Mon-Fri,
9:00am - 4:00pm Sat

East Cannock Road
Cannock
Staffordshire
WS12 1LU

it may be worth giving them a call.

In addition there is the tortoise fecal screening project which is screening samples for free. Details are on the main Tpg site.

The sunken eyes are a worry, this is often a sign of dehydration so plead ensure your tortoise is bathed a couple of times a day until you can see a vet.

Hope this helps

Dave

Thank you Dave for your advice. I bath Urwin once a day for about 20 mins but i will up his bathing to twice a day, i looked at your vet list but as i don't drive and live in Liverpool they are all too far away! i am looking through the yellow pages as we speak ( so to speak ) I will get him to a vet asap! Is there any other way i can help with his hydration while i am waiting? i am a little worried now. Thank you   Angie

Hi,

Try these ones. From another  recommended list

Village Vets Centre
65 Quarry Street
Woolton
Liverpool
L25 6EZ

Thank you Dave for your prompt reply, i will phone the vet first thing! and i will bath him as you have suggested i don't know what i would do without the TPG! there is so much wrong advice out there, only stumbled on this site by chance! so glad i did.I will keep you posted with good news! i hope    Thanx  Angie

Hi Dave i have an appointment today at 5 pm with Urwin! fingers crossed!!!!!   Angie

Hi Dave Urwin has been the vet! The vet thinks he's around the right length n weight!! Whoop! Whoop! he doesn't think he is too dehydrated but told me to keep up with his bathes, but he thinks he has an eye infection ( the poor baby ) he has taken swabs and i need to call back in a week for results, he gave him Potent Brew 1 drop per day and also Exocin 1 drop 4 times daily in each eye, he did a little poo while he was there, the vet didn't think he had worms BUT!! i have got to Waite for Urwin to do a bid poo so he can test it. wish me luck getting the drops in hehe! as Urwin not happy with me now lol   Thanx  Angie

Hi Angie

So glad you took him to a vet, it certainly sounds like your vet knows their stuff. Hope Urwin is feeling a bit more chipper soon. Please keep us posted.

All the best

Dave

Hi Dave....had some early results back from the vet today! i am in shock!!!! apparently WE  have made Urwin sick . He has M.R.S.A. OMG!! haven't a clue were he has got this from, the vet has given him.. Rx ciprofloxacin as hudrochloride eye drops, we have to be very careful...as my niece is a nursery nurse... plus my Mum is 77 and we have to wear gloves at all times when handling Urwin, gloves wont be a problem as i wear them when administering medication to my two Shih Tzu's and my OAP bunny! i still cant believe we have passed this on to him ( the poor baby ). Dave can i ask you have you ever heard of this before in a tortoise? or any one else? is it common? Urwin has to go back in two weeks to see if the drops are working. Never new we could pass anything to a tortoise, always thought we could catch things from animals and i am so carefull with hygiene: ( obviously not ) i feel sooo! bad.  Oh how often would i need to change his bedding? or would it be better putting him on something else till this clears up?     Thanx   Angie

Soz! i meant has anyone else heard of a tortoises having M.R.S.A?   Thanx   Angie

Hi Angie,

Thought I'd quickly answer as Dave's not around atm. MRSA is increasingly found in animals, I've not heard of it being found in tortoises, though this doesn't mean it doesn't happen

I've mailed Kevin Eatwell the TPG vet in the hope he can shed more light on this.

HTH
Kindest Regards
Darren

Thank you Darren for your reply i hope Kevin can shed more light as you say! i hope poor Urwin is not the first tortoise to have MRSA ( not that i would wish this on another tortoise ) but i feel i have done something wrong!!! i do hope not. I am wondering how long his recovery will be? and if there is a possibility of this coming back again? and could this have a long lasting affect on his health? very worried owner!     Thanx   Angie

Hi again, sorry i don't mean to be pushy but i am very worried! with Urwin having MRSA as my Mum is 77 i have told her not to deal with Urwin, i have so many questions and really need to know what i am dealing with as to:  should he be allowed outside? should he be confined? How long could he have had this? etc: He had something to eat today! but is now sneezing a little, so so worried!   I Know i am not the only person with health questions for their tortoises and the TPG have been a huge help! but so so worried   Thanx  Angie

Hi i think i should stop reading things! i think i have scared myself as i have been trying to fine out about MRSA in animals, and don't like what i have read! ( either through my ignorance or lack of understanding of  MRSA ) i have been looking at the Bella Moss Foundation, amongst others!  if i understand this right! can this be a long and ongoing illness? can the illness reacare? is it 100% curable? I don't wont to give up on the little guy! BUT!! nore do i wont Urwin to suffer a long illness unnecessarily through my selfishness to no avail, i am so scared of the potential risk to my family as my mum is elderly and she visits her very poorly sister in a home. i would not wont to put my other animals at risk either as i have been through the mill with one of my Shih Tzu's who had an ear removed at 13 weeks old through cancer, plus my other Shih Tzu is going in for a hip operation, and i have a very old Bunny!! i am so so scared that (  no matter how hygienic i am i may pass this on to them ) as obviously Urwin has got this from somewhere! i will phone the vet asap to see what he advises. Please can someone get back to me asap!! i am so sad n so scared for the little guy...   Thanx   Angie

Hi Darren! i was just wondering if you have heard anything from Kevin Eatwell? over Urwin having MRSA...i am NOT going to read anything else regarding MRSA at the moment ( as i keep scaring myself ) but would greatly appreciate any information on the subject! as i an still very worried.    Thanx   Angie

Hi Angie,

Sorry I haven't - will drop Kev another mail.

TC
Darren

Hi Darren any luck yet from Kevin? as Urwin goes back the Vet on saturday and i would like know a little of what i am talking about.  Thanx  Angie

Hi Darren just to keep you up to date, Urwin went back to the Vet on Saturday he has had another swab taken: just waiting for the results (fingers crossed)  Thanx  Angie

Hope its going well Angie, keep us informed

Regards Vivienne

Hi Angie, I have just been reading the saga of your tort and MRSA. I was so surprised that torts can suffer from it! Anyway, is there any news yet, and how is Urwin at the moment?

I'm really sorry if you feel I am bothering you, and do not wish to reply. I do reckon though, that sharing info and experiences should be done where possible. I  send very best wishes.         David in York

Hi Dave i agree with you that any information and experiences shared is a good thing, especially if it can help other people, and i don't think your bothering me at all after all having kind peoples comments and the TGP!! have been a HUGE!!! help. I was in shock to think that poor Urwin had caught this to say the least. I had a phone call today at 7pm from my Vet!! Whoop! Whoop!! Urwin is CLEAR!!!   cant tell you how that feels lol. He has been feeling a lot better over the last week i may have to change his name to Hercule's hehehe! there is no stopping him lol i am so relieved i have my cheeky little baby back. i was so excited that i forgot to ask the Vet if this could come back!!  oops!! i hope not. Thank you Dave and all for asking.  Angie x

Angie, what great news!!!!!!!!!!

It's rotten to get worrying vet news...poor torts give so little away in terms of suffering.

Dogs and cats show more emotion and awareness as to how they are feeling. That's why it is so important to use a knowledgeable vet. Years ago we took what "they" said without question. Now with the internet we can question and get second opinions at the click of a button. When I first started with torts over 40 years ago, it cost more than the price of a new tortoise for a vet's visit. There was no incentive for vets to be tooled up for our requests!

Thanks to TPG (and others), we are all widening our knowledge. This is just as well as I forsee many issues for many keepers, once hatchlings become too large for "Table enclosures". I cannot think what will happen for all those torts whose owners do not have access to outdoor living quarters...will there be masses of torts needing rehoming? I just hope that the vast majority of new owners are prepared (or able) to provide adequate living quarters for a tort of around 25 cm or 10inches long.

All the best from York. David

Good luck, thanks and very best wishes form David in York.

Hi Dave WOW!!! you have had tortoises for 40 years!!  may i ask how many you have and what species you have? if you don't mind! i am such a newbie as a first time tort owner and the web too! (i seam to loose things a lot) lol Urwin is a Horsfield and 31/2 years old! i haven't a clue how big he will grow? i have bought him a new house not long ago (after finding this site) as he was sold to us in a Viv! (in my ignorance and lack of knowledge) was given all the wrong information on how to keep him! if i hadn't of found the TGP i wouldn't like to think of what could of happened to him, my guess would have been a very poorly tortoise plus expensive Vet bills due to ill health. I think there should be a ban on outlets and pet shops selling these animals and should be left to experienced/knowledgeable tortoises keepers, it makes me mad to think (in my ignorance)my baby could have had such a miserable life!!! but hopefully with the help of TGP and people like yourself he will be spoiled lol Dave i hope you don't mind if i pick your brains from time to time?  Thanx  Angie x

Hi Angie. I am certainly no expert, but do have a wide and long history with torts. All the early dates below may be 1-2 years out, as I have no paper records from then. Later ones are more accurate.

When I was a teenager (around 1969) I found a T hermani in a field near where I lived, which no-one claimed. I became obsessed from that day on. He lived with me til around 1984, when he was either stolen or escaped. Meanwhile I had acquired Victoria and Albert from a shop in Rotherham. These were T ibera. They were both in a bad way and bought out of pity. Hours of "restoration" eventually paid off. Nowadays we would never mix species, but knowledge has improved a lot regarding disease transfer and such. Anyway Herman disappeared during summer of 1984 leaving me the happy couple. Lots of eggs laid but always infertile (confirmed by a knowledgeable specialist vet). Still a happy set up. Around 1985 I was given another female T ibera by this vet,  to nurse back to health. Ethel was anorexic and almost dead when I got her.. but with loads of liaison with the vet, plus lessons on stomach feeding and injecting, she recovered well. However it was decided that Albert was firing blanks!( it never deterred him once). Albert and Victoria lived on for around another 26, and 25 years repectively. This leaves Ethel on her own. I have been seeking for mature company for her for some time. She is in great condition, but I reckon still lonely. Since I joined TPG I have gained so much information. This is such a great site, and I cannot sing highly enough of its praises. Over the years I paid to join several tortoise organisations...none compare with this one.

In addition to my own torts, I have nursed back to good health around 10 very sick torts, and helped with husbandry problems over the years. I do not yet have any experience with young torts. My son and I also bred snakes when he was younger...we love reptiles. All my charges so far have been fairly ancient on arrival, 'though I reckon Ethel is still in her prime! ...so that's my background. But do you know what? Reading TPG entries teaches me new stuff all the time. Things have moved on greatly from my 1950's Foyle's handbook on "Tortoises, Terrapins and Turtles"...still sat on the shelf next to me.     Good luck, David in York

Hi David thank you for sharing your history of your torts with me, i loved reading it, now i do feel like a complete newbie lol  I think if Urwin reaches the age of thirty that would make me around about 80 (scary) hehe!! and i think he would still be moving faster than myself lol. It just shows you how things have progressed for these animals as i vaguely remember as a young child that my Dad acquired a tortoise (haven't a clue how or were from) it was pretty  battered as i remember and we had it for about five years! my Dad used to winter it in a cardboard box under mum/dads bed, but one day there was a really bad smell needless to say the poor thing didn't survive!!  I do think David that animals do need company and i would love for Urwin to have a friend!! but as i am not completely sure what sex Urwin is (i do think he is a boy) i wouldn't wont to end up with 2 males and have to keep them separated, and i understand from this site that there should be at least a 18month quarantine!! We are planing to build him a big enclosure in are garden as it is pretty big, but i would be scared to leave him in it over night as we have had people trying to get into the garden sheds!! i have an OAP bunny out there in his own huge shed (thank god they have never touched him. David do you think (once his enclosure is finished) that it would be ok to bring him in of a night? or would this frustrate him??   probably a daft question so forgive me lol (told you i was a complete newbie) hehehe.  Thanx  Angie x

Hi Angie, I am pleased to share my experiences with you and others. I have enjoyed thinking back of all my years of tort keeping and the beasts I met. Regarding torts out at night...all mine have always headed back each night to their shelter, apart from the first month and around the last month each year. At these times they sometimes try to dig inthe ground for the night. At these extremes of the year, I placed mine in the sleeping box, to avoid frost or the risk of torts being caught in a rain storm, and  then a month in the shed to ensure guts were empty of food for the winter. Remember though that I have only ever kept mature torts, and never Horsefields. Hopefully a long term Horsefields keeper will read this posting and advise you accordingly Angie. Good chatting to you, good luck and happy keeping.     

                                             David in York

Hi every one! i haven't been on in a while (in a good way)  just to keep you up to date, Urwin is still doing GREAT!! i am not going to hibernate him this year to scared to with him being so unwell recently. He is very active and still pooping n peeing and has a great appetite, in fact when ever i go in his room and he hears me he thinks it's time to come out, even if i go in at 10pm he pops out of his shell and comes running over, (he's so cheeky) so i have to be really quiet lol. just thought i would keep everyone up to date.  THanx  Angie