Anyone of you have a Desert Tortoise?

My friend asked me to ask since hers is sick and the vet has not helped but took her money and is off based in what he is saying. He will not eat and is foaming at the mouth.

I found this web site. http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/safer.html
Is the tortoise having trouble breathing?
I would use extremely good hygiene around him. I( know you know this Dawn.) They can have lots of diseases, including salmonella, which is easily transmitted.

What is the vet saying?

We had one when I was a child and find them fascinating, but decided not to have one now. They do require care and special treatment.

Edited to add: googled "tortoise foaming at the mouth" and found that foaming at the mouth is a sign of overheating.

This message was edited Jun 26, 2008 1:39 PM

Thanks Kath, I posted in on 3 forums and got pneumonia too, not the dehydration so will tell her. It is expensive to own an exotic pet.

You betcha. We have medical insurance on two of our parrots.

I bet, I know what a responsibility having a bird that could outlive you can be. My friend owns a parrot and use to be a trainer for Sea World and my gosh they can come with a lot of expense and a lot of work.

There is a parrot at SW that was taken from a private home in Cincinnati from it's owner that had abused it and the bird is on valium and other anti depressants because it takes sticks and stabs himself and pulls his feathers out and has suicidal tendencies from the abuse it suffered by the original owner who use to burn him with matches. He is such a beautiful peach bird.

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about the tortoise. I have one of those. The only time I saw her foaming at the mouth (or was it white vomit?) is when I gave her a large chunk of cucumber and she ate it all at once...
Overheating could be it too, I've noticed these days that my tortoise has been seeking the shadier spots in the garden..
good luck!

Yeah he acted as if he was still hibernating and she did soak him after Kathleen's post and he acted like he wanted her to rub his neck which was like Thank you so she has him outside so he won't get pneumonia since the vet said he needs more sun and more warmth in the house, she is trying it all. Thanks for the concern and responses.

Let us know how he does, Dawn.

Will do.

My boss' wife raises desert tortoises, so I called her and asked her about the symptoms you described.

She echoed what was said earlier about sunlight and overheating.
Hers have had that happen when they don't get adequate shade when it's really hot. She suggested seperating it for the time being from the healthy ones until the symptoms go away.

She said hers tend to knock over their shade covers and sort of compete for space in the shade, so she has this ongoing issue of trying to build things that are big enough that they can't knock over.

Like Kathleen stated, she said, "Tell her to REALLY SCRUB HER HANDS after handling them and to wear those disposable latex gloves because of salmonella.

Oh ya that is so true about the Salmonella. She only has the one. Thanks, he has been in the sun now most of the time and is just starting to eat some food and seems a bit more alert. Thanks guys. We can consider this a closed subject now. You were all a great help and correct too.

Re salmonella - I got a very bad case of food poisoning after eating chicken a (good) restaurant several years ago. I thought I would die, literally. The next time I saw my arthritis doc, I mentioned it to her and she said you can get what they call "reactive arthritis" from salmonella, too. It comes on AFTER the gastrointestinal symptoms, can affect nearly all your organs, and can become a chronic condition. So, it's not just an upset tummy, folks - this stuff can really be baaaaaad.

kathleen, I know, I had it too and found out that there are 7 types, some are less violent than other types and the worse type is Typhoid. (Who Knew)You dehydrate completely with Typhoid so you die. The type I had (also from an upscale restaurant) was the one under Typhoid or the 3rd worse, the doctor could not recall which it was but I know I was praying not to die and was sick for 6 weeks. After that he said come back in like 3 or 6 months to see if I was a carrier and if I tested positive but with no symptoms I would be a carrier for ever. whooo doggie. What a scare since I was a massage therapist. I was not, thankfully. I was mad too because when I first went I told him that myself and two coworkers all got the same chicken dish and we all were sick so check for Salmonilla, he said, no it is a mild case of food poisoning, come back if you are not better in 3 or 4 days.

I thought I would be dead by then, with no exageration. They did a stool sample and called me like 7 days later saying Oh call us back regarding your tests, it is urgent. Duhhhhhhh!! Then he said the type I had children don't survive, so wash my hands extra well. I was mad because my kids were real young then.

I couldn't have made it to the doctor if my life depended on it. Never been so sick in my life. I'd had food poisoning before - once from the hospital cafeteria where I worked - and knew it would just have to burn itself out. By the time it was really bad, I was too far gone to go anywhere.

I'm a fiend in the kitchen when I cook chicken - wash all my eggs before I use them, too (especially for our birds). Vinegar and peroxide and bleach are my best friends! lol

lol I was so afraid I was dieing, I drove myslef but called my x who was an hour or more away crying, come home, I am so sick, I can't take care of Alysha. Once I got into the doctor, I made them call in the prescription and I parked in front of the pharmacy and sent my 7 year old in this ma and pop pharmacy because I could not barely hold myself up to drive, she comes out with my prescription and says, "I am hungry, will you make me a pb&J when we get home and I started sobbing uncontrollably, No I can't, I can't. "

Thank God when I pulled up, my X was right there to feed her. My heart pounded so hard I thought it was going to burst through my chest and I had back cramps on top of the stomach thing.

We had an attorney call our 1 remaining coworker and say, "Where is the Dr.'s staff?" after she told him, he showed up from LA to talk to us when we could come back to work, filed a suite and we all won against the insurance company so I took my family to Niagara Falls and Ohio on our one big family vacation. I was so glad to have been able to take them, but nothing was worth that misery.

Thank goodness I had someone to take care of me!

I just laid in the tub for about 4 days shriveling or laying nest to the toilette.

Glad you had someone too, I was just glad I had someone to take care of the kids. I wanted to be left alone to die.
not glad we share this horrid memory.

I did not eat chicken for many years after that. You?

I didn't eat it for a while. There was a sauce on it, so I would eat chicken w/o sauce. The time before put me off pizza for about 5 years!

How's the tortoise doing, BTW?

Given the theme of this thread, don't watch ( or rent ) "Babette's Feast".

lol

Kathleen, I had Chicken Bearnaise too so the sauce thing was an issue with me for ages but now I will eat it.

The tortoise is eating a small amount but not real improvement to speak of.

though many reptiles can carry a Salmonella species, rarely is it one that is pathogenic (makes us sick) to humans. I have not heard of a case of Salmonella causing illness in a human from a tortoise, though I am sure it has happened. You are probably more likely to get struck by lightening though. Hope the tortoise is still with us. Sounded it like it was really ill.

Yes Bob he is still alive and he is eating a small amount. But he is still sluggish. Thanks for asking.