Background : I had 3 star tortoises. 1 juz passed away last week due to an unnatural death. He was found with blood like stains coming out of the mouth n nose. Eyes n neck was swollen.

Today : Found one out of the remaining 2 had the similar symptoms which is liquid mixed with blood coming out of nose n mouth. Eyes are swollen. Is still able to move around but does not want to eat. Rushed to a few vets but were closed or does not treat tortoises as i found out about it when i was feeding it late in the evening. This is my 1st experience of my tortoises getting sick/ill in the past 8 years so i'm not sure wat to do and no the tortoises were never sent to a vet be4 for the past 8 years.

Question : Does anyone knows what kind of illness this is? Can it be treated? Has anyone has the same experience?

Am going to Yeoh Vet at Tmn Megah in the morning. Hopefully my tortoise survives the nite. If you have any experience or knowledge which would/could be useful pls share. I would be checking this thread as active as possible. Thx in advance.

Btw,does any1 know roughly how much Dr. Yeoh charges for consultation?

Checking regularly but no one has replied yet. After asking around at pet shops, it has been confirmed that its flu and the recommended solution is to separate the sick one and put it under the morning sun from about 7 plus to 9. I find this flu a bit dangerous as it has small amount of blood mixed into it. The pet shop owner also says that the tortoise is not eating coz the flu has made it unable to sense the food.

This post has been edited by blazin_fir3: Mar 1 2008, 11:12 PM

did you give it calcium supplements?

good that u bringing it to vet.

im not sure bout how much that Dr charges but i heard its a bit above average.

Hey malowie..yes, my family have been giving them calcium supplements. Crushing the pellets and then sprinkle them on the various veggie that we feed them. Although sumtimes they do avoid eating the calcium..guess they dun really like em..

ok good.

what were the fruits, veggies that you fed it? were you sure that there was no pesticides on them or did you wash them when offering?

My dad gets veggie from the market regularly and yes he alwiz washes them 1st den puts the remainder in the fridge. Re-stock each time its about to finish. Mainly, kangkung, cabbage, carrots etc. my star tortoises aren't that fussy will eat almost all but dun really fancy lettuce..

During weekends, not many of the forumers come online as some do not have connection from home. Anyway, the best you can do is go to the vet tomorrow. Separate from the others.

Don't you sun your tortoises? You keep indoors or outdoors? What substrate do you keep them in?

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Added on March 2, 2008, 1:12 amYou shouldn't be feeding cabbage to star tortoises too.

This post has been edited by crazymouse_yyh: Mar 2 2008, 01:12 AM

Those food are not to be given to them as staple food. Do you have any pictures of the said blood ? That might assist us in helping you.

This post has been edited by uzairi: Mar 2 2008, 01:51 AM

Well,juz got back from the vet. My tortoise got jabbed and must go see the doc again on tuesday. I guess jab till its alrite? Dr said bad lung infection.

Sry, can't get u the pic but its basically mucus like liquid with blood mixed into it. Dr said coz its congested.

We keep them outside and yes, we do sun them.

You all say that the veggies should not be given to them as staple. Can i ask y? coz i asked the doctor and many other pet shops, they say its alrite and they have been doing the same too. Btw, we give them mainly french beans n long beans nowadays coz they seem to like it.

If those veggies are not suppose to be given, then can u suggest some? I don't really get some of the names given in the TTT thread. Common names are better 4 me >.<

Another thing that i found out reading the TTT thread is that the shell growing pyramid shape is no good and means that they lack sum kind of nutrient? If that is so, what can i do to fix the condition? One of my tortoise has pyramid shaped shells >.<

Pyramid shell is caused by bad diet. Pet shops mainly have little knowledge.... didn't you know that long beans and french beans are bad?

The thing is..... not many people knows about the correct diet. Cabbage and long beans may be ok in small amounts for certain types of tortoises but never a star tortoise. There are so much info on the internet about their diets....

You can easily find a diet list in the tortoise thread coz it has been repeated so many times.

Anyway, you cannot reverse the pyramiding shell.... permanent already. Slight pyramid is ok but if yours is all very pointy and shape also weird, then it means bad diet and bad lifestyle.

Give them sawi as their main staple food. I feed mine 5 days with sawi, 1 day with either of these vege such as carrot, lady finger, long beans, french beans ,hibiscus flower/leaf and 1 more day with Exo Terra or Gex Tortoise pellets.

From Chelonia website:
The shell of the Star tortoise may range from smooth to fairly bumpy with raised scutes giving it a pyramided appearance. The reason for this natural pyramiding is uncertain but it is one author's belief that the raised scutes make it easier for a Star tortoise to right itself should it become turned over. The raised scutes would make it naturally slant to one side or the other, a genuine help in a flat grassy habitat. If higher domed and bumpier Star tortoises had a greater survival rate because of this, the tendency to a pyramided appearance would be selected for in future generations.

This web stated in the TTT thread says otherwise.How?
We feed all 3 of them together..and only one has this problem but her pyramiding makes her shell looks quite nice actually and there has not been any sign of sickness or anythink with her. But will try to get sawi for them now. whats sawi in english? gotta tell my dad.

Plus if u say pet shops have lil knowledge, i may agree with you but even the vet says its alrite. Den who should i believe o.O

Plus if its such a bad diet, then y only 1 out of the 3 that i had is having this problem?

Sawi - Mustard Green

Some ST might have the pyramiding, but if its natural then its okay. Some have it because of their genetic traits but some doesnt. Bad husbandry causes the pyramiding, not the sickness(mucus with blood)..

This post has been edited by uzairi: Mar 2 2008, 11:52 PM

Oh..the one that is sick now only has a lil pyramid..but the one that i'm saying with the pyramid is from another batch so your explanation is just.

Thx will tell my dad to get them mustard green 2molo. I should coax/force them to eat it so tat it could be their staple meal rite?

Let them starve for 2-3 days and give the mustard green.

ok..thx uzairi.. so i've talked to my dad and we are planning to totally change their diet and all. So do u still give them pellet food once a week? If so, wat brand/name do you recommend.

Plus my dad has asked wat brand for the calcium supplement do you all recommend? For both indoor and outdoor coz sumtimes when its rainy season, its hard to take them out for basking plus the whole area would be wet.
Thx in advance.

Thx for the input..Any other replies can be post at TTT v3 =)

This post has been edited by blazin_fir3: Mar 4 2008, 12:14 AM