scats
Well-Known Member
No news yet. Hoping that’s good news as they’d have rung me if it was anything sinister.
Vet trip for Tia
- Thread starter scats
- Start date
Bearsmum
Well-Known Member
Healing vibes for Tia, hope she's soon home recovering and your bank balance can have some breathing space too!
scats
Well-Known Member
Surgery was a success and Tia was walking around within 20 minutes of being woken up (apparently the average tortoise takes 3-4 hours to move so she astonished everyone!).
They removed a lot of follicles, some very large. They’ve got photos to show me of the procedure and what they removed so I’m interested to see those.
I’m off to collect her this evening
They removed a lot of follicles, some very large. They’ve got photos to show me of the procedure and what they removed so I’m interested to see those.
I’m off to collect her this evening
SEL
Well-Known Member
Brilliant news!Surgery was a success and Tia was walking around within 20 minutes of being woken up (apparently the average tortoise takes 3-4 hours to move so she astonished everyone!).
They removed a lot of follicles, some very large. They’ve got photos to show me of the procedure and what they removed so I’m interested to see those.
I’m off to collect her this evening
Rumtytum
Have Marmite, will travel
Excellent news! Tia should feel so much better without the follicles and you should feel so much better because she does 
!
!
ycbm
Einstein would be proud of my Insanity...
Great news!
.
.
oldandgold
Well-Known Member
Great news so happy for you both
nagblagger
Well-Known Member
Brilliant update..
Kunoichi73
Well-Known Member
Great news! 
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
Great news
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
What a relief, for both her, and you. Hope the rest of her recovery goes as quickly, and smoothly as she woke up after the surgery.
scats
Well-Known Member
Well she’s home
Surgery took 3 hours, though apparently an hour of that was Tia refusing to go to sleep
Follicles were big and weren’t going anywhere, so it would have likely killed her in the end. She also has a fatty liver, which will be because of her having not eaten, so she’s on some stuff for that aswell now.
She woke up fast and then within 20 minutes was wandering around, which is unheard of. She is very lively this evening and was happily walking around the vet table! Vet said she’s not out of the woods as there’s obviously risk of infection etc, but they are very encouraged by her swift recovery from the surgery.
The surgery was photographed so I’ve seen some great pictures, which will be shared on their social media pages and will link here when they go up. I asked them to text me the photo of the follicles, which I’ll pop below.
Her feeding tube will allow us to get the meds in (antibiotics, anti-inflam/pain relief and milk thistle for liver). We also have to feed her twice a day through the tube.
The bandage on her leg is to try and stop her hooking her feeding tube out.
The ‘hatch’, re-sealed
Welcome home Tia!
The follicles
Surgery took 3 hours, though apparently an hour of that was Tia refusing to go to sleep
Follicles were big and weren’t going anywhere, so it would have likely killed her in the end. She also has a fatty liver, which will be because of her having not eaten, so she’s on some stuff for that aswell now.
She woke up fast and then within 20 minutes was wandering around, which is unheard of. She is very lively this evening and was happily walking around the vet table! Vet said she’s not out of the woods as there’s obviously risk of infection etc, but they are very encouraged by her swift recovery from the surgery.
The surgery was photographed so I’ve seen some great pictures, which will be shared on their social media pages and will link here when they go up. I asked them to text me the photo of the follicles, which I’ll pop below.
Her feeding tube will allow us to get the meds in (antibiotics, anti-inflam/pain relief and milk thistle for liver). We also have to feed her twice a day through the tube.
The bandage on her leg is to try and stop her hooking her feeding tube out.
The ‘hatch’, re-sealed
Welcome home Tia!
The follicles
Rumtytum
Have Marmite, will travel
Lovely to see her moving but the folliclesWell she’s home
Surgery took 3 hours, though apparently an hour of that was Tia refusing to go to sleep
Follicles were big and weren’t going anywhere, so it would have likely killed her in the end. She also has a fatty liver, which will be because of her having not eaten, so she’s on some stuff for that aswell now.
She woke up fast and then within 20 minutes was wandering around, which is unheard of. She is very lively this evening and was happily walking around the vet table! Vet said she’s not out of the woods as there’s obviously risk of infection etc, but they are very encouraged by her swift recovery from the surgery.
The surgery was photographed so I’ve seen some great pictures, which will be shared on their social media pages and will link here when they go up. I asked them to text me the photo of the follicles, which I’ll pop below.
Her feeding tube will allow us to get the meds in (antibiotics, anti-inflam/pain relief and milk thistle for liver). We also have to feed her twice a day through the tube.
The bandage on her leg is to try and stop her hooking her feeding tube out.
View attachment 122387
The ‘hatch’, re-sealed
View attachment 122388
Welcome home Tia!
View attachment 122389
The follicles
View attachment 122390
! Do you know how many millimetres in diameter the big ones are?
AmyMay
Situation normal
Those follicles look enormous 
And even bigger now I’ve spotted that they’re sat on someone’s hand. She’s going to feel so much better
And even bigger now I’ve spotted that they’re sat on someone’s hand. She’s going to feel so much better
Kunoichi73
Well-Known Member
Poor Tia, no wonder she's been poorly. I did have a little giggle at the tube taped to her shell (but a kind giggle, not a mean giggle). Hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon now she's had her surgery.
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
The follicles, and resealed hatch on her belly looks very impressive, but woohoo! How lovely that she's home, she's lively, and walking around!
{{{{{{Vibes}}}}}} Hope it continues onwards and upwards.
{{{{{{Vibes}}}}}} Hope it continues onwards and upwards.
tda
Well-Known Member
I never look in Pet Box section but this came up on What's New.......well every day is a school day, I didn't even known you could still buy tortoises.
Healing vibes from me, what will you do going forward to stop it happening again? Do you have to get her a male friend?.
Healing vibes from me, what will you do going forward to stop it happening again? Do you have to get her a male friend?.
scats
Well-Known Member
They spayed her while she was in surgery. Once they’ve had this problem, they are prone to having it happen again so it was best to just spay her and then not have to worry about it anymore.
oldandgold
Well-Known Member
OMG no wonder the poor girl was poorly. Hope that she has an uneventful recovery, she is one very lucky girl to have an owner
willing to go the extra mile. Healing vibes on their way
willing to go the extra mile. Healing vibes on their way
scats
Well-Known Member
Lovely to see her moving but the follicles
I’m not too sure on the size, but they said that they were some of the largest they had removed from a small Tortoise. Some tortoises they have operated on have had more follicles, but far smaller.
For some reason the body keeps laying down ‘yolk’ on the same follicle rather than releasing it.
Because tortoises can’t swell to accommodate this sort of thing, the follicles start to push into the stomach and other organs, causing loss of appetite and eventually organ failure.
Rumtytum
Have Marmite, will travel
Thanks for this, I have learyso much about tortoises from you and Tia. Bless het, she’s a very lucky girl.
scats
Well-Known Member
Another cool thing I learned is that when tortoises breathe, you’ll see their legs move kind of outwards. That’s because the lungs expand and the shell limits the space inside the cavity for the lungs to fill, so the legs sort of get pushed out as a knock on (most noticeable when on their back- their legs sort of go out with each breath), but when they open up the plastron to access the surgery site, the legs don’t move anymore because the lungs suddenly have space.
They have to remind vet nurses of this because sometimes they will use the legs to monitor the breathing and then have a small panic when the legs suddenly stop moving
They are such amazing creatures! I am fascinated by them.
They have to remind vet nurses of this because sometimes they will use the legs to monitor the breathing and then have a small panic when the legs suddenly stop moving
They are such amazing creatures! I am fascinated by them.
Bearsmum
Well-Known Member
Wow, she is one lucky tortoise, I'm guessing many vets would not have known what was wrong and many owners would not have paid to have it fixed, fingers now crossed for a full recovery
rabatsa
Confuddled
Period pains can be bad but that would be on a whole new scale. No wonder she felt ropey and wouldn't eat.
scats
Well-Known Member
Todays update-
Tia had a comfortable night and today we started her medication and feeding through her tube. She has 3 types of meds in the morning and then her feed and then one of her meds again in the evening and another feed.
The first day was always going to be a bit difficult while I got used to it but I coped ok. She has to have her line flushed with water after her feed to make sure there is no food left to clog the tube.
It must feel weird to her coz she starts moving when things go in her
She wasn’t interested in any normal food, but I imagine she feels a bit rough today.
I had to remove her substrate yesterday as the vet wanted her on newspaper to limit any chance of infection into her wound, so she is a bit annoyed she can’t dig. She does hide under the newspaper though!
Tia had a comfortable night and today we started her medication and feeding through her tube. She has 3 types of meds in the morning and then her feed and then one of her meds again in the evening and another feed.
The first day was always going to be a bit difficult while I got used to it but I coped ok. She has to have her line flushed with water after her feed to make sure there is no food left to clog the tube.
It must feel weird to her coz she starts moving when things go in her
She wasn’t interested in any normal food, but I imagine she feels a bit rough today.
I had to remove her substrate yesterday as the vet wanted her on newspaper to limit any chance of infection into her wound, so she is a bit annoyed she can’t dig. She does hide under the newspaper though!
Bearsmum
Well-Known Member
Are you allowed to give her any shredded or just torn into strips of newspaper to hide under, I know what they are like for hiding, I can walk past Dougal half a dozen times in the garden before I spot him!
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
This is amazing! I just had no idea spaying a tortoise was a possibility, I’m not sure what I ever thought would happen if they needed operating on.
Someone asked me if they could see mine without her shell on the other day!
pervert 
I was a bit thrown, my daughter said “it’s not a coat, she doesn’t take it off to come indoors”
I just didn’t know they could cut through the shell.
What it fixed with? Looks like wax?
Someone asked me if they could see mine without her shell on the other day!
pervert I was a bit thrown, my daughter said “it’s not a coat, she doesn’t take it off to come indoors”
I just didn’t know they could cut through the shell.
What it fixed with? Looks like wax?
twiggy2
Well-Known Member
Its amazing what can be done, lucky Tia to have you for paying the bills and looking after her so well
scats
Well-Known Member
I can’t see any reason why I couldn’t shred the newspaper, I might try that tomorrow.
This is amazing! I just had no idea spaying a tortoise was a possibility, I’m not sure what I ever thought would happen if they needed operating on.
Someone asked me if they could see mine without her shell on the other day!
I was a bit thrown, my daughter said “it’s not a coat, she doesn’t take it off to come indoors”
I just didn’t know they could cut through the shell.
What it fixed with? Looks like wax?
It’s some sort of waterproof resin I think.
Day 2 has gone well. Though she did pee all over my bed while I was doing her evening feed
FinnishLapphund
There's no cow on the ice
...
Someone asked me if they could see mine without her shell on the other day!
I was a bit thrown, my daughter said “it’s not a coat, she doesn’t take it off to come indoors”
...
I actually think lots of people live with the misconception that they just wear their shell as some type of coat, and don't know that their shells are actually a part of their body.
But I suppose it's much easier to use something like this in a cartoon
Than this
@scats I'm glad to hear that Tia seems to be doing well, even though she's surprised by that you're now somehow suddenly able to make food, and fluid enter her body by some type of weird magic.
{{{{{{Vibes}}}}}}