Hi,

I'm a new tortoise owner, with a query.

Several weeks ago we noticed that our one year old Horsfield had suffered a cloacal lining prolapse. Luckily we were at home, and got him to the vet as soon as we could. The little chap had to have a general anesthetic and a stitch to hold everything back in place.

At the time this happened we were winding him down for hibernation. Now we are not sure whether to continue wiith this plan, or to keep him up overr the winter in case of any further problems.

The stitch came out on Monday and all seems well. He's been noticeably less active recently but is still pottering around.

Does anyone have any experience of this. Would it be safer to keep an eye on him over the winter, or continue winding him down in order to hibernate. This would be our first hibernation and we don't want to end up with a dead animal.

Many thanks

If he was mine I would keep him up now as rectal prolapses are likely to recur. Was the vet you saw an exotics specialist as believe it or not I have known vets put a stitch in for a simple penis flash. Mad I know but it does happen!

__________________
Take care
Sue

wizzasmum@aol.com

I think it was a prolapse as there was a fair amount of blood when we transported him to the vets. The reptile specialist was on holiday, but the one we saw knew her stuff.

We've sent off a stool sample for analysis, just in case a parasitic burden was the cause of the prolapse. Apart from that it's fingers crossed and careful bottom watching....

Thanks for your reply