# Are tortoises weakend/tired after medications?



## Geng (Jan 21, 2016)

Yesterday my vet gave my 1,5 year old russian an anti biotic for her runny nose. He doesn't suspect RI, but he has constated a virus which highly weakens my tort (he said something about microplasm)? Anyway, giving her the oral medication wasn't easy. My tort put up a good fight with swinging her limbs agressively, and the vet had to call for assistance. She hid firmly and scared in her shell for 2 hours. When we got home she started to loosen, and was way more active than before. She ate a bit and her runny nose seemed gone! She did went to sleep early. Going to bed at 2 pm till tomorrow. 

Today I tried to give her the oral mediaction myself. After much struggle and fighting for a hour I called my mom for help. Yet we failed because the syringe wasn't deep in her troath, so the medication flowed out of her mouth a bit. After soaking her I put her back and gave her food. She didn't bother it and walked around a bit. I noticed she started blowing bubbles again. She looked for a place to bury herself. I don't think she will come out till next day (she went to sleep at 1pm). 

Is she just tired after the fight with giving her her anti biotic? Must I worry about her? Or should I just let her be?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jan 21, 2016)

Usually for an antibiotic to work, it must be administered until the dosing is period is over. Missing a day or two may cause the bacteria to live and become resistant to the treatment. Sounds like an R.I.?
I have only used injections on my tortoises because of the difficulty with oral meds. (Not that it CAN'T be done)
And yes. Any ordeal like that would upset an animal for a while.


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## Geng (Jan 21, 2016)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Usually for an antibiotic to work, it must be administered until the dosing is period is over. Missing a day or two may cause the bacteria to live and become resistant to the treatment. Sounds like an R.I.?
> I have only used injections on my tortoises because of the difficulty with oral meds. (Not that it CAN'T be done)
> And yes. Any ordeal like that would upset an animal for a while.



Thanks for the anwser!

I did give my tort her oral medication today. She only taken a half of her anti biotic, because the other half flowed out of her mouth (syringe wasnt put deep enough in her troath). Must I give her an another shot, or wait till tomorrow?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jan 21, 2016)

Geng said:


> Thanks for the anwser!
> 
> I did give my tort her oral medication today. She only taken a half of her anti biotic, because the other half flowed out of her mouth (syringe wasnt put deep enough in her troath). Must I give her an another shot, or wait till tomorrow?


Wait.


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## SarahChelonoidis (Jan 21, 2016)

Antibiotics can make your tortoise tired, but so can the infection and so can all the stress of fighting at the vets and with you.

The medicine needs time and consistency to work, follow your vets instruction. One dose is not going to do it. Be patient. Give your tortoise time to rest unmolested in between doses. Keep it warm and hydrated and peaceful. You can worry, but don't handle more than you need to. 

P.S. Antibiotics are for bacteria, not viruses. Mycoplasma is a group of bacteria - often hard to treat with standard antibiotics.


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## ascott (Jan 21, 2016)

Geng said:


> Yesterday my vet gave my 1,5 year old russian an anti biotic for her runny nose. He doesn't suspect RI, but he has constated a virus which highly weakens my tort (he said something about microplasm)? Anyway, giving her the oral medication wasn't easy. My tort put up a good fight with swinging her limbs agressively, and the vet had to call for assistance. She hid firmly and scared in her shell for 2 hours. When we got home she started to loosen, and was way more active than before. She ate a bit and her runny nose seemed gone! She did went to sleep early. Going to bed at 2 pm till tomorrow.
> 
> Today I tried to give her the oral mediaction myself. After much struggle and fighting for a hour I called my mom for help. Yet we failed because the syringe wasn't deep in her troath, so the medication flowed out of her mouth a bit. After soaking her I put her back and gave her food. She didn't bother it and walked around a bit. I noticed she started blowing bubbles again. She looked for a place to bury herself. I don't think she will come out till next day (she went to sleep at 1pm).
> 
> Is she just tired after the fight with giving her her anti biotic? Must I worry about her? Or should I just let her be?



Antibiotics are EXTREMELY hard on the kidneys of a tortoise, so additional warm water soaking is highly beneficial and should be done during the entire treatment process (what antibiotic did the vet give you). Also, if you shove that instrument too far into the torts mouth or in the wrong place the chance of aspiration increases...if you are not skilled please take great care if this is the method in which you use to administer the medication. Did you determine what the cause was of the tortoise being infected and falling ill to begin with? How did the vet determine this illness, what was the process for the exact diagnosis?


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## Kapidolo Farms (Jan 21, 2016)

Couple of things.

All animals have an ego of some sort, the reaction to draw into the shell is fear, but also some defeat. It is added stress to be handled.

No matter the medication, they all need hydration support. Virtually every chemical and biological 'thing' that happens in a body includes water or is facilitated by some other function that requires water. Sometimes, not always this includes electrolytes. 

I hope your vet asked you about the frequency of drinking by your tortoise. Any drug should come from a vet with this actively expressed interest.

If your tortoise is not drinking readily on it's own some sort of hydrating solution should be implemented.


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## Geng (Jan 21, 2016)

ascott said:


> Antibiotics are EXTREMELY hard on the kidneys of a tortoise, so additional warm water soaking is highly beneficial and should be done during the entire treatment process (what antibiotic did the vet give you). Also, if you shove that instrument too far into the torts mouth or in the wrong place the chance of aspiration increases...if you are not skilled please take great care if this is the method in which you use to administer the medication. Did you determine what the cause was of the tortoise being infected and falling ill to begin with? How did the vet determine this illness, what was the process for the exact diagnosis?



The anti biotic is novadox, which is used against RI. Whenever I handel my tort I'm always very carefull with her, likes she is made of glass. When the vet started pulling on her arms and head for the oral medication it was really uneasy for me to see. It is a real pain for me to give her the medication myself. The vet gave me this long thin tube to use together with the syringe. I must lower the tube down her throat to give her the medication. Else she will puke it out he said.

I forgot to ask what caused the illness (I hate myself so hard for it). The vet took samples from her waste (her poop and some whitish stuff). No worm eggs were found in the poop, in the white stuff he found a bacteria which can weaken a tortoise. I asked if this bacteria is causing the runny nose. He mumbled something about microplasm, and that it need lots of research to determinate it. So he gives me the anti biotic which counters this bacteria and the issue with her nose. He asked questions about my enclosure, the lamps I use and if I use supplements. He looked at her mouth, the weight and sturdiness of my tortoise. All were positive. He did note to bump up the humidity and close my enclosure, because her shell is a bit rough. When I asked if the temps need to be bumped up for the medication, he said that my basic temps are too low for a russian. My current temps are: bask 100F, warm side 80 - 90F, cool 70F, night 65F without CHE. The vet said to bump up the basking to 122F and her low 82F (I though this were the temps for a sulcata)?

Anyway, the vet was overall optimistic about my tortoise. He also made it sound that my problem with her runny nose isn't a big problem. I have to give her the medication for 2 - 3 weeks, and she will be fine. He has +20 years experience with reptiles, so I take his words into account. Doesn't change the fact that I'm still worried about my tort and feeling uneasy about her medication.

Thanks for your statement about anti biotics. If you happen to have tips or feedback, please let me know.


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 25, 2021)

I know this was posted a few years ago, but for anyone reading 
I'm in the same boat with the antibiotics, but immediately found that I can put the liquid in a raspberry and feed it to my tortoise. Unfortunately, after one does yesterday he seems lethargic and tired. He didn't wake up til noon when we usually is up by 930 . I am worried but my vet told me it must be the infection ( he's had this infection for a long time and he didn't seem like this at all) 
I am not his original owner. His last owner passed in October 2020. I am just doing my best to treat his runny nose but it seems worse now after one day of medication.


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## Jan A (Mar 25, 2021)

murphylinda57 said:


> I know this was posted a few years ago, but for anyone reading
> I'm in the same boat with the antibiotics, but immediately found that I can put the liquid in a raspberry and feed it to my tortoise. Unfortunately, after one does yesterday he seems lethargic and tired. He didn't wake up til noon when we usually is up by 930 . I am worried but my vet told me it must be the infection ( he's had this infection for a long time and he didn't seem like this at all)
> I am not his original owner. His last owner passed in October 2020. I am just doing my best to treat his runny nose but it seems worse now after one day of medication.


What are your enclosure temps & humidity? How old is your tort & what kind is he? Does he have the same bacteria diagnosis as the other tort in 2016? Photos of your tort & his enclosure would be helpful to the forum. What else have you been feeding him?

BTW, welcome to the forum.


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## Geng (Mar 26, 2021)

murphylinda57 said:


> I know this was posted a few years ago, but for anyone reading
> I'm in the same boat with the antibiotics, but immediately found that I can put the liquid in a raspberry and feed it to my tortoise. Unfortunately, after one does yesterday he seems lethargic and tired. He didn't wake up til noon when we usually is up by 930 . I am worried but my vet told me it must be the infection ( he's had this infection for a long time and he didn't seem like this at all)
> I am not his original owner. His last owner passed in October 2020. I am just doing my best to treat his runny nose but it seems worse now after one day of medication.


Im sorry to hear. Having a sick tortoise always makes me feel really bad and stressed.

Being sick and being treated with anti biotic the same time can upset the tortoise, hence being lethargic and tired. At least, that was with my tortoise. He started to bump up after a week or two. What also helped was bumping up the temps in his enclosure and give him a warm soak daily.


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 26, 2021)

Jan A said:


> What are your enclosure temps & humidity? How old is your tort & what kind is he? Does he have the same bacteria diagnosis as the other tort in 2016? Photos of your tort & his enclosure would be helpful to the forum. What else have you been feeding him?
> 
> BTW, welcome to the forum.


He is 12 years old leopard tortoise. He stays outside most of the day (we live in Phoenix and its warm even in winter) he has a house inside i built, its like a tortoise table but it slides into a dresser I build with Air vents for fresh air. I built the dresser part to hold some humidity since the humidity was filling my livingroom , it also give him so dark since he goes to sleep around 5pm and the sun is still up.. I got a touchless thermometer to check out the temps all throughout the enclosure inside which seems to vary anywhere i point it but it is 83F in the corners and 94F under the heat lamp. He has a humidifier i set to 70 % (it heats up the steam too so it is warm for him)
He eats timothy hay, flowers (I have grown hibiscus for him) sometimes lettuce, watermelons and raspberries on occasion. Mostly he gets mustard greens ,dandelions, collard greens and he loves to eat the grass in the yard. I give him a bath every morning with warm water . I've done my best to get him as healthy as I can, since when I recieved him he lived in a small aquarium that he couldn't turn around in (he's 10 inches wide and 15inches long) and he was also kept in a cold garage. His previous owner was sick with cancer , so the heath of his pets suffered greatly during the last few months of his life. I finally got the money together to take him to the vet, they did not exactly tell me what infection or bacteria my tortoise had. They just have me these antibiotics to treat the clear snot he has .


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 26, 2021)

murphylinda57 said:


> He is 12 years old leopard tortoise. He stays outside most of the day (we live in Phoenix and its warm even in winter) he has a house inside i built, its like a tortoise table but it slides into a dresser I build with Air vents for fresh air. I built the dresser part to hold some humidity since the humidity was filling my livingroom , it also give him so dark since he goes to sleep around 5pm and the sun is still up.. I got a touchless thermometer to check out the temps all throughout the enclosure inside which seems to vary anywhere i point it but it is 83F in the corners and 94F under the heat lamp. He has a humidifier i set to 70 % (it heats up the steam too so it is warm for him)
> He eats timothy hay, flowers (I have grown hibiscus for him) sometimes lettuce, watermelons and raspberries on occasion. Mostly he gets mustard greens ,dandelions, collard greens and he loves to eat the grass in the yard. I give him a bath every morning with warm water . I've done my best to get him as healthy as I can, since when I recieved him he lived in a small aquarium that he couldn't turn around in (he's 10 inches wide and 15inches long) and he was also kept in a cold garage. His previous owner was sick with cancer , so the heath of his pets suffered greatly during the last few months of his life. I finally got the money together to take him to the vet, they did not exactly tell me what infection or bacteria my tortoise had. They just have me these antibiotics to treat the clear snot he has .


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 26, 2021)

I keep trying to upload photos but its kind of finicky here.


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 26, 2021)

murphylinda57 said:


> I keep trying to upload photos but its kind of finicky here.


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## murphylinda57 (Mar 26, 2021)

He also enjoys eating endive , I grow alot of aloe plants that he eats sometimes as well. Working on finding some spineless prickly pear pads I can grow for him ! I'm planning on planting a whole garden for him. Its a work in progress.


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