# A Baytril Success Story



## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 4, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> He has a healthy appetite so I'm hoping for a full recovery. He's keeping himself to himself but I would too if I felt rubbish. Bless him



Happy to hear your tortoise seems to be on his way to recovery! I mentioned earlier in this thread that my hatchling had bubbles coming out of his nose & that my exotic animal vet said he had an upper respiratory infection. I have finished the 10 days of antibiotic treatment (Baytril injections) & he has completely recovered. Eating like crazy & cruising around  I'm really happy! Please keep us updated.


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Sep 4, 2016)

GoTotoiseSpeed said:


> Happy to hear your tortoise seems to be on his way to recovery! I mentioned earlier in this thread that my hatchling had bubbles coming out of his nose & that my exotic animal vet said he had an upper respiratory infection. I have finished the 10 days of antibiotic treatment (Baytril injections) & he has completely recovered. Eating like crazy & cruising around  I'm really happy! Please keep us updated.
> View attachment 185817



You are very, very lucky. Some leopards are allergic to Baytril and it kills them. Wow. So very lucky. I freaked when I read your earlier post. Sorry to butt in to this thread but had to share the leopards can be allergic to Baytril info. So sad whenever torties are sick or do not make it.


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## Curlybird (Sep 5, 2016)

What a beautiful tortoise!  Arthur has oral antibiotics so you can imagine that fun everyday! He has to take them for 3-4 weeks but if he is not better in 2 weeks we have to take him back to the vet. He is still blowing bubbles but seems a little more lively. (I might just be being hopeful.) He has also moved into a new home (tortoise table) to see if that aids recovery. I've got everything crossed. Thank you for being concerned. It's nice to know others care


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## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 5, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> What a beautiful tortoise!  Arthur has oral antibiotics so you can imagine that fun everyday! He has to take them for 3-4 weeks but if he is not better in 2 weeks we have to take him back to the vet. He is still blowing bubbles but seems a little more lively. (I might just be being hopeful.) He has also moved into a new home (tortoise table) to see if that aids recovery. I've got everything crossed. Thank you for being concerned. It's nice to know others care


Thank you Curlybird! It must be difficult to put oral antibiotics into a little mouth that goes disappearing into a shell!
I have everything crossed for Arthur, too
Is that him in the little photo next to your name?


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## BrianWI (Sep 6, 2016)

GoTotoiseSpeed said:


> Thank you Curlybird! It must be difficult to put oral antibiotics into a little mouth that goes disappearing into a shell!
> I have everything crossed for Arthur, too
> Is that him in the little photo next to your name?


You think torts are bad? Try a box turtle that closes up. I keep them open with a big rubber eraser. After a couple treatments, they close up the second they see anything pink!


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## Curlybird (Sep 7, 2016)

Yes, that is Arthur as my profile pic.  He seems more lively than at the beginning of the week - wandering around the table more and even climbing over his hide - but he seems to be losing his appetite. I didn't see any bubbles today which is a first since taking him to the vet. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not...He has lost a few grams in weight too! Any thoughts?
I don't envy you at all BrianWI! We seem to be getting the hang of giving him the medicine now but it is still stressful for all of us! Arthur also knows what is coming!


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 8, 2016)

What I understand and what I have seen first hand is that antibiotics that cure a sick tortoise also kill a lot or all of the beneficial bacteria in the tortoises gut, making digestion difficult for a while.
My tortoise ate almost nothing for a long time while being administered antibiotics.


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## TammyJ (Sep 8, 2016)

ZEROPILOT said:


> What I understand and what I have seen first hand is that antibiotics that cure a sick tortoise also kill a lot or all of the beneficial bacteria in the tortoises gut, making digestion difficult for a while.
> My tortoise ate almost nothing for a long time while being administered antibiotics.


It's true about the two-faced nature of the antibiotics. I have experienced this with snakes. Probiotics should be given to counter the bad effects of the antibiotics...I know of Benebac as a good probiotic.


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 9, 2016)

TammyJ said:


> It's true about the two-faced nature of the antibiotics. I have experienced this with snakes. Probiotics should be given to counter the bad effects of the antibiotics...I know of Benebac as a good probiotic.


Someone else suggested adding a healthy tortoises feces to the food of the recovering tortoise.
It sounds horrible, but makes sense..And they DO eat poop.


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## Curlybird (Sep 9, 2016)

What can I do to stop Arthur losing any more weight whilst on antibiotics? He's got at least another 2 weeks to go and has lost over 10g going from 76g to 63g. He's more lively than before but has little to no interest in food. He's not good at soaking either. Is there anything I can do at home or should I just take him back to the vet next week?


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## TammyJ (Sep 9, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> What can I do to stop Arthur losing any more weight whilst on antibiotics? He's got at least another 2 weeks to go and has lost over 10g going from 76g to 63g. He's more lively than before but has little to no interest in food. He's not good at soaking either. Is there anything I can do at home or should I just take him back to the vet next week?


I think you could give him some PLAIN yogurt and something called Nutribac or Benebac on any food that he will eat right now, at least, that is what I would probably do. You could try him with some Gerber chicken Baby Food, that is what I used to successfully tube feed a snake with that had "regurgitation syndrome". Also make sure he is well hydrated, Pedialyte soaks would help.


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## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 9, 2016)

I would call the vet and update him on the weight loss issue.


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## TammyJ (Sep 9, 2016)

GoTotoiseSpeed said:


> I would call the vet and update him on the weight loss issue.


Definitely.


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## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 17, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> Yes, that is Arthur as my profile pic.  He seems more lively than at the beginning of the week - wandering around the table more and even climbing over his hide - but he seems to be losing his appetite. I didn't see any bubbles today which is a first since taking him to the vet. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not...He has lost a few grams in weight too! Any thoughts?
> I don't envy you at all BrianWI! We seem to be getting the hang of giving him the medicine now but it is still stressful for all of us! Arthur also knows what is coming!


How is Arthur doing? I've been thinking about him


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## Curlybird (Sep 18, 2016)

GoTotoiseSpeed said:


> How is Arthur doing? I've been thinking about him



Aw thanks 

Arthur is doing ok...I think! He has 4 days of antibiotics left to go. He seems much more alert and active than he ever was before but he has lost a LOT of weight. Having said this, the weight loss has slowed significantly as he is eating a little but doesn't have the appetite he did before the antibiotics. I phoned the vet who said that it was nothing to worry about and to continue with the meds. So that is what we have been doing! He also said that if we were worried we could take him in for a Vitamin B injection to try to stimulate his appetite. I know that ZeroPilot said that the Baytrill suppresses appetite but do you know how long, after the meds are finished, that it will take for his appetite to come back? I'm a bit wary of the vitamin jab, having read loads on here about them doing nasty things to torts! 

He seems to have loads of energy despite being as light as air. Thank you for thinking of him. It's nice to know we are not alone.


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## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 18, 2016)

Thank you for the update!  Glad to hear Arthur is still cruising around. Also good to hear that his weight loss has slowed down & that he is at least eating a little. When my tort was on Baytril he never lost his appetite, so I unfortunately can't tell you when Arthur might get his back. Hopefully someone else might know. Keep us updated!


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## GoTotoiseSpeed (Sep 18, 2016)

Gotta ask, did he stop blowing bubbles from his nose?


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Sep 18, 2016)

Anti biotic = against life
Pro biotic = for life


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## Yvonne G (Sep 19, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> Aw thanks
> 
> Arthur is doing ok...I think! He has 4 days of antibiotics left to go. He seems much more alert and active than he ever was before but he has lost a LOT of weight. Having said this, the weight loss has slowed significantly as he is eating a little but doesn't have the appetite he did before the antibiotics. I phoned the vet who said that it was nothing to worry about and to continue with the meds. So that is what we have been doing! He also said that if we were worried we could take him in for a Vitamin B injection to try to stimulate his appetite. I know that ZeroPilot said that the Baytrill suppresses appetite but do you know how long, after the meds are finished, that it will take for his appetite to come back? I'm a bit wary of the vitamin jab, having read loads on here about them doing nasty things to torts!
> 
> He seems to have loads of energy despite being as light as air. Thank you for thinking of him. It's nice to know we are not alone.



Don't get the vitamin injection. Most often, the B vitamin is also included with A. Too much vitamin A causes the skin to slough off. You can start soaking your tortoise in a mixture of Gerber strained carrots and warm water. They absorb a bit of nutrients while soaking. Leave him in the mixture for at least a half hour and longer is better, but watch to make sure he doesn't end up on his back in the water.


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## Maggie Cummings (Sep 19, 2016)

I'd also increase his heat to 85 or 90. That will help with digestion. But what is happening to him now is serious, you must feed him what he would NORMALLY eat until he is better and obviously, that ain't Mazuri


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

Yvonne G said:


> Don't get the vitamin injection. Most often, the B vitamin is also included with A. Too much vitamin A causes the skin to slough off. You can start soaking your tortoise in a mixture of Gerber strained carrots and warm water. They absorb a bit of nutrients while soaking. Leave him in the mixture for at least a half hour and longer is better, but watch to make sure he doesn't end up on his back in the water.



Thanks Yvonne. I'd read one of your posts before about vitamins which Is why I am wary. What's the ratio of carrots to water? He's not a keen bather so how do I get him to stay in for 30 mins or more?


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## TammyJ (Sep 19, 2016)

I am following this with concern. I feel he should be getting probiotics on whatever he is managing to eat. Has he put back on any weight?


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

GoTotoiseSpeed said:


> Gotta ask, did he stop blowing bubbles from his nose?



The bubbles stopped after 5 days on the meds. We've decided to stop stressing him out with the antibiotics. So no more early mornings for Arthur. We need him to eat!


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

TammyJ said:


> I am following this with concern. I feel he should be getting probiotics on whatever he is managing to eat. Has he put back on any weight?



No TammyJ because he hadn't finished his course of treatment. What type of probiotics do you recommend?


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

maggie3fan said:


> I'd also increase his heat to 85 or 90. That will help with digestion. But what is happening to him now is serious, you must feed him what he would NORMALLY eat until he is better and obviously, that ain't Mazuri



I know it's serious hence the vet visit and being here for advice. Never fed him mazuri or the UK equivalent. I try weeds as much as I can with a few vegetables when I have to.


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## TammyJ (Sep 19, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> No TammyJ because he hadn't finished his course of treatment. What type of probiotics do you recommend?


I know of Benebac and Nutribac


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## Yvonne G (Sep 19, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> Thanks Yvonne. I'd read one of your posts before about vitamins which Is why I am wary. What's the ratio of carrots to water? He's not a keen bather so how do I get him to stay in for 30 mins or more?



I use a bowl with tall sides, but a small footprint so that I can go half baby food and half water, using only a half a jar of baby food. (I'm stingy) With a tall-sided bowl, he has to stay in there as long as you want him to. So he scrambles around. Too bad. (I'm also hard hearted)


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

Yvonne G said:


> I use a bowl with tall sides, but a small footprint so that I can go half baby food and half water, using only a half a jar of baby food. (I'm stingy) With a tall-sided bowl, he has to stay in there as long as you want him to. So he scrambles around. Too bad. (I'm also hard hearted)



Thanks Yvonne. I'll let you know how I get on!


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## Curlybird (Sep 19, 2016)

TammyJ said:


> I know of Benebac and Nutribac



Where do I get it?


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## TammyJ (Sep 19, 2016)

Curlybird said:


> Where do I get it?


I would imagine at your pet supply store, pet shop, vet, etc.? Or order it on line? It's not available to me here in Jamaica but I know that it is available in the US.


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