Successful pneumonia treatment! :-)

Moozillion

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My eastern mud turtle developed pneumonia after a near-drowning incident.
The specialist vet in New Orleans that I took her to contacted the LSU veterinary school and spoke with some of the turtle specialists there. They recommended what they described as "aggressive" treatment.
The treatment consisted of daily injections of enrofloxacin (Baytril) AND daily dosing of amikacin by nebulizer. They offered her food when they soaked her but if she didn't eat, they tube fed her every other day.
She was at the hospital a total of 3 weeks and appears to have made a great recovery! Not only is she acting and swimming better but her white blood cell counts are back to normal at 12,400 (they had been 30,000 before she got treatment, which is VERY high).
Happy ending to our story. :)

She has a followup appointment in 2 weeks, and I'll post those results.
 

Peggy Sue

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So glad to hear your good news! I have been following your journey since the near drowning And rooting for your turtle
 

Pearly

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What a relief! She is a tough little turtle! I know you must be relieved but I’d hate to even ask how “relieved” your pocket book is after the 3wk long hospitalization. I had less than 1 overnight with a sick kitty and had to pay 750$...[emoji849] but we do what we must, right? For our beloved shelled/scaled/furry companions. I’m going to have to dig to the beginning of that near drowning story, only hear couple bits and pieces. Just wanted to say how happy for you I was hearing that your ordeal was over and with good outcome[emoji172]
 

Moozillion

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What a relief! She is a tough little turtle! I know you must be relieved but I’d hate to even ask how “relieved” your pocket book is after the 3wk long hospitalization. I had less than 1 overnight with a sick kitty and had to pay 750$...[emoji849] but we do what we must, right? For our beloved shelled/scaled/furry companions. I’m going to have to dig to the beginning of that near drowning story, only hear couple bits and pieces. Just wanted to say how happy for you I was hearing that your ordeal was over and with good outcome[emoji172]
THANK you, Pearly! :):<3:

Believe it or not, her care was not REMOTELY as expensive as the care for our cats! This vet has 2 fee scales for reptiles and it all depends on the WEIGHT of the animal. Since she's so small, she was in the lower tier for cost. :) It kind of makes sense: a smaller animal is easier to manage in some ways, but CERTAINLY takes less meds and food. ALL the treatment she had was right around $600, total.
IF our :eek:CATS had been in the vet for 3 weeks getting that kind of treatment, it would have been a couple thousand at least!
 

avasims

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Apr 15, 2022
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rogers minnesota
My eastern mud turtle developed pneumonia after a near-drowning incident.
The specialist vet in New Orleans that I took her to contacted the LSU veterinary school and spoke with some of the turtle specialists there. They recommended what they described as "aggressive" treatment.
The treatment consisted of daily injections of enrofloxacin (Baytril) AND daily dosing of amikacin by nebulizer. They offered her food when they soaked her but if she didn't eat, they tube fed her every other day.
She was at the hospital a total of 3 weeks and appears to have made a great recovery! Not only is she acting and swimming better but her white blood cell counts are back to normal at 12,400 (they had been 30,000 before she got treatment, which is VERY high).
Happy ending to our story. :)

She has a followup appointment in 2 weeks, and I'll post those results.
Hello, I realize this post is from a long time ago, but my golden greek tortoise is also dealing with pneumonia and I want to know how you used the nebulizer? Did the vet provide you with one? I want to try the same treatment on my tortoise as well since she’s been dealing with pneumonia for over a year and a half.
 

Moozillion

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Hello, I realize this post is from a long time ago, but my golden greek tortoise is also dealing with pneumonia and I want to know how you used the nebulizer? Did the vet provide you with one? I want to try the same treatment on my tortoise as well since she’s been dealing with pneumonia for over a year and a half.
I did not do the nebulizer treatment at home- they did it at the vet. They had a small, clear, hard plastic box with a lid that had a hole in one side just the right size for the end of the nebulizer tube. They used a regular human-type nebulizer. They put the turtle in the box, set the lid on it (it was NOT totally sealed but was well closed) and turned on the nebulizer. So the turtle sat in the box, surrounded by the nebulizer mist, inhaling it with normal breathing.
I understand you can also use a gallon zip-lock bag much the same way if the turtle is small enough. My turtle was very small as turtles go- an eastern mud turtle and only 3 inches long. I'm not sure how you might do it for a Greek. Maybe get a very small plastic tote or a small aquarium meant for beta fish but big enough for your tortoise...
BEST WISHES for a successful outcome!!!
Hugs from Mooz in Louisiana

PS And follow up to my older post: her recovery was short lived- the pneumonia came back two more times. She was just getting worse and worse, so after 1.5 years of fighting the recurrent pneumonia, we had her euthanized. She had gotten the pneumonia after a near drowning in her aquarium, and at necropsy she still had crud in her airways from the aquarium water 1.5 years earlier. Turrtles and tortoises have no diaphragms, so they can't cough to expell material from their airways. That's one of the reasons respiratory infections are so dangerous for them.
BEST OF LUCK
 
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avasims

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rogers minnesota
I did not do the nebulizer treatment at home- they did it at the vet. They had a small, clear, hard plastic box with a lid that had a hole in one side just the right size for the end of the nebulizer tube. They used a regular human-type nebulizer. They put the turtle in the box, set the lid on it (it was NOT totally sealed but was well closed) and turned on the nebulizer. So the turtle sat in the box, surrounded by the nebulizer mist, inhaling it with normal breathing.
I understand you can also use a gallon zip-lock bag much the same way if the turtle is small enough. My turtle was very small as turtles go- an eastern mud turtle and only 3 inches long. I'm not sure how you might do it for a Greek. Maybe get a very small plastic tote or a small aquarium meant for beta fish but big enough for your tortoise...
BEST WISHES for a successful outcome!!!
Hugs from Mooz in Louisiana

PS And follow up to my older post: her recovery was short lived- the pneumonia came back two more times. She was just getting worse and worse, so after 1.5 years of fighting the recurrent pneumonia, we had her euthanized. She had gotten the pneumonia after a near drowning in her aquarium, and at necropsy she still had crud in her airways from the aquarium water 1.5 years earlier. Turrtles and tortoises have no diaphragms, so they can't cough to expell material from their airways. That's one of the reasons respiratory infections are so dangerous for them.
BEST OF LUCK
thank you so much. I will hopefully not have the same issue :( i’m sorry
 

Moozillion

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thank you so much. I will hopefully not have the same issue :( i’m sorry
Thank you- you're very kind.
Whenever I lose a pet I always promise their little soul that I will learn from the experience and will never allow any of my pets to experience that again. That helps.
Again, best of luck!
 
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