Experiences with respiratory infections?

TowTruck67

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I currently have a tortoise who has a respiratory infection, he's been prescribed some antibiotic shots and some reptoboost for his baths. Have any of you had tortoises with similar problems? Have they recovered? How long after their treatment did you start to notice positive effects? Thanks :)
 

dmmj

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I have rescued several over the years one or two were beyond help. When caught early they make full recovery. Time to recover varies on severity of the infection usually 4-8 weeks some took longer.
 

TowTruck67

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I have rescued several over the years one or two were beyond help. When caught early they make full recovery. Time to recover varies on severity of the infection usually 4-8 weeks some took longer.

My tortoise Terry has just recovered from his respiratory infection, some changes to the viv were made as well, as the previous owners gave me incorrect information on their heating & lighting, which the vet said could well be linked to his infection. All is well now though, and he is now more active than my other tortoise who is healthy :)
 

Tom

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If caught early, an RI can usually be stopped with no meds. If not, some make it and some just won't recover.

One important detail to think about that most vets completely miss is: Why did the tortoise get sick? They don't just get sick for no reason. Something in the environment caused them to get sick. Vets typically want to treat the symptoms, but seldom look at the actual cause of the RI. Usually its cold clammy night temps, or day temps that don't allow a tortoise to warm up enough after a cool night. Find the problem and correct it, or the tortoise will not recover.
 
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Ben02

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Cold and humid is one of the main causes, so is cold temperatures all together. Keeping the enclosure toasty 24/7 along with nice warm baths every day can really help.
 

TowTruck67

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If caught early, an RI can usually be stopped with no meds. If not, some make it and some just won't recover.

One important detail to think about that most vets completely miss is: Why did the tortoise get sick? They don't just get sick for no reason. Something in the environment caused them to get sick. Vets typically want to treat the symptoms, but seldom look at the actual cause of the RI. Usually its cold clammy night temps, or day temps that don't allow a tortoise to warm up enough after a cool night. Find the problem and correct it, or the tortoise will not recover.

That's exactly what I did, the vet and professional in the reptile shop (who have both owned tortoises and other reptiles all their life) said that due to the setup the previous owner had, Terry got an RI. They had a heat mat under soil, and according to them the heat mat evaporated some chemicals in the soil, giving him the infection (the heat mat was right under the soil in which his hide was, so he spent lots of time exposed to it)
 

ascott

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That's exactly what I did, the vet and professional in the reptile shop (who have both owned tortoises and other reptiles all their life) said that due to the setup the previous owner had, Terry got an RI. They had a heat mat under soil, and according to them the heat mat evaporated some chemicals in the soil, giving him the infection (the heat mat was right under the soil in which his hide was, so he spent lots of time exposed to it)

Okay so the "heat mat evaporated some chemicals in the soil" is the reason the vet said was what caused the RI. I would not take the info from that vet. That is absurd.

Okay so, what type of enclosure is the tort in now? (The prior enclosure may have been the problem, but no way for you to know "what" in that set up was the issue). what is the substrate, depth of substrate...what is the lighting and heating source for day and night...what is the diet? What testing did the vet use to properly determine RI?
 

TortillaTheTortioise

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My hatchling recovered without any oral medicine, he only needed nasal drops which I think helped. I kept him very warm and humid and it went away in two weeks. That's not to say not to go to the vet but mine didn't need to.

I assume my hatchling got it from cold night temps, 16°C
 

TowTruck67

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Okay so the "heat mat evaporated some chemicals in the soil" is the reason the vet said was what caused the RI. I would not take the info from that vet. That is absurd.

Okay so, what type of enclosure is the tort in now? (The prior enclosure may have been the problem, but no way for you to know "what" in that set up was the issue). what is the substrate, depth of substrate...what is the lighting and heating source for day and night...what is the diet? What testing did the vet use to properly determine RI?
The previous owners of my tortoises had done many things wrong, there was no UV light, (just a regular lamp bulb) and they were being fed fruit and veg, and water-expanding pellets. I changed the lamp bulb for a UV strip light, and got a ceramic heating element. I feed them mainly dandelions, some kale, and watercress. sometimes i give them half a strawberry each. The heat mat wasn't the only reason, but this is just what was in my mind when typing that.
 

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