dzzxmm1919
New Member
Hello tortoise lovers. This is my first post about my 3 years old leopard tortoise, Strong.
My husband has already posted her basic information on another thread: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/help-my-3yr-old-leopard-tortoise-lost-appetite.197149/
We took her to a vet immediately when we noticed her abnormal behavior on 3/24. Here is her X-ray photo
The doctor said she is suffering from severe intestinal gas, but did not notice any foreign matters in her stomach. She has received 5 injections included vitamin A C D B12, and a pain relief called meloxicam (each injection on four limbs and one under her neck). The doctor also suggested she might need to be hospitalized to accept esophagus insert under sedation. We thought it was so cruel so we decided to take her home and provide her intensive care.
She was prescribed two oral medicine, meloxicam and metronidazole. I was trying to syringe some metronidazole jelly into her mouth, however, she was not cooperate.
We have setup an ICU tent for her to rest, with mercury vapor bulb, ceramic heater, and a heating pad. Ambient temp is 29. 5-31C (85-88F). Our biggest concern is the humidity is below 30%, no matter how we try to increase it.
We soak her in warm water with electrolyte everyday for more than 1 hour. However, she is too lethargic to open her eyes, eat, or move around. I could not give her oral medicine neither.
Do we need to bring her back to the vet, or there is any gentle approach I can tube feed her those medicine?
Thank you for reading this post. Any reply is appreciated! Thank you so much! @Tom @Yvonne G @ZEROPILOT
Bonnie
My husband has already posted her basic information on another thread: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/help-my-3yr-old-leopard-tortoise-lost-appetite.197149/
We took her to a vet immediately when we noticed her abnormal behavior on 3/24. Here is her X-ray photo
The doctor said she is suffering from severe intestinal gas, but did not notice any foreign matters in her stomach. She has received 5 injections included vitamin A C D B12, and a pain relief called meloxicam (each injection on four limbs and one under her neck). The doctor also suggested she might need to be hospitalized to accept esophagus insert under sedation. We thought it was so cruel so we decided to take her home and provide her intensive care.
She was prescribed two oral medicine, meloxicam and metronidazole. I was trying to syringe some metronidazole jelly into her mouth, however, she was not cooperate.
We have setup an ICU tent for her to rest, with mercury vapor bulb, ceramic heater, and a heating pad. Ambient temp is 29. 5-31C (85-88F). Our biggest concern is the humidity is below 30%, no matter how we try to increase it.
We soak her in warm water with electrolyte everyday for more than 1 hour. However, she is too lethargic to open her eyes, eat, or move around. I could not give her oral medicine neither.
Do we need to bring her back to the vet, or there is any gentle approach I can tube feed her those medicine?
Thank you for reading this post. Any reply is appreciated! Thank you so much! @Tom @Yvonne G @ZEROPILOT
Bonnie