Dog attacked my 8mo. Sulcata

[Chrisplus4]

Thanks for all of your prayers. I dropped Speedy off at the vet this morning at 8:00 A.M. And the reptile specialist was not going to be able to be there until 1:00. So I left him there. I just called and they said that he is doing better. They gave the little guy a shot of Baytril which is used in treating Bacterial Infections. He was getting an infection and now that he has been treated the vet expects speedy a full recovery. I pick him up on my way home. So I will let you know how he looks and acts when I pick him up.

 

[Chrisplus4]

This is what is sad about dog attacks a tortoise maimed or worse and a dog blamed for being a dog. Hope your little guy m

Good morning, any news yet?

This is what is sad about dog attacks a tortoise maimed or worse and a dog blamed for being a dog. Hope your little guy makes it.

Yes and our first reaction was to blame our dog. After reading this forum after the event happened I found out that this is common. I don't know how and have not figured out how to make a secure pen for speedy. Right now he will be secure inside. We do not blame our wonderful Maddie. After she did it, you can tell in her eyes that she knew we were sad and that she knew she had done wrong.

 

[Chrisplus4]

Well speedy is home now and in his new reinforced outdoor enclosure. The vet said to keep him outside if at all possible. The heat and air will help him tremendously. She said he had a little fluid in his lungs so she said the direct sun will really help clear that up. She was not sure if the lungs got damaged, but she does not think so. She told me to continue to soak him, and I have to force feed him since he does not want to eat. I have to feed him with a syringe with Oxbow Critical care grind. It's a food. Anyone ever had to feed one with a syringe? That will be challenging! I'll report on that later! LOL. I have to pick up an oral antibiotic Friday because she did not have the right stuff. This is why she chose to give him it by injection today to last until the antibiotic comes in. I'll report more later! Good night!

 

[leigti]

I'm glad he's home. I would suggest definitely bringing him in at night. And I wouldn't let the temperature go below 80 even at night.

 

[Chrisplus4]

We live in Texas and the temp won't go under under 80. We run A/C in the house on 75 so she said to leave him outside as long as he is very secure. As you can see the cage is buried in the ground. If you look closely I caught him drinking water. That was a very good sign. I will feed him and soak him in the morning. Give the guy a break after all he has been through in the last few days.

 

[leigti]

OK. He may eat on his own so you don't have to force-feed, force-feeding will just stress him out. Depending on what consistency the oral antibiotic is, you may be able to give it to him on his favorite food. For example, when I had to give my Russian tortoise worm medication I spread it on a Romain leaf and rolled it up like a little burrito and I hand fed it. she ate it right down.

 

[Chrisplus4]

I will have to try that. He has not taken anything from my hand yet. I just went out there and he was still drinking. So I will continue to monitor his water levels in the bowl. He obviously is really thirsty.

 

[Angel Carrion]

I am having to force feed my box turtle Splinter because he came to me either at the beginning stages of sickness or not quite over a sickness and went back under it from a couple semi-cold nights we had (it was between 60-65ish for half a week) since that was around the time I noticed him acting strange. It is very difficult, but it's slightly easy with him because he seems to be willing to put up with me as long as I give him a break for a couple minutes every third mouthful or so. He was very weak at the beginning of the force feeding, but now he is strong enough to pull away and turn around when he's done letting me shove an eye dropper in his mouth (they gave me a syringe but I found an eye dropper is easier to control the flow with).
Just a heads up, they most likely told you (or the directions on the bag told you) to do one part critical care to two parts warm water. I'm gonna go ahead and tell you to instead do one part critical care to three parts water because the consistency at one-two is too thick to really get through the syringe/eye dropper and it can cause you to accidentally shoot too much into his mouth. Be careful and watch for any coming out of his nose as he swallows. If he blows a critical care bubble from his nose, you're most likely putting too much into his mouth and the overflow is being kicked up into his nose. Or he tried to breathe while you were depositing the crit care into his mouth.
It might be a good idea if you went online and looked at videos on how to force feed a turtle. You have to hold their head a certain way, extend their neck, etc. It's really a two person job.

 

[Chrisplus4]

Thank you for the info! I did watch the videos. It does not look too difficult. I'm hoping he recovers fast so that I don't have to stress him out. I will feed him in the morning and let you know how it went.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Make sure to give a good soak before and after you feed him. Besides keeping him hydrated, it will also help him fight the negative side effects of the antibiotic. I can't remember which one you said the docs gave (or if you said) but I know Baytril is really hard on the kidneys and a tort/turtle needs extra soakings to help the kidneys stay healthy while processing the antibiotic

 

[Angel Carrion]

So I'm assuming other antibiotics are also hard on the kidneys

 

[Chrisplus4]

Yes she gave him Baytril. He literally was drinking last night for 30 min. I soaked him a little this morning. I will get him tonight and give him a nice warm soak.

This morning I tried to feed him with a syringe. I got two little squirts in and then he "Clammed up" and I could not get to him. Those little dudes are strong. I was scared to hurt him and could not pry apart his legs to get his head. Next time I will hold his legs out until I'm done feeding. I was planning on giving him a little and then let him rest. I did not want to give him too much. I got two good mouthfuls in. Tonight I will try again and see if I can give him more.

One of his pretty shell panels fell off, I put some antibiotics petroleum on it to keep flies from landing on it, and help it heal. Will it grow back and replace itself?

I will send a picture tonight it looks pretty nasty. It happened last night.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well out little guy took a turn for the worst. He is laying around, has not eaten in two days. I soak him and he won't hold his head up. I don't know he is not well. Trama was too much I guess!

This is why I advised you to get an oral antibiotic from your vet to prevent infection.

 

[Yvonne G]

Thanks for all of your prayers. I dropped Speedy off at the vet this morning at 8:00 A.M. And the reptile specialist was not going to be able to be there until 1:00. So I left him there. I just called and they said that he is doing better. They gave the little guy a shot of Baytril which is used in treating Bacterial Infections. He was getting an infection and now that he has been treated the vet expects speedy a full recovery. I pick him up on my way home. So I will let you know how he looks and acts when I pick him up.

Baytril isn't a one-time-only antibiotic. You normally give one injection a day for five days, or one injection every other day for 10 days. And the injection is extremely painful. I recommended an ORAL antibiotic because it isn't as hard on the tortoise. Baytril injected stings like crazy.

 

[Angel Carrion]

The problem with oral is how hard it is to get them to swallow it, and to even get access to their mouth. My Splinter was relatively easy because he's pretty chill with me but he still spit out half of the Baytril a few times when I gave it to him. I'm assuming it tastes horrible.
I'm for oral where it's possible, but sometimes injection is the better choice.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Somebody actually cut out one of Tidgy's scutes.
It will regrow, though not match the others and never look as pretty.

 

[Pearly]

Good morning, and thank you for the update. I'm not sure about your question related to the shell but I'd imagine his body will heal just like it heals flesh wounds and broken bones, by granulation scaring. I'd be sure to give him vitamins and calcium. In human injury healing we double doses of protein, and supplement with good multivitamins and trace elements. Protein, vitamins and zinc are great building blocs for speedy wound granulation. But I'm sure the vet told you all about that. Just keep the injured areas clean as all the wounds are portals of entry for microbes to get in. Baytril can be very hard on his liver and kidneys so soaking him will be essential. Also watch the injection site for few days as Baytril is very caustic and can cause anything frim mild irritation to localized tissue necrosis. Also while on antibiotics and while post treatment it's a good idea to supplement with probiotic. There is one recommended for torts I saw on internet the other day. I think it was called iFlora (?) I can look it up and let you know if you'd like.

 

[Keith D.]

Hope everything is well Chris, haven't heard from you today so I am holding all is well...

 

[Chrisplus4]

I am having to force feed my box turtle Splinter because he came to me either at the beginning stages of sickness or not quite over a sickness and went back under it from a couple semi-cold nights we had (it was between 60-65ish for half a week) since that was around the time I noticed him acting strange. It is very difficult, but it's slightly easy with him because he seems to be willing to put up with me as long as I give him a break for a couple minutes every third mouthful or so. He was very weak at the beginning of the force feeding, but now he is strong enough to pull away and turn around when he's done letting me shove an eye dropper in his mouth (they gave me a syringe but I found an eye dropper is easier to control the flow with).
Just a heads up, they most likely told you (or the directions on the bag told you) to do one part critical care to two parts warm water. I'm gonna go ahead and tell you to instead do one part critical care to three parts water because the consistency at one-two is too thick to really get through the syringe/eye dropper and it can cause you to accidentally shoot too much into his mouth. Be careful and watch for any coming out of his nose as he swallows. If he blows a critical care bubble from his nose, you're most likely putting too much into his mouth and the overflow is being kicked up into his nose. Or he tried to breathe while you were depositing the crit care into his mouth.
It might be a good idea if you went online and looked at videos on how to force feed a turtle. You have to hold their head a certain way, extend their neck, etc. It's really a two person job.

Yea that stuff mixed up pretty thick. Thank you for the advice. It's a lot harder than it looks. The vet told me to

 

[Chrisplus4]

Well today has been frustrating! Getting the little syringe in his mouth is near impossible. I know I got at least two squirts of food in him today. Tomorrow I pick up the oral antibiotic. I have no idea how in the world I'm going to get that in. He soaked this evening, and after the drama he is totally stressed out. We will see what happens but if his life depends on me getting that food in his mouth we are in trouble. Anyways pretty frustrated, but I won't give up!