Heat for a sick tortoise

[katieandiggy]

Hi all, I’m dealing with quite a sick tortoise at the moment. He’s on antibiotics orally which is a bit of a nightmare but I’ve managed to get it into him 2 days running. What temperature do I need to keep his table at? I’ve read that they need to be kept warm for the antibiotic to work. He does not want to be under any basking lamps he actually moves over to a cooler are. I’ve just taken a reading from the top of his shell and it’s 24.5c is that warm enough? I’m running a CHE at 25c at the cool end but the ambient temp in the room is about 24c. Is that warm enough?

 

[Ben02]

Hi all, I’m dealing with quite a sick tortoise at the moment. He’s on antibiotics orally which is a bit of a nightmare but I’ve managed to get it into him 2 days running. What temperature do I need to keep his table at? I’ve read that they need to be kept warm for the antibiotic to work. He does not want to be under any basking lamps he actually moves over to a cooler are. I’ve just taken a reading from the top of his shell and it’s 24.5c is that warm enough? I’m running a CHE at 25c at the cool end but the ambient temp in the room is about 24c. Is that warm enough?

Oh no, what’s wrong with him?

 

[katieandiggy]

Oh no, what’s wrong with him?

He really went downhill over the weekend. He’s been a bit lethargic lately and not eating as much, he was in the garden last week and still walking around munching on weeds. But he hasn’t really been 100% for about 6 weeks. Noticed that one of his eyes was slower to open than the other, within a couple of days one eye wouldn’t open at all and 24 hours later neither would the other. His eyes are swollen shut but no other symptoms of RI. He’s got antibiotic eye drops, Baytril and I’m trying to syringe him critical care if he’s not improved at all by next week she may put a feeding tube in. Poor thing he’s just too small.
X-ray was clear and waiting on blood work to come back.

 

[mark1]

my opinion is he needs warmer , 85 degrees , I believe that's closer to 30 centigrade? he's probably moving from the heat cause it's to hot and ending up in an area that is below optimal , too hot is as bad as too cold ………. I think a feeding tube is a bad idea , you say he was eating last week ? I think oral antibiotics is a bad idea ……. I've had some decent vets , I've actually never been given oral antibiotics for a turtle or a tortoise , except metronidazole , and that was liquid , I've seen them vomit that up ……. my opinion is oral is stressful and near impossible to dose reliably or consistently ……….. i'd ask for injectable ceftazidime , or stick with the baytril (injectable) if the vet is set on it , soak him a lot , and keep him at 85 degrees with reasonable humidity …..some sub q fluids is a thought ……….

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi all, I’m dealing with quite a sick tortoise at the moment. He’s on antibiotics orally which is a bit of a nightmare but I’ve managed to get it into him 2 days running. What temperature do I need to keep his table at? I’ve read that they need to be kept warm for the antibiotic to work. He does not want to be under any basking lamps he actually moves over to a cooler are. I’ve just taken a reading from the top of his shell and it’s 24.5c is that warm enough? I’m running a CHE at 25c at the cool end but the ambient temp in the room is about 24c. Is that warm enough?

This is why it helps to set a sick tortoise up in a smaller, hospital tank for the duration of the illness. It's easier to keep the whole tank warmer.

 

[katieandiggy]

I think I will halve his enclosure so that I can keep it warmer.
I agree giving him oral medication is stressful, when I go back next week I may ask if it’s possible for an injection although I’m not sure in the UK they really let us inject our pets, I had to take my dog in daily for injections and the vet never suggested me ever doing it.

 

[katieandiggy]

The feeding tube she wanted to insert was in his neck and straight into his stomach. She said that was we can feed him critical care and also the antibiotics and some other supplement of calcium

 

[katieandiggy]

I have good news!!!

I come home and both of my little guys eyes have started to open! He’s hasn’t been able to open them at all since Saturday. Even one that was very swollen has opened!
I hope he continues to improve.

 

[Michael231]

Quick question,

What specific type of eye drops did the vet give you?

 

[Michael231]

Also, since your tortoise is sick I'd say bump up the ambient temperature to 30-31 Centigrade. This will induce a sort of environmental induced fever for the animal, and should help to clear the infection. For the basking site you can bump up the temperature a little more (32-33), but if you're halving the enclosure there's no need to do this until he gets a little better and feels like basking again.

Let us know what the vet says! We're all eager to see your tortoise recover!

 

[katieandiggy]

These are the eye drops. The vet made me sign a waiver as the drops are not licensed for use on tortoises. She said there is a lot of medication that they use that isn’t licensed.



I’ve bumped the CHE up to 30c so hopefully that’s helps.

 

[Michael231]

I've heard good things about Ofloxacin! I haven't personally used it so I can't speak from experience, but from what I've heard most ophthalmic flouroquinolones work well!

 

[Michael231]

Great to hear her eye is starting to open!