Help! Feeding oral medication to a head shy Sulcata

pterry

New Member
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Jul 2, 2020
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7
Location (City and/or State)
N E Lincolnshire
Hi all,

My tortoise Abe has come down with the snifflies. The vet went through a general environment check with me and cannot determine anything particular that strikes as causing the runny nose. He is in good spirits and eats well and went for a good run around in the vet office too. But he has had the occasional runny nose and wet cough in the night for the past 5 or so days. So the vet has prescribed him some general medication for me to syringe feed him for a week.

Except, Abe is a 4.9kg little beast, who has always been extremely head shy. When I asked the vet how I was supposed to be able to do so by myself (as I live alone), her response was "with great difficulty."

And, well, the vet had pried his mouth open with me holding him steady to make sure nothing was wrong inside his gob, and that has decidedly made him predetermine any sort of approach to his head for the day, because I can't even get him to get his head out of his shell now. Any approach anywhere near his forelegs has him tightly sealed inside without moving. I've trapped my fingers for the last 2 hours trying to get any sort of leeway to getting to his neck to pull his head out (sounds barbaric but what else am I to do). I sat with him for another hour and no improvement. Won't even peek. How on Earth can I get his head out for 7 days worth of medication?? I'm so annoyed that the vet wouldn't do the first dosage while we were there.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Almost all vets want to treat the symptoms without finding and correcting the CAUSE. Torts aren't like humans. They don't just get sick for no reason. Most people the world over do not keep sulcatas warm enough. The colder your climate the harder it is.

All the medicine in the world, given with "great difficulty" or not, will not make your tortoise well if you don't correct the problem that made him sick in the first place. What is the over night low temperature for your tortoise? How are you heating it? What size tortoise, and what size and type enclosure? At no time anywhere in the enclosure day or night should the temperature be dropping below 27C. For a sick one that is already showing symptoms, ambient temp should stay above 29C. That's just ambient at its lowest point. Ambient should rise to 32-34 each day in the whole enclosure, and the tortoise still needs a basking area directly under the heat lamp (for smaller sulcatas only) of around 36-37C.

There is no easy way to get meds into them orally. Its a terrible time for all the people and the tortoise in most cases. But your problem will likely be solved with the above temps, making medicine unnecessary. Be sure to keep humidity up and soak frequently with these temps. Keep the soak water warm for the entire duration of the soaks.
 

zolasmum

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 19, 2015
Messages
2,001
Hello and welcome from Devon. Is it possible to disguise the medication among some food ? What actually is it ?
Could you squirt it into a bit of fruit, even if it is something you wouldn't normally give him - banana or something like that ?
And, of course, follow Tom's instructions about temperature etc.
Good luck !
Angie
 
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