HELP ! I’d this usual in a sulcata baby ?

[TOlson]

Thanks @Josh , I have actually seen one of the nails in his enclosure , but no blood or wound though. Yes I found the name of the disease *Austwickia* . Is he suffering from this disease? Sadly I’m from India , there is only one exotic vet in the country which is 3000km away from me , and from the reviews I have seen that there are not very professional aswell .

I hope it all works out and your tortoise is fine.

 

[zeus6626]

I hope it all works out and your tortoise is fine.

Thank you for your wishes , I hope the same as well

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Wishing your tortoises the best of luck and recovery!

 

[zeus6626]

Wishing your tortoises the best of luck and recovery!

Thank you for your wishes @The_Four_Toed_Edward , let’s hope for the best

 

[zeus6626]

I do think this may be Austwickia, but I can't be 100% sure because I don’t see the yellow lesions. This loss of toenails is a typical symptom. It is also clear your tortoise is ill and not growing, because the scute boundaries have become deep grooves with no recent growth.

The thread dd33 linked you to has treatment details. You will need to give antibiotics for a long period of time - at least 1-2 months. If you use amoxicillin the dose is 100 mg/kg per day added to the tortoise's food. You can find amoxicillin in pills or possibly liquid drops. If pills you will have to crush them into powder and add the proper amount onto the food. For this you will need a high accuracy scale capable of weighing with 0.1 gram accuracy or better. It is very difficult to weigh and mix very small amounts of powder onto food each day. So here is an example of what you would actually do:

1. Starting with a 500 mg tablet of amoxicillin, crush it into powder, and mix with a similar amount of calcium powder (this makes it easier to weigh and mix later). You can use a small mortar that is normally used for crushing spices. Then, weigh the total amount of mixed powder.

2. Now that you know the total weight you can divide it into smaller portions. So for example if you weigh out 1/5 of the powder from step 3 it will have 100 mg of amoxicillin. Store the rest for later.

3. Figure out how much you need per day. So if the tortoise weighs 100 grams you would need 10 mg of amoxicillin per day, so the powder from step 2 (1/5 of the total pill) will last 10 days.

4. Prepare 10 days worth of food (pellets, greens, whatever). Wet the food and mix it with the amoxicillin + calcium powder mixture. Store the food in the refrigerator and feed the proper amount each day. After 10 days, take another 1/5 of the original powder weight to make the next 10 days worth of food.

I suspect that other penicillin group antibiotics will work, but amoxicillin is probably the best for giving orally. Others would have to be injected and having repeated injections on such a small tortoise would be traumatic. If the disease progresses to the point where the tortoise stops eating and becomes lethargic, I doubt you will be able to save it anyways.

Steve

Hey @turtlesteve @dd33 can you please tell me is this the correct antibiotic?

 

[dd33]

Hey @turtlesteve @dd33 can you please tell me is this the correct antibiotic?

@turtlesteve did you use pure amoxicillin or did you use a pill form like this with fillers/binders and such?

@zeus6626 do you have a scale capable of reading in milligrams? How much does one of those pills weigh before you crush it up?

 

[turtlesteve]

I think this should be fine. I don’t know where to get pure amoxicillin. Part of the reason for mixing with calcium powder is to make it easier to dust onto food, but it also increases the weight so it makes it easier to divide the mediation into equal amounts. I use a scale I found online for about $10 that can read up to 200 grams in 0.1 gram increments

 

[dd33]

I think this should be fine. I don’t know where to get pure amoxicillin. Part of the reason for mixing with calcium powder is to make it easier to dust onto food, but it also increases the weight so it makes it easier to divide the mediation into equal amounts. I use a scale I found online for about $10 that can read up to 200 grams in 0.1 gram increments

Were you treating at 100mg/kg based on the active ingredient in the pill or the total weight of the pill?

 

[turtlesteve]

Based on the active ingredient.

 

[zeus6626]

Were you treating at 100mg/kg based on the active ingredient in the pill or the total weight of the pill?

Atm I’m taking by the active ingredient of the pill , 250 mg

 

[zeus6626]

@turtlesteve did you use pure amoxicillin or did you use a pill form like this with fillers/binders and such?

@zeus6626 do you have a scale capable of reading in milligrams? How much does one of those pills weigh before you crush it up?

So I have a scale which weight .01grams , I’m using that

 

[zeus6626]

Were you treating at 100mg/kg based on the active ingredient in the pill or the total weight of the pill?

@dd33 @turtlesteve i have another sulcata baby which I got from the same breeder . I have separated them from day 1 I got them . But they were in the same enclosure when with the breeder. So should u start the treatment for him as well ?

 

[dd33]

Did you determine how much the full pill weighs? You will need to calculate how much of the medication to use based on the total weight of the pill only containing 250mg of Amoxicillin.

 

[zeus6626]

Did you determine how much the full pill weighs? You will need to calculate how much of the medication to use based on the total weight of the pill only containing 250mg of Amoxicillin.

The pill is weighing 280mg , where the amoxicillin is 250 mg.

As my sulcata is 72g they would need 7 mg everyday .
i am adding 280 mg of calcium powder and mixing it .

Which makes the mixture 560 mg .

I am feeding him 16 mg of the mixture .

@turtlesteve

 

[turtlesteve]

Yes that seems correct, 16 mg per day if you can weigh it accurately.
Steve

 

[zeus6626]

Yes that seems correct, 16 mg per day if you can weigh it accurately.
Steve

I got the mg weight spoon . Should I even start treating my other sulcata aswell?

 

[turtlesteve]

Is it growing well? If healthy and kept in good conditions they grow super fast. If it is not growing I would have concern. I definitely do not think treating would cause harm, and if from the same source it was probably at least exposed…