I am glad your tortoise is doing better. How terribly frightening for her and also for you to come home from work and finding her upside down in the water dish.
I am sorry, I have no experience whatsoever.My issue is giving meds! She uses those front legs like armor to block her face haha. I feel bad pulling on her front legs to get her out. I tried injecting it into a small piece of fruit but she's too mad to eat it. Any advice on oral meds?
I read this and have been racking my brain to think of a solution. Putting the meds in her food is a really good idea. Maybe in time she will settle down and eat the fruit. My veterinarian has never given me oral meds to administer. I remember asking him about using oral meds, and he said that it's very difficult to get them to swallow it, and not aspirate it. And that's if you can even get the meds in their mouth. When I have trouble doing what my vet told me, I call the office and see what they want me to do. Of course, your vet may not be in today. If that were the situation and I had to figure out a way to get the meds in, I would first soak the tortoise early in the morning. Then hopefully she will have had some time to urinate if she needs to. I would put the meds in a syringe with no needle and very gently insert the tip into her cloaca (anus). Put it in just barely far enough so that you can administer the medication – like 1/4 inch. It's important not to insert it too far because that could cause harm. I would administer the medication that way, since they are able to absorb things through their rectum. But hopefully she'll soon become more cooperative and eat it in her food.My issue is giving meds! She uses those front legs like armor to block her face haha. I feel bad pulling on her front legs to get her out. I tried injecting it into a small piece of fruit but she's too mad to eat it. Any advice on oral meds?
I read this and have been racking my brain to think of a solution. Putting the meds in her food is a really good idea. Maybe in time she will settle down and eat the fruit. My veterinarian has never given me oral meds to administer. I remember asking him about using oral meds, and he said that it's very difficult to get them to swallow it, and not aspirate it. And that's if you can even get the meds in their mouth. When I have trouble doing what my vet told me, I call the office and see what they want me to do. Of course, your vet may not be in today. If that were the situation and I had to figure out a way to get the meds in, I would first soak the tortoise early in the morning. Then hopefully she will have had some time to urinate if she needs to. I would put the meds in a syringe with no needle and very gently insert the tip into her cloaca (anus). Put it in just barely far enough so that you can administer the medication – like 1/4 inch. It's important not to insert it too far because that could cause harm. I would administer the medication that way, since they are able to absorb things through their rectum. But hopefully she'll soon become more cooperative and eat it in her food.