I need help with giving antibiotics orally

Dov

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I have to give my tort antibiotics orally. I'm finding very difficult to get the syringe in her mouth and I feel I'm stressing her out alot. Can I just put the antibiotics on a bit of carrot and give it to her?

Thanks
 

wellington

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Why are you giving them too her, for what?
Also what are the symptoms she is having that made you bring her to a vet to begin with?
Also what is the set up she lives in? Enclosure, substrate, temps, humidity, diet, etc.
Also what species and how old?
 

Dov

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Why are you giving them too her, for what?
Also what are the symptoms she is having that made you bring her to a vet to begin with?
Also what is the set up she lives in? Enclosure, substrate, temps, humidity, diet, etc.
Also what species and how old?
It's a russian tort 3years. Brought her to the vet because she was showing symptoms of a respiatory infection. She had stopped eating, sometimes her breathing was noisy, she'd stretch her neck out and her eyes would swell up, and alot of sneezing and yawning. The vet confirmed it was a respiatory infection and gave it an injection of antibiotics. For the next 4 days now I have to be giving it antibiotics orally. The antibiotic is called baytrill. Her basking spot is above 90F and the rest of the enclosure doesn't go below 80F. For the substrate I'm using coco coir. I'm going to be replacing it with orchid bark soon. Her diet right now is mainly kale, romaine lettuce, spring mixes(without spinach) pellets, and carrots the odd time. Its the best I can do for now until fresh weeds start growing outside again.
 

mark1

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giving meds orally to a turtle or tortoise is usually a tough , stressful , and an inaccurate way to do so ........ tell your vet your problem , he can load syringes for you and show you how and where to give the injections .......if it's injectable baytril your trying to get him to take orally , i doubt he'll eat anything you put it on ..... if it's baytril tablets , i wouldn't know how that could be done , although they are made to taste good , at least to a dog ...... is he any better after the injection ?
 

Dov

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giving meds orally to a turtle or tortoise is usually a tough , stressful , and an inaccurate way to do so ........ tell your vet your problem , he can load syringes for you and show you how and where to give the injections .......if it's injectable baytril your trying to get him to take orally , i doubt he'll eat anything you put it on ..... if it's baytril tablets , i wouldn't know how that could be done , although they are made to taste good , at least to a dog ...... is he any better after the injection ?
I have got her to eat the carrot with antibiotics on it. After injections, she acts very weird. She just sits there and does not move at all and barely responds to anything. This lasts a while aswell. I would honestly rather give the baytrill orally cause i feel it's less stress for her than injection.
 

mark1

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baytril is a painful injection .... if she'll eat it it's definitely the way to go with it .....
 

Tom

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I have to give my tort antibiotics orally. I'm finding very difficult to get the syringe in her mouth and I feel I'm stressing her out alot. Can I just put the antibiotics on a bit of carrot and give it to her?

Thanks
Tortoises don't get sick for no reason, and vets seldom even consider or dress this. You have to discover and correct the CAUSE of the sickness if you want to clear up the symptoms of the sickness.

Baytirl is highly caustic and it burns them terribly at the injection site. It should not be used in its injectable form. Mark and I disagree about this and agree these points on nearly every thread where the topic comes up. This terrible burning pain is why your tortoise sits there like that. Their tissue is literally being burned by the caustic chemical.

I have never found a good way to get oral meds into tortoises. If you can get the tortoise to eat it somehow, that is great. Once the meds are done, you should discontinue the carrots. Too sugary for them and it upsets the gut flora and fauna.

Read this for the correct care info and get your tortoises enclosure, heating and lighting set up correctly, and it will help the healing process tremendously:
 

Otty2021

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Hi Dov, after reading your story, it reminds me of what happened to my tort 3 weeks ago. I think if your tort can eat it, and it works the same as injection then let it continue this way.
I used to give the Baytril injections to my tort ( 2 yrs old Hermanni) who had eyes infection for about 2 weeks, I could feel how frustated it was and It hurt me alot to see him moving his limbs sometimes before the injections and after the injection I also noticed that he acted like yours; does not move at all and barely responds to anything . Unfortunately my tort was not able to make it, he was never awake from the anesthesia (after the injections treatment, the vet tried to check on his eyes under the anesthesia) I wish I knew the risk of it, I would have refused it.
Although it's only 2 months staying with my tort (given by my neighbour), losing him has been very difficult for me, I have been watching him and taking after him everyday, and suddenly I lost him..
I felt so sorry that he's been suffered during this treatment, and was regret not to bring him to another vet once I noticed his condition has worsened. Plus the cold weather did not help at all , I found him sleep most of the time and weak, although I have set up his indoor enclosure with the UV lamp and infrared lamp, as recommended by the vet. While the substrate I used was mixed repti bark and coco fiber. There are so many things I wish I knew before about this incredible fellow, but It's never too late to learn. I hope I do not stress you with my story, but hopefully some information may be useful. Get well soon to your tort.
 

mark1

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I wish I knew the risk of it, I would have refused it.
i can assure you otty , your tortoise doubtfully died from his treatment ..... he almost surely died from disease ...... eye infections in turtles and tortoises are seldom not secondary problems ......

this is not "old" information .....

Population pharmacokinetics of enrofloxacin and its metabolite ciprofloxacin in clinically diseased or injured Eastern box turtles ( Terrapene carolina carolina ), yellow-bellied s...

Article in Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics · February 2020

Mark G Papich North Carolina State University | NCSU · College of Veterinary Medicine DVM, Diplomate ACVCP, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology

Gregory Lewbart North Carolina State University | NCSU · Department of Clinical Sciences MS, VMD, Dipl. ACZM & ECZM (ZHM)


John Alan Griffioen Fort Worth Zoo · Veterinary Services Doctor of Veterinary Medicine


"Seventy-two turtles were sampled during the study including 36 Eastern box turtles, 23 yellow-bellied slider, and 13 river cooters. Demographic data including sex, weight range, average weight, presenting complaint, and survival to release are summarized in Table 1. The most common presenting complaint across species was vehicular trauma followed by other traumatic injuries including canine depredation, ocular, and limb injuries as well as fish hook ingestion. No localized reactions were noted from enrofloxaxcin injection during the study, and there were no observed adverse events following blood collection. Turtles that did not survive to release were evaluated by gross postmortem examination, and death was not directly attributed to treatment administration in any of the deceased turtles"
 

Darlenethmay

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Hi
I used to
I have to give my tort antibiotics orally. I'm finding very difficult to get the syringe in her mouth and I feel I'm stressing her out alot. Can I just put the antibiotics on a bit of carrot and give it to her?

Thanks
Inject it in a strawberry
 

Tabby0318

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Hi, when I had to give Tabby antibiotics I mashed up some cucumber mixed in with small slice of banana, added the antibiotics and then wrapped it in romaine lettuce, like a tube and fed her. She ate most of it. She would then walk off and find a spot to sleep and wouldn't eat anything else for a couple of hours.

The vet gave her an antibiotic injection without my consent and she couldn't walk properly that afternoon, kept dragging her back legs. I refused to take her back for a second injection and told them I only wanted oral antibiotics.

I hope she gets better soon.
 

zovick

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I have got her to eat the carrot with antibiotics on it. After injections, she acts very weird. She just sits there and does not move at all and barely responds to anything. This lasts a while aswell. I would honestly rather give the baytrill orally cause i feel it's less stress for her than injection.
If you are able switch over to injectable ceftazidime, the tortoise will not have the reaction you are describing, plus injection is a much more accurate way to give many medications to a tortoise..
 

Dov

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Hi, when I had to give Tabby antibiotics I mashed up some cucumber mixed in with small slice of banana, added the antibiotics and then wrapped it in romaine lettuce, like a tube and fed her. She ate most of it. She would then walk off and find a spot to sleep and wouldn't eat anything else for a couple of hours.

The vet gave her an antibiotic injection without my consent and she couldn't walk properly that afternoon, kept dragging her back legs. I refused to take her back for a second injection and told them I only wanted oral antibiotics.

I hope she gets better soon.
Same with mine, after the injection she could barely walk. The first time I had to give her antibiotics orally she tried to eat the syringe so it was pretty easy then. But now everything she sees a syringe she tries to get away from it. Now I just put it on some carrot and mix it in with some other foods and she seems to eat it.
 
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