just coming back from the vet :(

[Orpexo]

This was the worst experience for my tortoise so far. I took it in a cardboard box with a wet tissue for the moist and a small hide hoping it would feel as comfortable as possible. Despite of that my tortoise was stressed and scared the whole time and even pissed her pants at some point. Also it is only 50°F outside here, not the perfect weather to go out.

it is a testuedo hermanni boettgeri, 1 year old, 5cm and 30 grams. I took her to the vet cause a fecal test revealed pinworm eggs. (thx tortoisenerd for the fecal test advice, she had worms indeed). She is in perfect health and very active (until before the vet visit at least)

The vet said the tortoise is 3 times too small for its age oO I think he doesn't no much about tortoises :/
He said the worms should be treated asap or the tortoise would die and also because I could catch the worms.
he didn't want to give panacur cause it would be impossible to dilute a dose for such a small tortoise, he said i would need to dilute in 20 litters of water or so. So instead he gave some "Drontal P" for dogs, to be diluted.
checking on the net drontal P is made of:
# PRAZIQUANTEL : 50 mg
# PYRANTEL (s.f. d’embonate) : 50 mg
# FEBANTEL : 150 mg
anybody here used that?

The idea is to inject the meds in small strawberry piece, then give the strawberry to the tortoise. I also have to sterilize my substrate with the microwave.

He said to give meds again in one month, but from what I read it should be done in 10 days.

 

[Annieski]

I think you need to find a new vet!

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Yikes - don't go back to this guy! You can figure the panacur dose yourself - it's a fairly safe drug to use. I've used it on small tortoises with no problem. I have never used the drug the vet recommended - never even heard of it. I can help you with the panacur dose if you want to pm me. Good luck!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Panacur is what we all use. Don't go back to that Vet.

 

[Kemperly_Williams]

my advice is definitely to find an exotics vet!

 

[Perseus]

Oh boy. You need a new vet..ASAP.

 

[samstar]

That vet is not worth to be called a vet. Panacure given in the correct dosage is perfectly fine.

 

[zoogrl]

I work at a vet clinic & will do some research on using drontal in torts, I will also ask my vet what his thoughts are. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

 

[Yvonne G]

I vote with most of the above. Panacur is the de-wormer you should be using. Just like in a other thread when we were talking about Baytril, Panacur comes in different strengths. You use one strength for a very large dog, and you would be using a different, lesser % for the smaller breeds of dog. So maybe your vet only had the large mammal strength Panacur. Find another vet who will figure out the dosage for you.

 

[Candy]

Can you check the TFO's vet list and make sure this vet is not on it? I wouldn't want us to give his name out as a reference vet.

 

[Az tortoise compound]

Candy, sorry to hear about about the horrible trip. In my opinion, most (not all) Vets are like timeshare salesmen. Always pushing the up sell. We have used Pancur for a very long time and never had an issue. It's like giving your child Tylenol. You don't give them four extra strength pills, you go get the children's strength and give them smaller dosage depending on size and weight.

 

[zoogrl]

Can you check the TFO's vet list and make sure this vet is not on it? I wouldn't want us to give his name out as a reference vet.
[/quote

I will do that, thanks Candy : ) I appreciate the friendly advice, that's what makes this forum so great! Fellow tort lovers actually helping each other and not out trying to attack one another ~

 

[Orpexo]

Don't worry the vet is not in the list since I m not in the US.

About drontal P, I made a bit of research, from what I found it can be used on tortoises. Still, I believe panacur is a better choice since everybody's uses that since years without any problem.

It seems difficult to find a tortoise specialized vet near my place. I choosed this vet because i was told he knew reptiles. I believe he is a good vet for many animals, but he is not a tortoise specialist :/

koopa is back to a normal level of activity today. After the vet visit it slept more than usual during the day, I think it tired it a lot. Everything seems fine now, she eats a lot. And I m busy sterilizing my substrate.

 

[Madkins007]

Just out of curiosity, what dosage does everyone use for Panacur?

This is what I found in Mader's "Reptile Medicine and Surgery":
"Fenbendazole (Panacur is a brand name)- Tortoises- 50mg/kg PO q 24 x 3d q 7-10d or 100mg/kg PO q 24h q 14-21d."

Translated, I think this means you can use 2 strengths depending on what kind of infestation it is, sprinkled on the food.

Either 50 milligrams of drug per kilogram of tortoise weight, given by mouth (PO means 'per os', by mouth), over 24 hours (q means 'quaque', over), for 3 days repeated in 7-10 days, or you can use a higher dose once every 2-3 weeks.

Mader notes that administering it rectally is most effective for more difficult problems, and reminds the keeper to practice good husbandry by quarantining all suspect animals.