my rescue sulcata

[snoit83]

Hello again everyone. I have a few questions if anybody has time. O rescued an 8" sulcata who is severely pyramided. He recently was attacked by a stray dog. No horrible damage luckily, the dog took his little back claws off of his left foot. I cleaned him up and took him to gulf coast vet specialist in downtown houston. The internet said they were the best so that's where we went. They put him on oral anti inflammatory and ceftamitin (spelling may be off) Injections every third day.
Yes I fixed the enclosure!! Unless a Pegasus lives in the neighborhood nothing is getting in!!
Anyways the other day he blew a bubble from his nose and his eyes are watering!! I lost my babies to an Uri so now im really scared!! I took him back to the vet. The doctor I saw the first time is on leave and this new woman I saw seemed very unconcerned with Frank's health. She took a culture after man handling his neck and charged me $230! She wanted to add a daily injection to his already very stressful schedule. I read that oral baytril has been suggested and after I saw how much it hurt my babies I asked her for the tablets since Frank is still eating well. She gave me liquid instead. Anyway me question is does anyone have any success stories about Uri? I am really worried about my sweet boy. He is still eating and has been on oral baytril for 3 days. In the morning he seems to have a "wetter" face then at night. Im trying to let him just be a tortoise after I clean his foot and everything on the morning. I know natural sun is best for him but it has cooled off to about 87 for a high and im afraid to take him out. If anyone can offer any words of encouragement or more advise it would be very much appreciated!!!

 

[ascott]

Hi....wow...the little one has alot going on huh....I would ask first...are you keeping him in the same enclosure as your torts that lost their battle with Uri? Yes a tortoise can be treated for the Uri symptoms, but they are never "cured" as they will always be prone to have outbreaks under let's say stressful situations etc. If he is eagerly pyramided I would suspect he was not provided enough humidity/warmth/sun/diet from hatchling stage to present....and that can be very stressful in addition to recently being munched on attempting to be eaten by a dog....whew...stress should be the last thing added, huh? Now I am confused as to why you would give him two antibiotics along with the anti inflammatory? I would pm our forum member exoticdr and ask him if he mindsis going overon with youthe if now both antibiotics are necessary or will the baytril be a sufficient med for both the injury and potential RI? IMHO that is and as little handling as possible...outside of the mess and also happy food time....how are you housing him during his treatment? I would make sure that you don't let his night time temps fall out of the 85ishmess range and calm quiet place for recovery...IMO

 

[Tony the tank]

My rescued sulcata..Also had a URI( but was eating well and active) and the vet put him on fortaz every 72hrs...on the third day..He stopped eating became lethargic.. (he would only eat on the third day in the AM before his shot)... After his 4th shot..I decided that the meds might be doingmore harm than good..it's been over a week since I decided to stop the antibiotics...and he is doing much better..

It seems like your guy is handling the antibiotics well..I would not be to concerned as long as he is eating and being active.... Keep him warm 24/7 and soak him everyday...And he will make a full recovery...

 

[snoit83]

I retired the enclosure my babies were in as it was too heart breaking to look at. Frank was outside but for his recovery he is in a big Tupperware. I bought a kiddie pool so he can have more room but I haven't set it up yet because I want to have all day to make sure the temp will stay above 87. His basking side stays about 92-100 and cool stays about 86-90. He is still eating and active but he hates the baytril. I give it to him on either pumpkin or cactus. After he gets the taste he is done eating till I leave the room so I have to leave him alone for an hour or so and go back and try again till he eats the whole medicated piece. I asked the vet the same question about two antibiotics and an anti inflammatory and she said it was fine but as I said earlier she wasn't very interested in being there and answering any of the questions I had. She either didn't know or ignored me. Other than scolding me for the pyramiding she didn't say much. However if she would have glanced at the file she would have seen he is a rescue and I got him that way!! I add a lot of water to his food and his pee is still pretty clear w a bit of white urate but its nice and soft. Sometimes he pees with out being soaked however I am soaking him more often now.

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Thank you tony the tank! That helps my stress level. I just want him to be ok! I am.willing to do just about anything. I was thinking about taking him to another vet that was recommended to me by the rescue woman I got him from. But that is 2 hours away and I don't wanna stress him anymore than I have too. He has a lot going on and having an over protective mother taking u to get poked at once a week isn't my idea of fun. I will message exoticdr and see if he minds giving me some advice. Thank you!

 

[snoit83]

I also notice that he sleeps half in his basking heat and half under his box at night. He must be a smart tort to know he needs the heat to get better. Anyway, any success stories will greatly be appreciated.

 

[kickin_country_girl]

I have a Box turtle that ended up getting a really bad URI when I lived in South Dakota in college. They put him on Baytril Injection SQ every day for a few days and Amikacin A injections IM every other day. I was told to give it in the front leg because they said Turtles seem to respond to the medication fast and it gets in there system faster. I remember one of the medication stung (i think it was the bayril) because he would pull his front legs in and wouldnt let me have em. I use to have to soak him before hand and then grab his leg. It was a 2 person job for such a lil guy. It didnt seem like it stressed him out 2 bad. He was only on meds for a few days. This was back in 2006 and He is still running around my house like a mad man in Nevada now. He has never had another URI and I have moved from South Dakota to Missouri to Nevada with him in my front seat. I know its not a sulcata success stories but hope it makes u feel a lil better

 

[snoit83]

Thank you kickin' country girl!! That does make me feel better. Its great to know that's what he should be taking and that you still have your little guy!!
Frank was very active today!! I opened the window completely and let him run around the kiddie pool. When he was eating his cactus I felt wind from his nostrils with no bubbles!! Yay!
He did pee then grunt and grunt but never pooped. I thought that was really strange but it didn't sound like he was struggling to breath it sounded like... well... like he was trying to poo. Does anyone know what that is?
As for the no weight gain. I don't think its a major concern. Its only been 3-4 weeks. They are slow torts after all! ;-)

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It is not unusual for a tortoise to stop eating while on antibiotics. Baytril especially makes for an upset stomach. Make sure he stays warmer then usual without drafts or being cold and wet. Let him act like a regular tortoise, 87 is not too cold for him to be out. I would say 75 is almost too cold to be outside. The chance of recovery from an URTI is good. Especially since you started him on antibiotics right away. So stop being stressed and you and he will do fine...

 

[snoit83]

Thank you... he is still eating well and gained .1 oz in two weeks and it right after he peed a bunch!! He hates the oral baytril. If he sees the pink goo on his cactus or pumpkin he snubs me and the hand out. Does anyone have any suggestions? Can I put it in some baby carrots to boost his vitamin a and hide the horrible taste? Makes me sad I can't fill his kiddie pool with dirt since his door isn't healed :-( hopefully he will still be doing well tomorrow. I have been trying to upload some great pix but I can't seem to do it via website or app

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Not door... foot... darn phone! ! Lol

 

[snoit83]

Oh no!! Frank had loose stool today! It was like water!! And he did that thing where he sucks in and grunts!! Is he ok?! He had normal poo yesterday and he ate his baytril and a small handful of green mixed with timothy grass and a few dried hibiscus petals. Well and a 2 pieces of thinly cut squash ;-)
While he was finishing up his lunch he peed, had some squishy urate, then started to suck in and grunt..munch... suck in and grunt... munch and so forth for probably about 45-60 seconds then went to his house. When he moved he left some urate and some brown liquid poo. It didn't smell any different than the normal stools. I looked at it and didn't see any blood or anything strange other than it was liquid. Does anyone has any advice?! I read he might have too much water, and since I have been soaking him more frequently. Is this ok? I am going to take him in after I get paid for a check up but until then I would like to know that he is still doing ok. I will borrow money if I should take him sooner!