My spur thighed tortoise screams... plz help

[Niloofar]

Hi

Please help me.

I have for 4 spur thighed tortoises. After hibernation I noticed that one of them was making clicking and whistling sounds. I live In a small city in Iran and I have no access to a reptile vet. So I started searching on the internet. After so much googling I found that it probabely is RNS. however he has no symptoms of rns or even pneumonia. his eyes, the color of his mouth all seem natural.

I started with oxytetracycline. the symptoms were gone. I thought that he was going to be okay but Then he started a very strange screaming noise. Then I gave him oral baytril (one-tenth of 1ml of enrofloxacin 10% every 72 hours). But he still screams. Some nights he opens his mouth for seconds and screams. It’s so painful seeing him like this. When he screams I put sodium chloride drop in his nares. I don’t know whether it’s effective or not. But it’s the only thing I can do.

The problem is that I’m so worried and confused. I have a very important university entrance exam in 2 months and I really need to be calm but I can’t. he is like my kid. Please help me. is it pneumonia?

(and forgive me for my English. It’s not perfect I know)

 

[Paige Lewis]

Firstly welcome to the forum : ) My tort is currently being treated for a lower respiratory infection and like with yours, his eyes are fine, his tongue is pink and there is no discharge from his nostrils, the only symptoms i have seen with him is the clicking noise, weight loss and he is not as active or eating as much as he does when he is well. Do you know whether he has lost any weight? Is he eating less? And has his activity decreased? I am not sure what the screaming noise is though, does the open mouth look like he is gasping for air? and i think your english is very good. I know how awful it feels when your tort gets ill but more experienced people on here will be able to advice and help you to get your little one better.

 

[Niloofar]

Hi.

Tnx for ur reply.
in this situation your answer was like a real gift to me.
Now I’m so calm.
Tnx

and about my tortoise, he eats well, he is active like always, his weight seems normal.
And yeah, he opens his mouth like he is gasping for air. My sister told me she has seen blood coming from his mouth. I’m not sure because it was dark everywhere. It was midnight and the lights were off.

Can anyone help?

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum
I am sorry to hear your tortoise is sick Hmm if there was blood coming out of his mouth, I think that you would need a vet ASAP. Where do you live? Maybe someone will leave near you and know a reptile vet?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Niloofar:

Welcome to the forum!!

When you put the saline solution in his nose, did you squirt it with some pressure? It helps to dislodge whatever is plugging the nares, if you squirt, not just place the drops.

Also, separate him from the others. It will give him peace and quiet and help him to heal.

Make sure he's warmer than room temperature. Place a light over one side of the enclosure and maybe cover the top to keep the warm air inside. Baytril usually takes a couple weeks to show improvement.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Kristina]

Is it possible that he is straining to pass something? Tortoises can get bladder stones. They are rock hard clumps of urates, and they can cause blockages and be extremely painful to pass. I think that your tortoise needs an Xray to determine if there is a blockage. If there is, surgery needs to be performed or your tortoise may die.

 

[Niloofar]

hi.

Yesterday morning my tort vomited some blood + 3 worms. I thank you all guys for your answers but now I know what was exactly the reason of his screaming noise. it’s a parasite disease.
The worms are brown in color. One of them is about 10 cm long and is still alive after it came out of his mouth.
My tort’s name is Nemat. It means a gift from god. he is the most beautiful gift I have ever had in my whole life. With his patience he showed me how I can be patient during hard times. He teached me we can find god’s love and beauty in everything even in their innocent look,beautiful shell and lovely hands and legs. When I think my little boy has had a hard time with that ugly creatures I feel so sad. He’s a tortoise. He can’t even moan when he has pain.
Do you have any experience on this case? Can it cause any damage to his lungs? Should I be worry?
What do you know aboy Panacur or fenbendazole?

 

[Edna]

Best wishes to you and Nemat. I'm betting someone with lots more experience jumps on pretty quick!

 

[Yvonne G]

Both of those products are used to kill parasites in tortoises. Fenbendazole kills the amoeba-type and Panacur kills the worm-type.

 

[Niloofar]

can i give my tortoise Albendazole 152 mg instead of Fenbendazole?