Newbie Baby Sitter (introduction)

Would you give the same medication to the other tortoise.

  • Yes

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The boys

New Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2019
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Brixham Devon
Hi you can call me The Boys I accepted to take care of two 4-year-old South African Leopard tortoises for a friend for a short period it's been four months now I have renamed them Fred and Barney as I expect I will be having them for several more months which I doubt I will be able to part with them then.
So never being a parent before I'm doing my best to give them the best care I can. The smaller of the two started sneezing a couple of weeks ago so I got him to a Veterinarian that deals with reptiles on a regular basis I brought both Fred and Barney they were examined and everything was good Except for Barney's sneezing so I was given a small vile of an antibiotic placed drops in his nose once a day For 10 days he stop sneezing now Fred is sneezing in the same way and I have approximately half of the vile I was given wondering if I should treat Fred since he has the same symptoms with the remainder. I'll call the Vet of course but out of curiosity what would you do?
 

Ray--Opo

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Palm Bay Fl
Hellomand welcome. I do not have the knowledge but I am sure someone will answer you.
Good luck
 

LaLaP

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Portland, OR
Welcome to the forum.
So it sounds like they have respiratory infections. The cause of an RI is usually temperatures that are too low. So first, check your temps and make sure they are high enough. Read this caresheet...
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/
This is a good one too..
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Make sure you have a good temperature gauge (digital) and a temp gun for accurate measurements. A temp gun is a valuable tool and can be purchased at a hardware store for about $12.
So to treat the RI give your tortoise extra soaks in warm water and raise your enclosure temperatures just a bit higher than normal temps. I'd say 80 degrees day and night. I'm not totally sure about the antibiotics but I guess I would probably use them... maybe another member has better advice about that.
If you need more help making sure your set up is a healthy environment for your tortoises just post some pics of it. We love to help and it's easiest if we can just see what you've got.
Also... here's some bad news... 2 Sulcatas shouldn't be housed together. There will be bullying and stress. Search the forum for this topic to learn all about what will happen if they are kept together.
 

Ray--Opo

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LaLaP meant to say leopards the care for a sulcata or leopard are basically the same. If you notice one trying to dominate the other like following, sleeping together in or out of the hide. It looks innocent to us but it is stressful for both. If one tries to dominate the food like sitting on top of it. Is another sign of dominance. Your friend might have been keeping them together but there are many breeders and members here with years of experience. Good luck and send some pics of your torts and enclosure. We can guide you to the easiest and most effective way to raise them. I have a feeling they are yours now.:tort::tort::).
 

Tom

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The best treatment for a respiratory infection is discovering and correcting the cause. Treating the symptoms without fixing the problem is futile. In most cases low temps, especially at night, is the cause. Stress can also be a factor. Tortoises should never live in pairs. South African leopard tortoises are especially bad about this. I had to separate all the males from the females by 18 months old, and had to separate all the males into individual enclosures shortly after that. Two of them should never be living together. Groups of babies, or females, can usually live together, but not pairs, and this locality of this species is particularly bad about it.

Read these for the correct care info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

You've got to get them warm and humid day and night. Not below 80F (26-27C).
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

Old Timer
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Clovis, CA
Welcome!

One thing to keep in mind about leopard tortoises - SOME of the are allergic to Baytril (Enrofloxicin) and it should be avoided.
 

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