No Exotic Vet in my area

EddieT

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Mar 18, 2020
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7
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BERNALILLO
My 4-year-old Sulcata has developed Pneumonia due to the colder weather here in New Mexico.

Back story: As I said I have had Oogway for a little over 4 years now and he's doing great. He weighs 21 lbs and has little to no pyramiding. Last year around this time I noticed He was wheezing when he walked to his feeding stone. I took him to my normal vet (where I take my dogs) and they said they weren't an exotic specialist, so they recommended I go somewhere else ( I appreciated that they told me this before charging me for an exam). I then took him to a Banfield vet who claimed he was an Exotic pet specialist; so I was comfortable putting Oogway in his care at the time. He took x-rays and diagnosed Oogway with pneumonia. I don't remember the two antibiotics he prescribed but Oogway was on these antibiotics for a week. on his follow-up exam, I explained to the doctor that he is getting better but I felt he wasn't cured. the doc said he was cured so that was the end of it. skip ahead to this summer Oogway started wheezing again implying that his pneumonia was still present. I then called the vet back and he tells me that's normal -_- so you guys can understand my frustration. So I decided that I would monitor him closely and not bother the idiotic vet anymore. Skip to last week, Oogway is wheezing with every breath he takes and is constantly sneezing (tortoise sneezes are the saddest most adorable sounds ever). I then found a different vet That claimed to be an exotic vet and in the middle of my exam, he says "This is normal when they are getting ready to hibernate" -_- AHHHHH! So he prescribes another antibiotic that I have to syringe feed to Oogway which is a major pain AND this vet didn't even diagnose him with anything!? So here I am knees deep in vet bills with a tortoise that probably isn't gonna get better AGAIN.

Sorry for all the words but I needed to vent haha purpose of the story is my baby is sick and I can't find anyone that knows how to make him better... does anyone have any advice?
 

Tom

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Respiratory infection is caused by cold temperatures. Treating the symptoms does nothing if you don't correct the CAUSE of the problem. This tortoise needs to be kept warm day and night. For your case I'd keep him no lower than 85-90 over night and heat him up to 95-100 during the day. These are AMBIENT temps, not basking area under the bulb. He still needs to be able to walk around and be sure to soak every day or every other at these temps.

"This normal when they are getting ready to hibernate." What a joke! How can an idiot like that stand and look a customer in the face with their hand out for money. That is infuriating and this jackass should have his license to practice revoked. I know that you know, but for anyone reading who doesn't understand how egregious this is:
1. This species doesn't hibernate. (And brumate is the correct term for reptiles...) Temps don't drop below 80 where they come from. and daytime highs are near or above 100 degrees every day there.
2. It is in NO way "normal" for any tortoise to get sick and start wheezing before brumation.
 

zovick

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My 4-year-old Sulcata has developed Pneumonia due to the colder weather here in New Mexico.

Back story: As I said I have had Oogway for a little over 4 years now and he's doing great. He weighs 21 lbs and has little to no pyramiding. Last year around this time I noticed He was wheezing when he walked to his feeding stone. I took him to my normal vet (where I take my dogs) and they said they weren't an exotic specialist, so they recommended I go somewhere else ( I appreciated that they told me this before charging me for an exam). I then took him to a Banfield vet who claimed he was an Exotic pet specialist; so I was comfortable putting Oogway in his care at the time. He took x-rays and diagnosed Oogway with pneumonia. I don't remember the two antibiotics he prescribed but Oogway was on these antibiotics for a week. on his follow-up exam, I explained to the doctor that he is getting better but I felt he wasn't cured. the doc said he was cured so that was the end of it. skip ahead to this summer Oogway started wheezing again implying that his pneumonia was still present. I then called the vet back and he tells me that's normal -_- so you guys can understand my frustration. So I decided that I would monitor him closely and not bother the idiotic vet anymore. Skip to last week, Oogway is wheezing with every breath he takes and is constantly sneezing (tortoise sneezes are the saddest most adorable sounds ever). I then found a different vet That claimed to be an exotic vet and in the middle of my exam, he says "This is normal when they are getting ready to hibernate" -_- AHHHHH! So he prescribes another antibiotic that I have to syringe feed to Oogway which is a major pain AND this vet didn't even diagnose him with anything!? So here I am knees deep in vet bills with a tortoise that probably isn't gonna get better AGAIN.

Sorry for all the words but I needed to vent haha purpose of the story is my baby is sick and I can't find anyone that knows how to make him better... does anyone have any advice?
Forget oral antibiotics for a tortoise. It is too hard to regulate the dosages. You never know how much they are really getting unless you put it into the mouth yourself and run the risk of having the animal aspirate the medicine instead of swallowing it, spitting it out, etc., etc..

He most likely needs about 7-10 doses of INJECTABLE antibiotics to clear up the pneumonia. The best one is ceftazidime and it should be injected every other day for about two weeks which will equal 7 doses. The dosage for tortoises is 20 mg per kilo of weight. If you have a vet who can give you 7 correct doses of the medication already dispensed into 7 syringes which you will need to keep in a refrigerator, then you can give one every other day for the two week period.

Note: the ceftazidime medication deteriorates over time after being reconstituted and usually a week is as long as it is supposed to last when refrigerated rather than frozen, so possibly you should try to get 3 syringes one week and then get 4 more freshly prepared ones from the vet a week later. Freezing it in the syringes is not a great option IMHO because when the liquid freezes and expands, it can push the plunger out of the syringe, meaning you lose about 50% of the medication when trying to replace the plunger in the syringe. I know this from experience. The stuff is expensive, so you don't want to lose any of it.
 
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wellington

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I agree with Tom. Get the temps up where he said and keep them there until he seems better and then for 2 weeks after. Then you can drop the day temp to 80-85 never lower day or night.
If you don't think just the warmer temps seem to be helping, call the vet from last year and see if you can get the meds given last year. Even if you have to see that ve again. Maybe ask for a lung xray this time. Then treat as you did last year but still keeping the temps up.
 

EddieT

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Joined
Mar 18, 2020
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
BERNALILLO
Respiratory infection is caused by cold temperatures. Treating the symptoms does nothing if you don't correct the CAUSE of the problem. This tortoise needs to be kept warm day and night. For your case I'd keep him no lower than 85-90 over night and heat him up to 95-100 during the day. These are AMBIENT temps, not basking area under the bulb. He still needs to be able to walk around and be sure to soak every day or every other at these temps.

"This normal when they are getting ready to hibernate." What a joke! How can an idiot like that stand and look a customer in the face with their hand out for money. That is infuriating and this jackass should have his license to practice revoked. I know that you know, but for anyone reading who doesn't understand how egregious this is:
1. This species doesn't hibernate. (And brumate is the correct term for reptiles...) Temps don't drop below 80 where they come from. and daytime highs are near or above 100 degrees every day there.
2. It is in NO way "normal" for any tortoise to get sick and start wheezing before brumation.
Thanks for the quick response. Yes, his enclosure is kept at 90F in the day and has unfortunately dropped to 74F when the temps are freezing. At night I put him in his hide box which I close up and keep heated to 94F, regardless of the outside temp. When he got sick last year it was because I was out of town for a week in the winter and the person I had watching my animals didn't put him away at night and that was enough for him to develop a mild infection, which has since developed into something more. He doesn't have any discharge which is good, but as I said I'm not sure what the vet gave me is gonna help and I'm not sure where to go from this point. Unfortunately, I cant get the temp hotter than 90 during the winter time. In the summer there's no problem at all.
 

TammyJ

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When you take your animals to a vet and any medication is prescribed, one good thing you can do is to know and record the name of the medication and dosage. Then, when you seek help on the forum here, the experts will get that information and be better able to advise you. I understand your frustration re the ignorance of the vets. If they are doing more harm than good, which may be the case, it's better to just try to strictly follow the great advice you have got right here. Good luck!
 

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