please help with seriously sick greek

[dmmj]

may I inquire as to what his diet is like?

 

[OurZeus]

I've seen your tort on instagram before and I'm glad you're here on the forum! I hope the blood test can reveal what may be going on with Zeus, or that one of the many knowledgeable members here can help you out.

Thank you very much

 

[OurZeus]

Poor boy, that looks uncomfortable. Is it just his front end that is swollen or are his back legs puffy too?

at first it was just the front end. he does have a little puffiness now at the top of his legs closer to inside the shell. the back legs so far look ok.

 

[OurZeus]

may I inquire as to what his diet is like?

we have a mixture of weeds and flowers we give him. danelion leaves, dark green lettuce, some carrots and squash. cucumber on occassion. Mazuri. he always has fresh water. we feed him once a day.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm waiting for someone more experienced to chime in about the Baytril and this type of reaction.
In the future. Request something easier for tortoises to deal with. Fortaz would be my suggestion.
I think that your tortoise doctor should read this forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

@deadheadvet @exoticsdr

I think this has more to do with kidneys (renal failure) than it does with respiratory infection.

I know with all the swelling and fluid retention it sounds counter productive to soak him, however, if this were my tortoise I would be soaking him in warm water daily.

I think you need to get another opinion from a different vet. Hopefully our two vets can give you a direction to take.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Thanks Yvonne. That poor thing looks miserable.

 

[deadheadvet]

Things to consider:
Hypoproteinemia from nutritional causes.
Heart Disease
Lymphatic obstruction (unknown cause)
I would bet it is not infectious based on the edema. Can be very difficult to diagnose. The damn shell gets in the way!
I would separate the tortoise from any others to monitor caloric intake. If it is not eating, it may need a feeding tube placed.

I had a very juvenile Radiated with a similar issue. I separated the tortoise from all the others and monitored the caloric intake. Fortunately the swelling resolved. Never gave any antibiotics.

 

[OurZeus]

@deadheadvet @exoticsdr

I think this has more to do with kidneys (renal failure) than it does with respiratory infection.

I know with all the swelling and fluid retention it sounds counter productive to soak him, however, if this were my tortoise I would be soaking him in warm water daily.

I think you need to get another opinion from a different vet. Hopefully our two vets can give you a direction to take.

Thank you very much. We do soak him daily. For at least 30 minutes. We are going to wait and see what the blood results say and then look for the second opinion.

 

[OurZeus]

Things to consider:
Hypoproteinemia from nutritional causes.
Heart Disease
Lymphatic obstruction (unknown cause)
I would bet it is not infectious based on the edema. Can be very difficult to diagnose. The damn shell gets in the way!
I would separate the tortoise from any others to monitor caloric intake. If it is not eating, it may need a feeding tube placed.

I had a very juvenile Radiated with a similar issue. I separated the tortoise from all the others and monitored the caloric intake. Fortunately the swelling resolved. Never gave any antibiotics.View attachment 155419

Thank you. It is only Zeus in the house. He is eating daily. We feed him once a day. We do mixture of weeds and flowers. Squash and carrots. Some cucumbers. Mazuri. We have feed him pellets by t-Rex company . The dry tortoise formula. Maybe the pellets are too much for him?

 

[AnimalLady]

Oh poor baby, I hope this gets cleared up quickly, please keep us posted on what the blood work reveals. *hugs* for your tort!

 

[OurZeus]

Oh poor baby, I hope this gets cleared up quickly, please keep us posted on what the blood work reveals. *hugs* for your tort!

Thank you. Yep waiting for that phone call. Very nerve wracking.

 

[Kori5]

I think you should cut the pellets for now and only feed him greens.

 

[OurZeus]

I think you should cut the pellets for now and only feed him greens.

Yes we are going to do that.

 

[Pearly]

Welcome from Central Texas and I'm so sorry to hear Zeus is not well. Baytril has lot of bad rep, for sure it is known to be cyto- and nephrotoxic. I'd be curious to know if the swelling maybe secondary to Baytril toxicity??? Blood work would be quite revealing, provided they run complete blood cell count and check metabolic panel. Stick around and please keep us posted

 

[OurZeus]

hello all! we receive the vet call. ok. bare with me because me and the husband are basket cases right now.
so the blood work showed still upper respiratory infection and liver failure. the vet said they are not sure what is causing the liver failure though. so the vet said to continue with the baytril because the blood work still showed infection. he wants us to make sure we give him the multi-vitamin. which we always do the multi-vitamin and calcium powder. we use rep-cal brand. i do have exo terra multi vitamin but zeus was picky and did not like it. i could always try it again if anyone knows if one is better than the other one. tomorrow i am picking up the blood work results which i can take a picture for people to see if they want. the vet is also giving us oral medicine to rule out if any parasites or anything is attacking the liver. we think we do the oral medicine for 5 days. not sure though since the vet we go to has an accent so i will know more information tomorrow when i pick up the medicine.
zeus we think peed in the cage today. not sure what color it was. he pooped in water. that had a good color and was solid. so i take that as positive sign.
we have his cage by steps. we live in phila pa and live in a row home. we think there is a draft coming down the steps. we might be thinking to move the cage. we dont have many spots but we may have one. we are thinking to move the cage out of the possible path of the draft. we are thinking of everything possibly to make sure we get him healthy.

 

[deadheadvet]

If it is liver failure, that would explain edema.
Would not have chosen Baytril. Tazicef would have been my choice. Not sure if any of the liver healing supplements could be of benefit. They work well in mammals but I don't know about reptiles.

 

[OurZeus]

If it is liver failure, that would explain edema.
Would not have chosen Baytril. Tazicef would have been my choice. Not sure if any of the liver healing supplements could be of benefit. They work well in mammals but I don't know about reptiles.

Should we suggest something else besides the baytril? Thus will be the 3 time on it since August.

 

[deadheadvet]

This looks to be of benefit but a feeding tube would likely be needed.
http://animalnecessity.com/zoo-aquariums/zoo-aquarium-liver-support.html

Alternative Treatment Options for Managing Hepatic Lipidosis in an Atlantic Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
In October 2010, artichoke and milk thistle, alpha lipoic acid, omega-3 fatty acid and lecithin (Animal Necessity, LLC, New York, NY) supplements were initiated. After one month of treatment, liver enzymes were noticeably reduced

 

[OurZeus]

This looks to be of benefit but a feeding tube would likely be needed.
http://animalnecessity.com/zoo-aquariums/zoo-aquarium-liver-support.html

Alternative Treatment Options for Managing Hepatic Lipidosis in an Atlantic Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
In October 2010, artichoke and milk thistle, alpha lipoic acid, omega-3 fatty acid and lecithin (Animal Necessity, LLC, New York, NY) supplements were initiated. After one month of treatment, liver enzymes were noticeably reduced

He is eating. He gets annoyed because of the swelling. When we get home from work we let him soak. Then we out him in his cage to eat. He goes right for the food. To us shows he us hungry.