Aria Nu Jam
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2016
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Hello everyone. My tortoise "Daisy" has an eye problem that a vet has not been able to solve. Please view the pictures.
The problem has stayed relatively unchanged for the past 2-2.5 months. During this period Daisy seems for the most part unaffected. No eating problem and she is actively exercising. She is not hiding excessively and does not act lethargic. She walks tall on all four legs. The Only unusual behavior I've noticed is more eye rubbing then normal, but given the problem at hand that seems to be expected.
I have 3 other Redfoot tortoise's a few years younger then Daisy and everyone lives together in the same enclosure. The other three have no health issues. No social issues in the group.
Daisy is approx. 6 years old.
I live about 2 hours south of Tampa Florida.
They have a 4'x8' outside Summer enclosure and an Indoor Winter enclosure that's 3.5'x 7'. Summer is Florida hot with excessive high humidity. The inside enclosure is kept about 80-87 F with about 85% humidity. Two bottom heating locations, ceramic heater with a Zoo Med Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb. Substrate is Zoo Med Forest Floor Bedding. The outside enclosure understandably has more sand and dirt.
They went inside mid November.
They get feed M,W,F with a diet of Fruit, Vegetables and Mazuri as described below. On Sunday they get only Hibiscus flowers. They get one fruit and one vegetable and Mazuri each of the three days. With a new fruit and vegetable each week. Diet: Fruit - Mostly Papaya, Pineapple, Mango and also strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cantaloupe. Veg - Mostly turnip greens and Hibiscus leaves, dandelions and some Collard greens. The outside enclosure is planted with Carolina Pet Supplies Grazing Tortoise Seed Mix. Every once in a while they will get Cactus pads. M,W,F I mix in 1/4 cup of Mazrui tortoise pellets that have been mixed with water to make into a moist crumby consistency. To me it looks like cooked ground beef. The Mazrui has been mixed with Rep-Cal Herptivite and Calcium. Calcium is with or w/o D3 depending on if they are inside or outside.
They have clean water in a clay pot dish that gets dumped and filled with fresh water every day.
Daisy went to the Vet on 10/12, 11/2 and 11/16. Medications prescribed and administered are as follows.
10/12 - Terramycin ointment. I put this in both eyes 2 times a day for 4 weeks
10/12 - Azithromycin Suspension - .3cc mixed into her food every other day for 3 weeks
11/2 - At Vet they gave her an injection of Ceftazidime .3cc in the front leg muscle. I then gave her 3 more injections at home every 3 days alternating injection site in front leg muscle.
11/16 - Silvadene Cream 1% per gram. I gave this to her for almost 4 weeks 3 times a day.
The medications made no difference. The first 3 medications were for Bacterial infections and the last was for Fungal.
I stopped going to that vet. After all this time she still seems unaffected, except for the eye rubbing. I've relaxed a bit. When this all started I was freaking out. I will likely take her to another vet in January. But, before I do I thought I'd share this with everyone here and see if anyone’s can help. Ms Daisy's and I would appreciate any help.
Thanks in advance, Aria
The problem has stayed relatively unchanged for the past 2-2.5 months. During this period Daisy seems for the most part unaffected. No eating problem and she is actively exercising. She is not hiding excessively and does not act lethargic. She walks tall on all four legs. The Only unusual behavior I've noticed is more eye rubbing then normal, but given the problem at hand that seems to be expected.
I have 3 other Redfoot tortoise's a few years younger then Daisy and everyone lives together in the same enclosure. The other three have no health issues. No social issues in the group.
Daisy is approx. 6 years old.
I live about 2 hours south of Tampa Florida.
They have a 4'x8' outside Summer enclosure and an Indoor Winter enclosure that's 3.5'x 7'. Summer is Florida hot with excessive high humidity. The inside enclosure is kept about 80-87 F with about 85% humidity. Two bottom heating locations, ceramic heater with a Zoo Med Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb. Substrate is Zoo Med Forest Floor Bedding. The outside enclosure understandably has more sand and dirt.
They went inside mid November.
They get feed M,W,F with a diet of Fruit, Vegetables and Mazuri as described below. On Sunday they get only Hibiscus flowers. They get one fruit and one vegetable and Mazuri each of the three days. With a new fruit and vegetable each week. Diet: Fruit - Mostly Papaya, Pineapple, Mango and also strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cantaloupe. Veg - Mostly turnip greens and Hibiscus leaves, dandelions and some Collard greens. The outside enclosure is planted with Carolina Pet Supplies Grazing Tortoise Seed Mix. Every once in a while they will get Cactus pads. M,W,F I mix in 1/4 cup of Mazrui tortoise pellets that have been mixed with water to make into a moist crumby consistency. To me it looks like cooked ground beef. The Mazrui has been mixed with Rep-Cal Herptivite and Calcium. Calcium is with or w/o D3 depending on if they are inside or outside.
They have clean water in a clay pot dish that gets dumped and filled with fresh water every day.
Daisy went to the Vet on 10/12, 11/2 and 11/16. Medications prescribed and administered are as follows.
10/12 - Terramycin ointment. I put this in both eyes 2 times a day for 4 weeks
10/12 - Azithromycin Suspension - .3cc mixed into her food every other day for 3 weeks
11/2 - At Vet they gave her an injection of Ceftazidime .3cc in the front leg muscle. I then gave her 3 more injections at home every 3 days alternating injection site in front leg muscle.
11/16 - Silvadene Cream 1% per gram. I gave this to her for almost 4 weeks 3 times a day.
The medications made no difference. The first 3 medications were for Bacterial infections and the last was for Fungal.
I stopped going to that vet. After all this time she still seems unaffected, except for the eye rubbing. I've relaxed a bit. When this all started I was freaking out. I will likely take her to another vet in January. But, before I do I thought I'd share this with everyone here and see if anyone’s can help. Ms Daisy's and I would appreciate any help.
Thanks in advance, Aria
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