Two Antibiotics?

peridot

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Long story short: My tortoise was suffering from constipation and had a feeding tube inserted when he stopped eating. During one of the first feedings he aspirated and got pneumonia.

The vet prescribed Baytril and Fortaz to be taken together. Is that common to have two antibiotics at once? And is it safe?
 

ZEROPILOT

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I wouldn't want to second guess your veterinarian.
But it sounds like a "shotgun" approach to treating an ailment and guessing what it might be.
I feel uncomfortable with it.
Maybe I'm alone.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceftazidime Fortaz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrofloxacin Baytril

They do slightly different things, so yeah shotgun as @ZEROPILOT suggests. But not knowing what specific bacteria may be in the lungs it would seem appropriate in this case.

I would make sure to keep your tortoise really well hydrated. When these drug circulate in the body, the body actively tries to clear them out. That means they will be taken to the kidneys and liver. Keeping the tortoise well hydrated reduces the burden on the kidneys from alot of drug being cleared at one time.
 

peridot

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceftazidime Fortaz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrofloxacin Baytril

They do slightly different things, so yeah shotgun as @ZEROPILOT suggests. But not knowing what specific bacteria may be in the lungs it would seem appropriate in this case.

I would make sure to keep your tortoise really well hydrated. When these drug circulate in the body, the body actively tries to clear them out. That means they will be taken to the kidneys and liver. Keeping the tortoise well hydrated reduces the burden on the kidneys from alot of drug being cleared at one time.

Should the vet be able to figure out which bacteria is in the lungs? What do I need to ask for if I contact them?
 

mark1

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i would heed the make sure to keep the animal hydrated advice ........... i have given a sick turtle ceftazidime and amikacin at the same time , along with sub q fluids ........... how long had the tortoise not eaten before the feeding tube was put in ? they'd need to get some of the bacteria that's in his lungs to be relatively sure what it is , not that easy on a tortoise , i'd guess he'd need sedated or anesthetized ....... how do you know he aspirated food ? did the constipation clear up prior to the feeding tube ?
 

peridot

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i would heed the make sure to keep the animal hydrated advice ........... i have given a sick turtle ceftazidime and amikacin at the same time , along with sub q fluids ........... how long had the tortoise not eaten before the feeding tube was put in ? they'd need to get some of the bacteria that's in his lungs to be relatively sure what it is , not that easy on a tortoise , i'd guess he'd need sedated or anesthetized ....... how do you know he aspirated food ? did the constipation clear up prior to the feeding tube ?

Did you have luck with ceftazidime and amikacin?

We saw it come out his nose and he started gasping the next day. The doctor did a CT Scan and could see pneumonia in his lungs. And we didn’t clear up the constipation. That was the main reason for the feeding tube, to get medicine in him.
 

mark1

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Did you have luck with ceftazidime and amikacin?

yes , i still have the turtle today


We saw it come out his nose and he started gasping the next day. The doctor did a CT Scan and could see pneumonia in his lungs. And we didn’t clear up the constipation. That was the main reason for the feeding tube, to get medicine in him.

did the constipation clear up since ? how long since he ate on his own ? what did he aspirate ?
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Shotgun prescription is done a great deal of the time, in animals and humans. It is not so random as it sounds like it might be. It can be considered an academic interest to isolate the disease causing organism, in some cases the initial diagnosis might be improved upon knowing which specific pathogen is causing the problem. Many times it does not.

Treating reptiles is still to a great extent a 'poke in the dark' with drug selection, dosage, and administration borrowed from avian (commercial poultry) and other drug uses.

Recently a friend went through an issue with IBD and in retrospect, it was all guess work as to how to choose a drug, administer the drug, and what dose and frequency were to be used. More guesswork was associated with proper biosecurity and enclosure sanitation. Much like a current human health concern, in the absence of knowledge many things are "believed" to be correct.
 

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