URI

markouki

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The ceftazidime is routinely given every 72 hours as you mentioned, but if the infection is severe, then giving it every 48 hours is recommended. I would recommend treating the tortoise with 4-5 doses if given every 72 hours or 5-6 doses if given every 48 hours. Record on which side the injections are given each time and alternate sides to minimize trauma to the injection sites.

I don't know exactly how big your tortoises are, nor where the vet injected the medication (should be given in the "armpit" area of the front leg), but I would normally give the whole .2 ml as one injection to my tortoises unless they were extremely tiny (think hatchling Western Hermann's). Did the vet use a 1 cc tuberculin syringe?

Bleeding from the injection sites should be pretty minimal or non-existent. Where did the vet inject the tortoise(s)?

Thank you so much for the reply. My torts are 97 grams & a 70 grams Greek torts.

The vet did use a 1 cc tuberculin. The big tort was given 0.21 ml and the smaller one got 0.15 ml.
The vet gave each torts the injection on two portions.. one half (of the 0.21 for example) in each arm. He didn’t give it in the armpit, he gave it in the arm. He said he wasn’t comfortable giving the whole 0.21 at once. So he split that in two portions one in each arm. Only the big guy bled (from both arms but not the little one)
The vet gave me the syringes of next treatments already filled and asked me to keep them in freezer. According to him this is ideal, as if the medicine is stored in the fridge it should be used within 48 hours. But because we struggled to get this exact medication.. he was able to get 1 vial only of 1 gr and he diluted it in a 100 ml saline. Do you think he’s wrong about freezing the injection?

I’m sorry I ask a lot of questions but I really trust your expertise & judgment much more than the vet m seeing.
Thanks again
 

Meesh

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BRUNSWICK
Thank you so much for the reply. My torts are 97 grams & a 70 grams Greek torts.

The vet did use a 1 cc tuberculin. The big tort was given 0.21 ml and the smaller one got 0.15 ml.
The vet gave each torts the injection on two portions.. one half (of the 0.21 for example) in each arm. He didn’t give it in the armpit, he gave it in the arm. He said he wasn’t comfortable giving the whole 0.21 at once. So he split that in two portions one in each arm. Only the big guy bled (from both arms but not the little one)
The vet gave me the syringes of next treatments already filled and asked me to keep them in freezer. According to him this is ideal, as if the medicine is stored in the fridge it should be used within 48 hours. But because we struggled to get this exact medication.. he was able to get 1 vial only of 1 gr and he diluted it in a 100 ml saline. Do you think he’s wrong about freezing the injection?

I’m sorry I ask a lot of questions but I really trust your expertise & judgment much more than the vet m seeing.
Thanks again
Has the vet given an x-ray? One of my female hermanns had the same symptoms but it wasnt a uri at all. When he did an x-ray to check for pneumonia he found a large bladder stone. Her symptoms were Congestion, lethargy, not lifting her back legs to walk, opening her mouth to breath bc she was congested. Unfortunately, I allowed the vet to inject her with antibiotics before we did the x-ray & an hour after the antibiotics she passed away. I'm not saying yours do not have a uri. Just telling you my story in hopes it may help someone so they dont have to lose their animal like i did. Goodluck I hope they feel better asap!
 

zovick

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Thank you so much for the reply. My torts are 97 grams & a 70 grams Greek torts.

The vet did use a 1 cc tuberculin. The big tort was given 0.21 ml and the smaller one got 0.15 ml.
The vet gave each torts the injection on two portions.. one half (of the 0.21 for example) in each arm. He didn’t give it in the armpit, he gave it in the arm. He said he wasn’t comfortable giving the whole 0.21 at once. So he split that in two portions one in each arm. Only the big guy bled (from both arms but not the little one)
The vet gave me the syringes of next treatments already filled and asked me to keep them in freezer. According to him this is ideal, as if the medicine is stored in the fridge it should be used within 48 hours. But because we struggled to get this exact medication.. he was able to get 1 vial only of 1 gr and he diluted it in a 100 ml saline. Do you think he’s wrong about freezing the injection?

I’m sorry I ask a lot of questions but I really trust your expertise & judgment much more than the vet m seeing.
Thanks again
Yes, the ceftazidime lasts longer if frozen than if refrigerated. Did he give you the vial of medication or did he dispense it in syringes for you? If the syringes are very full, when you freeze them, the water expands and pushes the plungers out of the syringes. Then when you thaw them, the liquid leaks out even before you can get the plungers back in. If you freeze it in syringes, you should only fill them half full or even less to prevent that problem.

Try to give the injections right where the front leg meets the plastron (undershell). There is a muscle there right under the surface of the skin in the armpit. You only have to put the needle in about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch to give an IM injection there. IE, just barely go through the skin. I would also give all of it on one side, then for the next dose, give it on the opposite side.

Good luck!
 

markouki

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Yes, the ceftazidime lasts longer if frozen than if refrigerated. Did he give you the vial of medication or did he dispense it in syringes for you? If the syringes are very full, when you freeze them, the water expands and pushes the plungers out of the syringes. Then when you thaw them, the liquid leaks out even before you can get the plungers back in. If you freeze it in syringes, you should only fill them half full or even less to prevent that problem.

Try to give the injections right where the front leg meets the plastron (undershell). There is a muscle there right under the surface of the skin in the armpit. You only have to put the needle in about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch to give an IM injection there. IE, just barely go through the skin. I would also give all of it on one side, then for the next dose, give it on the opposite side.

Good luck!
Thank you. The syringes are not full. They are barely half.. he also gave me what’s left of the 100 ml bag to freeze (about 850 ml or so in it)

I’ll ask him to inject as you instructed.

Thanks for everything!
 

markouki

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Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
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Has the vet given an x-ray? One of my female hermanns had the same symptoms but it wasnt a uri at all. When he did an x-ray to check for pneumonia he found a large bladder stone. Her symptoms were Congestion, lethargy, not lifting her back legs to walk, opening her mouth to breath bc she was congested. Unfortunately, I allowed the vet to inject her with antibiotics before we did the x-ray & an hour after the antibiotics she passed away. I'm not saying yours do not have a uri. Just telling you my story in hopes it may help someone so they dont have to lose their animal like i did. Goodluck I hope they feel better asap!
I hear you.. mine have a runny nose where you could physically see. I tried the eye drops for 10 days there was some improvement (no more mouth opening) but you could still physically see the cold on the nostrils. That’s why we went with the injection.
 

Meesh

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I hear you.. mine have a runny nose where you could physically see. I tried the eye drops for 10 days there was some improvement (no more mouth opening) but you could still physically see the cold on the nostrils. That’s why we went with the injection.
& I didnt mean to sound insensitive, I.k you lost one of your turtles as well, so sorry for that, I.k how rough it is. Hope those guys get better asap. Its such a helpless feeling when they're sick.
 

zovick

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Thank you. The syringes are not full. They are barely half.. he also gave me what’s left of the 100 ml bag to freeze (about 850 ml or so in it)

I’ll ask him to inject as you instructed.

Thanks for everything!
I'm sure he will love that.

Be that as it may, I was taught how to inject antibiotics by two very well-known and highly experienced vets (the head vet from the Bronx Zoo and the same from the New England Aquarium) who have treated numerous turtles and tortoises for many years, and that is what I was taught to do.
 

markouki

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I'm sure he will love that.

Be that as it may, I was taught how to inject antibiotics by two very well-known and highly experienced vets (the head vet from the Bronx Zoo and the same from the New England Aquarium) who have treated numerous turtles and tortoises for many years, and that is what I was taught to do.

That’s great. Do you by any chance have a link to a tutorial video that shows how to inject that way?

I have been injecting myself and for some reasons with the bigger tort, the injection seems to leak out toward the end of the injection or shortly after. (I’m putting my finger to seal it for few seconds and of course the needle is inserted deep enough).
with the little tort, I don’t seem to see a bubble like under the skin anymore (you know when you inject and the liquid accumulate in one spot)..

I’m afraid I’m doing it incorrectly for both, and that they are not benefiting from the meds. Especially that the small one is not getting a lot better even though she already had 3 doses (every 72 hours) I could still see the cold on her nostrils.

I will start injecting her every 48 hours instead to see if that would make her better. She’s eating, no mouth opening, but occasionally squeaking and sneezing.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
I salute you and your expertise ?
 

markouki

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& I didnt mean to sound insensitive, I.k you lost one of your turtles as well, so sorry for that, I.k how rough it is. Hope those guys get better asap. Its such a helpless feeling when they're sick.
Thank you Meesh.
So true
I feel helpless :-(
 

zovick

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10 Year Member!
Joined
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Messages
3,387
That’s great. Do you by any chance have a link to a tutorial video that shows how to inject that way?

I have been injecting myself and for some reasons with the bigger tort, the injection seems to leak out toward the end of the injection or shortly after. (I’m putting my finger to seal it for few seconds and of course the needle is inserted deep enough).
with the little tort, I don’t seem to see a bubble like under the skin anymore (you know when you inject and the liquid accumulate in one spot)..

I’m afraid I’m doing it incorrectly for both, and that they are not benefiting from the meds. Especially that the small one is not getting a lot better even though she already had 3 doses (every 72 hours) I could still see the cold on her nostrils.

I will start injecting her every 48 hours instead to see if that would make her better. She’s eating, no mouth opening, but occasionally squeaking and sneezing.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.
I salute you and your expertise ?
Here is one video which should help. The injection is not in exactly the same place as what I described, but should work for you: https://www.google.com/search?q=inj...e&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_nbF6YfWrO9OrwbkPyLGm-A434

Yes, try doing the injections every 48 hours if the tortoise hasn't improved yet.

Good luck.
 

Meesh

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Location (City and/or State)
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Are they still really sick? If they aren't showing any improvement soon I'd take em back to the vet for x-rays. Their uri may have turned into pneumonia or have some secondary infection going on. X-ray will also rule out stones and other issues you can't diagnose without it. I've been praying for these lil guys to feel better!
 

markouki

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Hamilton
Are they still really sick? If they aren't showing any improvement soon I'd take em back to the vet for x-rays. Their uri may have turned into pneumonia or have some secondary infection going on. X-ray will also rule out stones and other issues you can't diagnose without it. I've been praying for these lil guys to feel better!
They are getting better slowly
Thank you :)
 

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