Jimmy's check up

[Paige Lewis]

As some of you may be aware from previous threads, Jimmy has had some ongoing problems which have led from him having parasites. Well yesterday he was at the vets and the vet was very pleased with his progress and he is still steadily gaining weight so the vet did not want to put him on injections, he is carrying on with the marbocyl whilst we wait for the results from a culture he took yesterday to return next week so we have a better idea of the best antibiotic to use to treat the infection. The vet actually said he no longer uses baytrill on tortoises at all because of the reactions it can occasionally have and i think he said it was the marbocyl that is extremely similar but as it is water based it doesn't have the problems that baytrill does. He also wants to do an x-ray but he wants to do it at the other clinic he goes to as it is a new digital machine and so he said on such a small tortoise he can get a much more accurate picture but i am going away so we are doing that when i get back in 2 weeks. As i am sure many of you already know he was explaining that when tortoises get infections there body forms a fibrous wall around the infection to stop it spreading which is why the infections can be very persistent, this is also why it is important we find out more about the actual infection to treat it in the best possible way.

Sorry about the essay i just wanted to share my experience, he is an excellent exotics vet and he also keeps tortoises of his own, he even drew a picture of the tortoises anatomy to explain in more detail to me about the infection, he also commented on the importance of humidity for a growing tortoise like mine. So overall Jimmy is doing well, i just hope that they find something with the sample the vet did as he said he could not get a sample in the way he usually would as Jimmy is too small (the infection is in the lungs, there is no discharge to get a sample from) , so here is hoping it worked.

 

[Yvonne G]

You and Jimmy are so lucky to know a qualified tortoise vet. Thanks for giving us the name of a different drug to try. Good luck with Jimmy.

 

[Tom]

Great info. Sounds like you found a good one.

 

[Isa]

I am so glad your Little Jimmy is in good and qualified hands . Thanks for info on the antibiotics, I will write it down somewhere in case one day, my vet wants to give Baytrill to Hermy or Popcorn.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Paige Lewis]

I am always happy to share, it is sad my Jimmy has been ill but i hope that some good may come of me sharing my experiences. He certainly is a great vet, really friendly too, after being to see him for the first time with Jimmy i went home and bought a book he has written on Mediterranean tortoises, it is a good read. I know he also had his own show a few years back on tv where a camera crew followed him around whilst he is working (i did some sneaky reading up about him on the internet before i went to see him) and apparently he also comes highly recommended by andy highfield. I will keep you updated with the test results too.

 

[dmarcus]

Good to hear that Jimmy is doing good...

 

[Paige Lewis]

So Jimmy had another check up on wednesday, the test results were back and i am pretty sure that he said it was pseudomonas bacteria that is causing the infection which he said was a very common bacteria causing respiratory infections in tortoises, the marbocyl Jimmy is on does work on this bacteria which was apparent anyway by Jimmy's massive improvement in activity over the last 2 weeks, he is basically back to normal but as the clicking still exists he is on the medicine for another month at which point i have to go back to the vets. It has taken a long time for improvement and i am glad we got onto the topic of humidity as i explained my humid hide which is a little plastic tub with a wet sponge attached to the top of it and the vet said that unless i could properly sterilise it to get a new hide, this is because he said this could possibly be the reason why he is taking so long to recover, he said that this bacteria loves humid places and that the sponge could be covered in the bacteria and therefore be reinfecting Jimmy, i actually could attach a new sponge and clean the hide but it was getting to small for him anyway so i decided to bin it and get a new one. So overall Jimmy is great, so so active and steadily gaining weight, hopefully after another month of the medicine and having got rid of the hide he will be totally out of the woods.

 

[Isa]

I am so glad Jimmy is feeling great . I did not know the bacteria could go in the sponge! Thanks for letting us know... Did he tell you how to Sterilize it? Like with hot water...
You are very lucky to have very good vet and your little Jimmy is very lucky to have a mom that takes good care of him .