Runny nose

[Ickisrulz]

My leopard tortoise is 5 months old. He's had a runny nose for about 6 days now. I took him to the vet last week and was given Baytril to inject into him. He's now had 5 shots and I have one left to give him. However, he still has clear liquid coming out of his nose.

He really seems to be feeling alright and eats good.

Those of you that have dealt with this before...should it have cleared up by now? Of course I will call the vet tomorrow, but what has been your course of action when this happens? How many injections? What medication? How long of a treatment?

Thanks.

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Apologies, I've never had this problem before so I can't answer your questions, (someone else however undoubtedly will) but the first thing I'd recommend is to heighten the temp, if you're keeping your baby humid he needs to be toasty. What are the temps in the enclosure?

 

[Ickisrulz]

Apologies, I've never had this problem before so I can't answer your questions, (someone else however undoubtedly will) but the first thing I'd recommend is to heighten the temp, if you're keeping your baby humid he needs to be toasty. What are the temps in the enclosure?

During the day his basking spot is about 104. He spends lots of time there now. At night I have it up to about 85 with a CHE. He's on aspen bedding now to lower the humidity. His hid has about 50% humidity right now. He's actually in it right now.

 

[spikethebest]

do you take him outside?

 

[Ickisrulz]

do you take him outside?

I gave him a couple days off since the humidity here is so high. I figured to be dry is best until he clears up.. But, yes outside as much as possible.

 

[spikethebest]

where is here? what city are you in?

 

[Ickisrulz]

where is here? what city are you in?

San Antonio.

 

[spikethebest]

the liquid might be there for awhile, just make sure it doesnt turn yellowish at all. it might take some time to completely go away. as long as the tort is active, eating, pooping, and the eyes are clear, you should be good.

 

[Ickisrulz]

the liquid might be there for awhile, just make sure it doesnt turn yellowish at all. it might take some time to completely go away. as long as the tort is active, eating, pooping, and the eyes are clear, you should be good.

Are you suggesting he does not need antibiotics and never did?

 

[spikethebest]

no not at all, the antibiotics need some time to take full effect. no tortoise should ever have a runny nose, ever.

 

[Ickisrulz]

no not at all, the antibiotics need some time to take full effect. no tortoise should ever have a runny nose, ever.

Ok...that's what I thought. My original question was how long should he be treated and how long will it be before he gets better.

I wasn't thrilled with the vet I saw and will not be returning for future problems. But, if I just need to get some more Baytril and continue treatment I will go back this time...mainly to save money.

But if someone here really points out an error in treatment I'll have to go somewhere else now. Hence, my questions.

 

[spikethebest]

i hate most Vets, i rarely go. most have no idea how to treat or examine tortoises. but i think getting the antibotics was a great thing to do, and now just give it time, and keep him extra warm. but always allow him to cool off when he wants, and soak him regularly in luke warm water.

 

[Ickisrulz]

i hate most Vets, i rarely go. most have no idea how to treat or examine tortoises. but i think getting the antibotics was a great thing to do, and now just give it time, and keep him extra warm. but always allow him to cool off when he wants, and soak him regularly in luke warm water.

So should he get a refill on his antibiotics...or will what's in his system now carry him through?

 

[spikethebest]

see if it gets worse at all and decide, or play it safe and give some more. i probably would give a 2nd round.

 

[Yvonne G]

The usual regimen for Baytril is one injection every day for five days, and sometime they go one injection every other day for 10 days.

Since you're still seeing the runny nose, I'd start looking for something else to be causing it. Could he be allergic to the substrate? Dusty, dry substrate? Sometimes having the habitat too dry causes a runny nose.

At any rate...Baytril is a pretty harsh antibiotic and it stings like hell. The tortoises hate it. You don't want to go beyond the 5 injections. If he needs more at the end of that time frame, then you wait 2 weeks and start the 5 injections all over again.

 

[agiletorts]

How bad is the runny nose? You said that he's still eating so I wouldn't worry much about it. My leopard and star once had a mild runny nose, more like bubble, and it went away without any special treatment after a week or two. I just keep then hydrated and make sure that the temp is not cold.

 

[Ickisrulz]

The usual regimen for Baytril is one injection every day for five days, and sometime they go one injection every other day for 10 days.

Since you're still seeing the runny nose, I'd start looking for something else to be causing it. Could he be allergic to the substrate? Dusty, dry substrate? Sometimes having the habitat too dry causes a runny nose.

At any rate...Baytril is a pretty harsh antibiotic and it stings like hell. The tortoises hate it. You don't want to go beyond the 5 injections. If he needs more at the end of that time frame, then you wait 2 weeks and start the 5 injections all over again.

At first I had his substrate topsoil and coconumt mixture that was 50-60% humidity. That's when his runny nose started. Now his substrate in aspen and very dry. Still has a runny nose.

---

How bad is the runny nose? You said that he's still eating so I wouldn't worry much about it. My leopard and star once had a mild runny nose, more like bubble, and it went away without any special treatment after a week or two. I just keep then hydrated and make sure that the temp is not cold.

It's not too bad I guess. Clear liquid at times and I've seen a couple bubbles. I've been soaking him a couple times a day and keep lots of warmth available 24 hours a day.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

dry and dusty substrate oft times causes runny noses. I would make sure he is warm and kinda humid. You need to be careful with the humidity on Leo's. But you still need to get rid of the dust. I like to use Naxcel because it is not so harsh and doesn't sting.

 

[Ickisrulz]

Wow...the advice is all over the place here. No treatment, continue treatment, pause treatment. I'm really at a loss here.

I was thinking I'd see some improvement after 5 days of treatment...but this morning his nose is still runny.

Can tortoises get allergies? I know San Antonio does a number on us people!?

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Wow...the advice is all over the place here. No treatment, continue treatment, pause treatment. I'm really at a loss here.

I was thinking I'd see some improvement after 5 days of treatment...but this morning his nose is still runny.

If i was a vet who specialised in tortoises then I'd tell you what to do but I'm not and neither is everyone else so people are just offering advice from experience, lots of tortoises are different and will undoubtedly suffer different symptoms of ailments that will last for different periods of time. Find a vet who knows about tortoises, there's not really alot else you can do, you're temps sound good and your keeping him hydrated so...