Sick Hatchling Please Help

[turtlepiano]

Thank you

 

[mark1]

i think antibiotics save a lot of animals lives , i would call the vet with the concerns you came here with , tell them you want to make sure you didn't misunderstand the dosage ......or tell them some random person on the internet said it sounded like a large dose .......

 

[Kasia]

maybe the vet diluted it with saline .... as far as 2.27% , i'm pretty sure that's a hefty dose for a 24gram turtle ........... i think baytril is like 10mg/kg ...... could be why he looks better before the shot , and then seems to recover from the shot ..........not questioning your vet , but it's different than my experience , i've treated 25-30 gram hatchlings with fortaz , which i believe is double the dose of baytril , and the dose is literally a drop ......

If he got a ready made shot Vet probably did dilute it with saline. That is what mine Vet did for my 30 gram leo, I would give the last two left. Antibiotics take time to work. And high enough temperature. Ask the Vet if you have doubts. Sometimes 2 weeks of shots is not enough. Parasites can mirror URI, did you have his stool examined? Hope he will get better

 

[Markw84]

I have had to administer shots to small turtles. The "normal" medications had to be diluted to give enough volume to even inject. That is a common scenario to dilute in those cases. I'd be surprised if the vet has not done that.

 

[TammyJ]

If your vet is a good, recommended reptile vet, and you have confidence in him, then I would think that what he said was OK. Otherwise, who knows? In Jamaica, there are NO reptile vets, not one. I lost two snakes taking them to regular vets that had little or no experience with reptiles.

 

[turtlepiano]

The tortoise was better today, I gave him his last gerber carrot bath. His eyes have gotten better from these. I also added another plant to his area to increase humidity. I did decide to give him his shot. He has not moved since despite being extremely active all day. I feel like I made a mistake

 

[Kasia]

The tortoise was better today, I gave him his last gerber carrot bath. His eyes have gotten better from these. I also added another plant to his area to increase humidity. I did decide to give him his shot. He has not moved since despite being extremely active all day. I feel like I made a mistake

Baytril shots are very painfull but still to maintain proper concentration of an antibiotic in the blood stream they must be administered at given times. I have had the same situation and I have been heartbroken for 10 days straight when I gave stinging shots to my little shell. Overall they helped. Next time you can ask for a different less painful to inject antibiotic.

 

[TammyJ]

I am really hoping and watching here! We all are.

 

[turtlepiano]

Thanks everyone. He really hasn't moved or opened his eyes all day. Hoping for the best. The vet wants to reevaluate him tomorrow but we've already spent so much money. I'm not sure what a reevaluation would achieve at this point. We could at least get some fluid and nutrition in him.

 

[mark1]

I believe subq fluids have saved a few turtles I've had

 

[turtlepiano]

I feel like we've tried everything. His humidity is up, heat is up, soaking 30 minutes a day, 3 day carrot soak, the vet has given fluids and tube feedings. All of this and his eyes have not opened, he has not eaten. His new thing has been constant gasping for breath and laying in his water dish for hours. I think his kidneys are failing. We are going to bring him in to be put down so he no longer has to suffer. Thank you all for your input and support.

 

[mark1]

sorry to hear this , he got more done for him than most do .......... maybe other folks have had different experiences , but when i've seen injected antibiotics work there was always some indication of improvement at most a day after the second dose , if i didn't see anything i tried a different antibiotic , usually amikacin ........... my thoughts on treating 20 gram animals is the saying "less is more" definitely applies , good math skills , and good eyes also helps ........ hopefully you give it another try knowing what you know now ....starting with something healthy , and keeping it healthy is a lot easier than what you just did .......

 

[TammyJ]

Thank you for your caring efforts and your time for this precious creature.