URGENT! Respiratory infection?

Maggie3fan

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I don’t want you use the baytril but it’s the only thing they want to prescribe me. I also don’t want to question their authority as they’re the only vet who is actually willing to help me out in my area.
Frankly, I am stunned that a supposed experienced veterinarian would give YOU injectable drugs without an exam on the animal. I am also stunned that they would give injectable drugs on such a small baby. I have way experience with injections and I'll gaurentee you that I'd sure think 3 times about sticking a needle into that baby. Also, if he had been eating, at times they blow food bubbles, sorta like snot bubbles. Don't be to excited about this Vet. Giving injectables so randomly is just not protocol. Hey @Yvonne G I know about the Vet that you use, but isn't there one around for this guy in Exeter?
 

Tom

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I don’t want you use the baytril but it’s the only thing they want to prescribe me. I also don’t want to question their authority as they’re the only vet who is actually willing to help me out in my area.
Question it! YOU are the paying customer and they are using meds that were outdated 20 years ago. They don't know what they are doing and they are doing harm to your tortoise. Don't let them.
 
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I don’t want you use the baytril but it’s the only thing they want to prescribe me. I also don’t want to question their authority as they’re the only vet who is actually willing to help me out in my area.
Don't always trust the vet. The vet who worked with louie encouraged forced feeding, which I look back on and realize was a stupid mistake to listen to. Vets are like Doctors for humans. Some doctors are really bad and will give you bad advice. I feel that you should try to find a vet farther out. I know it's a pain to drive far out to a vet place, but I feel it would be better than taking bad advice from a bad vet.
 

KarenSoCal

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I have tobramycin drops for Bonnie's eye. Can those also be used in nose?

Are your drops the same as the bottle pictured in post # 4? Or plain tobramycin without the dexamethasone?
Either way, that's the antibiotic that zovick recommends, so it's fine to use in her nose. The drops in #4 have a steroid added that helps inflammation, so I don't know if plain tobra will be as effective.

I did google the one in post 4. It did say that after long term use (in the eyes) it actually could cause infection, so I wouldn't use it longer than 10 days. How long were you told to use your drops?
 

Mikayla777

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Hello! I have a four-month-old baby male Hermann. A couple of days ago, we noticed that he had bubbles coming out of one of his nostrils (this is not occurring constantly). He does not have any mucus. Occasionally, he also opens his mouth and lunges his neck forward. Furthermore, he sometimes makes a squeaking noise while quickly retracting his head, and he immediately follows up by wiping his face with his front leg. He is acting completely normal. He eats a lot, poops/pees, walks around his enclosure, and burrows. He certainly does not seem to be lethargic (he sprints when he sees food).

Nevertheless, I tried to contact many vets in my area and they either (1) do not take in exotics or (2) have their next openings in a week. However, one vet that I called offered to give me an antibiotic injection (Baytril/enrofloxacin) without doing an exam on my tort. I picked up the injections today and they explained how to do them. I am worried to give him this antibiotic as he did not receive an exam and I am worried about hurting him since he is so small (30 grams).

What should I do? If he does indeed have a respiratory infection, I do not want to wait until its too late with the antibiotic. I am currently keeping his heat lamp on 24/7 and keeping his humidity low which is what the vet suggested. I scheduled an appointment for 11 days from now. Should I wait for the appointment? Should I keep monitoring his condition and start injecting him if he gets worse?
My baby sulcata had similar symptoms around same time. I went to a vet. They wanted to inject my lil baby with sone sort of antibiotic, generic baytril, but after reading some posts here where the antibiotic had some bad side effects and even was accused of killing a couple of tortoises, i personally decided against it.

Im more of a natural type person (since Ive personally become sick from an approved fda device,) and I didnt want to risk possibly hurting my lil baby sulcata even worse, I opted to go the natural route and thank God, it worked! I used REPTAID (can buy on amazon) and gave her daily baths in 1/2 water, 1/2 pedialyte. These 2things did the trick for me.

She eventually stopped doing the gasping neck stretch thing over the next few mnths. She very rarely does it now, and bubbles are pretty much gone.

I have sulcata so I had to keep her humid, but perhaps hermans different.

Oh ya, also I made all parts of cage were always 80 or above and especially at night. Hope this helps!
 
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shawnateerow

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Are your drops the same as the bottle pictured in post # 4? Or plain tobramycin without the dexamethasone?
Either way, that's the antibiotic that zovick recommends, so it's fine to use in her nose. The drops in #4 have a steroid added that helps inflammation, so I don't know if plain tobra will be as effective.

I did google the one in post 4. It did say that after long term use (in the eyes) it actually could cause infection, so I wouldn't use it longer than 10 days. How long were you told to use your drops?

It has been 2 or 3 weeks..he told me to keep using but I stopped. I am trying to use the extra for coopas runny nose
 

linusthetort

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Thank you all for your input. If this ever happens again I will be sure to press for an alternative to Baytril. Unfortunately, I have to finish the course of these antibiotics in order to prevent the microevolution of the bacteria (which would be quite bad).
 

fernando7kose

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Obtain and use the Neo-Poly-Dex eye drops I recommended. They will flush out the nostrils plus reduce inflammation and kill bacteria.
Hello, and welcome to the forum! I'm sorry your baby has the sniffles.

If I'm understanding correctly, one time he had clear discharge from his nose. And he occasionally opens his mouth, pulls his head in, and wipes his face.

I don't think that those signs warrant antibiotics yet. Baytril is a harsh drug. It is very painful for the tortoise, and it can cause tissue around the injection site to die. Where on the tort did the vet tell you to inject?

He may be fighting off an RI though, so we'll give him a little help.

First, whatever temp you keep him at, raise it 5°F. As in we keep babies' ambient and night temp no lower than 80°F (I'm going to let you do the converting). So we would raise it to 85°F. You should do the same.

I don't know why he said to lower the humidity, unless he's afraid the baby will be cold. Personally, I would raise the temps as above, and leave the humidity at 80%, if that's where you normally keep it.

There are some eye drops that would be great to use if you can get them. Maybe the vet that gave you the Baytril would give you a bottle. You put 1 drop in each eye, and one drop in each nostril, two times daily for 7-10 days. This is what you want...
View attachment 307534
It says for dogs, but it is what you want. If he gets worse while you are keeping him warm and using the drops, either start the Baytril or get a vet appt and tell the vet you want Fortaz.

If this regimen works, leave the heat up for two weeks after the eye drop treatment is finished.

I'm going to tag some help, just to double check what I've told you. He is an expert on these things.
@zovick
Hi all, I know this is an old thread.
My tort is behaving just like the one described in this thread & I'm looking for ways to not give baytril to my tort.

I'm having trouble finding the exact eye drops, would any of these work just fine?
Thank you for your help.

cendo-polydex-5_x_0_6_ml_minidose_1-41.jpgcendo-xitrol-1.jpgimages (7).jpeg
 

zovick

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Hi all, I know this is an old thread.
My tort is behaving just like the one described in this thread & I'm looking for ways to not give baytril to my tort.

I'm having trouble finding the exact eye drops, would any of these work just fine?
Thank you for your help.

View attachment 352018View attachment 352019View attachment 352017
Yes, all of those in the pictures you posted have the same 3 ingredients as the drops which I recommended.

If the drops don't clear it up and you need to inject the tortoise as well, try to use ceftazidime instead of Baytril if at all possible.
 

fernando7kose

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Yes, all of those in the pictures you posted have the same 3 ingredients as the drops which I recommended.

If the drops don't clear it up and you need to inject the tortoise as well, try to use ceftazidime instead of Baytril if at all possible.
Thank you for writing back. Out of those 3, which one would you recommend? I think there is a slight difference in ingredients.

I have bumped up the temp in his enclosure & I'm planning to give him direct sunlight for one hour every morning.

I have been prescribed baytril to be given orally, I have not bought it though. Would this be better for the tort instead of injecting it?
If it's not better for the tort, I will look for ceftazidime.

Lastly, would you mind checking my thread out? Please give me any suggestion, thank you so much!
Here is the link : https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/greetings-from-semarang-indonesia.201724/
 

zovick

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Thank you for writing back. Out of those 3, which one would you recommend? I think there is a slight difference in ingredients.

I have bumped up the temp in his enclosure & I'm planning to give him direct sunlight for one hour every morning.

I have been prescribed baytril to be given orally, I have not bought it though. Would this be better for the tort instead of injecting it?
If it's not better for the tort, I will look for ceftazidime.

Lastly, would you mind checking my thread out? Please give me any suggestion, thank you so much!
Here is the link : https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/greetings-from-semarang-indonesia.201724/
I already commented on your enclosure in a different thread you posted on 17 October 2022.

The first two medications in your photo are a bit stronger than the last one and those two are the same strength, so I could get either one of the first two.

Oral Baytril is all right to give, it is the injectable type which causes severe pain and tissue damage. However, giving a tortoise oral medication is very inexact because you cannot really control the dosage very well. The good thing is that it is unlikely that you will overdose the tortoise with oral Baytril.
 

fernando7kose

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I already commented on your enclosure in a different thread you posted on 17 October 2022.

The first two medications in your photo are a bit stronger than the last one and those two are the same strength, so I could get either one of the first two.

Oral Baytril is all right to give, it is the injectable type which causes severe pain and tissue damage. However, giving a tortoise oral medication is very inexact because you cannot really control the dosage very well. The good thing is that it is unlikely that you will overdose the tortoise with oral Baytril.
Thank you so much for the explanation!
Just want to make sure about the dose of the drop, would it be safe if I follow this instruction?
"You put 1 drop in each eye, and one drop in each nostril, two times daily for 7-10 days."

I also posted the x-ray result & video of my star's clicking sound while breathing in the thread that I linked above. If you don't mind, would you please check it out? Thank you so much for the earlier comment about the enclosure too 😀.
 

zovick

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Thank you so much for the explanation!
Just want to make sure about the dose of the drop, would it be safe if I follow this instruction?
"You put 1 drop in each eye, and one drop in each nostril, two times daily for 7-10 days."

I also posted the x-ray result & video of my star's clicking sound while breathing in the thread that I linked above. If you don't mind, would you please check it out? Thank you so much for the earlier comment about the enclosure too 😀.
Yes, the dose is correct.

The tortoise has a respiratory infection. The combination of the drops and whatever amount of Baytril you can get into it should help. If not, get injectable ceftazidime and use that.
 

fernando7kose

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Yes, the dose is correct.

The tortoise has a respiratory infection. The combination of the drops and whatever amount of Baytril you can get into it should help. If not, get injectable ceftazidime and use that.
Thank you so much, I will do as advised. Hopefully the tort will be better soon.
 
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