Hi all,
My name is Jamie. I'm 34 years old and I've been a long time lurker of this forum. I hate that this is the first post I'm putting on here, but I need some guidance (or perhaps comfort) about a situation I'm facing with my 38+ year old eastern box turtle, Daget. She's been my companion for 29 years and recently she was struck with illness. Before I proceed, I should note that I'm already working with an exotic vet to help her and am looking for additional insight as I await some of her results...
Two weeks ago she surprised me with an egg. In all of our 29 years together, she's only laid eggs probably 5 or 6 times. The next day, she laid another egg. Usually when this has happened in the past, she'd rest for a bit and then return to her peachy, energetic, sassy self. This time it was different. She is extremely lethargic and will not eat or drink (unless I'm soaking her). I got her to an emergency ER vet (who claimed that had an exotic vet onsite, though I never met her) on July 18th and she was handled horribly. I wasn't able to be with her when they examined her, but she was cold when they came back with her and she started opening her mouth more to breath (not fully, but lowered her lower jaw enough to know it was not normal behavior). They claimed to check for additional eggs, but did not find any. They also gave me a prescription for Ceftazidime with no context as to the purpose of this antibiotic (after claiming she looked great otherwise). Obviously I was peeved about the situation and heartbroken that she seemed worse off than before. I suspected a potential respiratory infection and went seeking for another vet.
On Wednesday I was finally able to find an exotic vet that I could meet in person. She was amazing to work with and she handled Daget really well. X-rays showed no signs of egg binding or pneumonia. She said her mouth looked pink and healthy, eliminating the possibility of a respiratory infection for her. We're waiting on blood work to seek out any deficiencies / systemic infrections in the meantime and she believes I should continue giving Daget the antibiotic
Despite pneumonia and RI being removed from the vets suspicions, I'm still worried that it could be a possibility. She continues not to eat / drink and she continues to lower her lower jaw a bit. I noticed when I soaked her this morning (it's the only way I can get her to get some water in her system), she appeared to have drool under her chin.
Daget means the world to me and I want to do everything in my power to help her while we try to figure out what's going on. I'm wondering if anyone here has run into a similar situation with their companions in the past. Everything I've researched always points back to a respiratory infection. If anyone has had similar experiences or could offer any guidance / advice, I'd be beyond appreciated. I trust the vet but it's hard to see her in this state. Right now my only hope is that the Ceftazidime will help her with whatever she's dealing with. She's on her second shot out of seven (given every 3 days) but I haven't seen much improvement yet. She also makes it impossible to give her those shots, so I'm hoping it's getting into her system properly. Anyways sorry for the essay, writing this out helps me too. It's been a very stressful / emotional week.
My name is Jamie. I'm 34 years old and I've been a long time lurker of this forum. I hate that this is the first post I'm putting on here, but I need some guidance (or perhaps comfort) about a situation I'm facing with my 38+ year old eastern box turtle, Daget. She's been my companion for 29 years and recently she was struck with illness. Before I proceed, I should note that I'm already working with an exotic vet to help her and am looking for additional insight as I await some of her results...
Two weeks ago she surprised me with an egg. In all of our 29 years together, she's only laid eggs probably 5 or 6 times. The next day, she laid another egg. Usually when this has happened in the past, she'd rest for a bit and then return to her peachy, energetic, sassy self. This time it was different. She is extremely lethargic and will not eat or drink (unless I'm soaking her). I got her to an emergency ER vet (who claimed that had an exotic vet onsite, though I never met her) on July 18th and she was handled horribly. I wasn't able to be with her when they examined her, but she was cold when they came back with her and she started opening her mouth more to breath (not fully, but lowered her lower jaw enough to know it was not normal behavior). They claimed to check for additional eggs, but did not find any. They also gave me a prescription for Ceftazidime with no context as to the purpose of this antibiotic (after claiming she looked great otherwise). Obviously I was peeved about the situation and heartbroken that she seemed worse off than before. I suspected a potential respiratory infection and went seeking for another vet.
On Wednesday I was finally able to find an exotic vet that I could meet in person. She was amazing to work with and she handled Daget really well. X-rays showed no signs of egg binding or pneumonia. She said her mouth looked pink and healthy, eliminating the possibility of a respiratory infection for her. We're waiting on blood work to seek out any deficiencies / systemic infrections in the meantime and she believes I should continue giving Daget the antibiotic
Despite pneumonia and RI being removed from the vets suspicions, I'm still worried that it could be a possibility. She continues not to eat / drink and she continues to lower her lower jaw a bit. I noticed when I soaked her this morning (it's the only way I can get her to get some water in her system), she appeared to have drool under her chin.
Daget means the world to me and I want to do everything in my power to help her while we try to figure out what's going on. I'm wondering if anyone here has run into a similar situation with their companions in the past. Everything I've researched always points back to a respiratory infection. If anyone has had similar experiences or could offer any guidance / advice, I'd be beyond appreciated. I trust the vet but it's hard to see her in this state. Right now my only hope is that the Ceftazidime will help her with whatever she's dealing with. She's on her second shot out of seven (given every 3 days) but I haven't seen much improvement yet. She also makes it impossible to give her those shots, so I'm hoping it's getting into her system properly. Anyways sorry for the essay, writing this out helps me too. It's been a very stressful / emotional week.