5 month old leopard tortoise, pneumonia, won't eat/take medicine

[michekmae]

My name's Michelle, and I have myself a baby leopard tortoise named Squirtle first time owner so if I'm doing anything wrong, please let me know!

So Squirtle has pneumonia (says the vet) from the previous owner. The previous owner also fed him lettuce so he has taken a liking to that, even though leopard tortoises should be eating grasses and hay (I live in Canada, so we currently have snow). The vet recommended that I switch his diet over to alfalfa hay since he is young and it's full of nutrients. Now my problem is that he won't eat anymore, which may be because of the medicine that I have to put on the food. I tried putting it on lettuce since he would eat it, despite the lack of nutrients. He ate before the vet (last Friday) and hasn't had food since Friday except a bite or two of dandelion greens today.

I bathe him 1-2 times a day in warm water for 5 minutes, and he drinks almost every time, if not, he drinks water from his little pond in his house.

The humidity is at about 40-50.

And the heat is at 80-82 during the day and 78-79 during nighttime. I have problems getting the heat above this; I have two lamps and one turns off when it gets (what it believes to be) "too hot".

If anyone has any tips, that would be greatly appreciated since I was recently at the vet and do not want to have to go over there again unless its absolutely necessary (which may be the case). I'm worried for the little guy!

 

[michekmae]

Also the vet recommended that i put a towel down, and put newspaper on top of it, and then scatter alfalfa hay as the substrate (He lives in a two by two area on my carpeted floor, and wood barricades the area). I did that but he would eat the alfalfa hay instead of his medicine and it's very hard to put the liquid medicine on the alfalfa hay.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Mickechekmah!

When you have a sick baby, a change in temp across the habitat isn't necessary. Make the whole habitat around 85F degrees. You need to soak for at least 20 minutes every day. I would add a half jar of Gerber strained carrots to the soaking water. Babies are pretty easy to get medicine into. You hold the baby in one hand then gently bear down on the lower jaw. He will open his mouth. You squirt the medicine in and hold him vertical, head up, for a minute. Chop up his food into tiny pieces. You can use just Spring Mix while he's sick. They eat that real well. You find it in the produce section with the packaged lettuces.

Baby tortoises won't eat hay.

It would be ok in your hospital tank to put down newspaper, with towel on top of it. Newspaper is too slick for baby's legs to get a grip and I wouldn't use that.

 

[michekmae]

Thank you so much! The vet told me I could not open his mouth, so naturally i believed her.. but I will definitely try that!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. To help keep the heat up cover 3/4 of his cage. Like emysemys has said, they, babies won't eat the hay. If you see he only wants to eat the lettuce, then chop the right foods up small, along with the lettuce and spritz with water. He will have to eat the good stuff to get the lettuce. Then start doing less and less of the lettuce. Also, check out the threads at the bottom of my post, by my signature. They are Toms, and they, even the sulcata ones, are one of the proper ways to house and raise a leopard. Keep him warm as emysemys said, no temp below 85 day and night.

 

[michekmae]

What types of things do you feed your leopard tortoises?

Thanks for the help! He is being stubborn with the medicine so I will have to keep trying!

 

[michekmae]

I can't open his mouth and this morning he made a .. What sounded like a farting noise twice and then his mouth was wide open, looked like he was in a lot of pain !! I'm so worried for him!!

 

[pam]

Welcome hows your tort doing?

 

[wellington]

Feed dark leafy greens. Kale, mustard greens, dandelion greens, endive, mulberry leaves, hibiscus. Check out the tortoisetable.org for more edible things. Also, I think you need to take the baby to the vets.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Did the vet give you a brown pill to feed called baytril?

 

[michekmae]

She gave me a liquid form of baytril to put it on his food and he won't eat his food because of it! I'm taking him to the vet again tonigh!

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

She gave me a liquid form of baytril to put it on his food and he won't eat his food because of it! I'm taking him to the vet again tonigh!

Oh good I was going to suggest you ask for the liquid because the pill is meat flavored because it is given to dogs. Good luck at the vet!!

 

[michekmae]

Thank you! The vet just cancelled but rescheduled for tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all the help guys, appreciate it and the welcoming

 

[Laura]

can you drip the meds in the corner of his mouth? drip in the nose? keep him warm...

 

[michekmae]

I tried but it wasn't doing anything I took him to the vet and now I have to give him needles; one every 3 days, 7 needles in total. And he ate some alfalfa hay today, he seems to like it, and it's filled with nutrients which is good but I also picked up a spring mix for him.