Antibiotics for my baby Sulcata

[Kmouse64]

I have a 10 month old Sulcata tortoise. Just this past Sunday I noticed some bubbles coming from his nose, one at a time and a couple of days later I heard him making a clicking sound. I asked a vet online and I got advice on his habitat, including temperature and humidity plus some diet advice. I was told he probably had a respiratory infection and to watch him and get him to a vet. In the meanwhile I changed his substrate, got a stronger basking bulb and UVB light and added a ceramic heat emitter to keep the temperature in his enclosure above 80 at night. I saw some improvement in a couple of days, no more bubbles but I had made a vet appointment, so I took him. The vet took xrays and said she didn't see any pneumonia but she heard clicking sounds so she prescribed Tazicef (ceftazadime) and she gave him the first injection. She gave me 29 pre filled injections, one for each day for a whole month. Is this a normal course of treatment? Has anyone else had this for their tortoise before? I am so nervous about giving these injections. What if I don't get it all in or miss a dose? I need some advice please. Thank you.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I have a 10 month old Sulcata tortoise. Just this past Sunday I noticed some bubbles coming from his nose, one at a time and a couple of days later I heard him making a clicking sound. I asked a vet online and I got advice on his habitat, including temperature and humidity plus some diet advice. I was told he probably had a respiratory infection and to watch him and get him to a vet. In the meanwhile I changed his substrate, got a stronger basking bulb and UVB light and added a ceramic heat emitter to keep the temperature in his enclosure above 80 at night. I saw some improvement in a couple of days, no more bubbles but I had made a vet appointment, so I took him. The vet took xrays and said she didn't see any pneumonia but she heard clicking sounds so she prescribed Tazicef (ceftazadime) and she gave him the first injection. She gave me 29 pre filled injections, one for each day for a whole month. Is this a normal course of treatment? Has anyone else had this for their tortoise before? I am so nervous about giving these injections. What if I don't get it all in or miss a dose? I need some advice please. Thank you.

Since it was prescribed by a vet, we'll assume it's the correct medication and dosage.
It's important to administer it as prescribed and for as long as your vet suggested. It's critical to use the medication for a certain amount of time.
Injections are never fun. Or easy.
Some medication may also burn. And tortoises can put up a fuss.

 

[Tom]

I have a 10 month old Sulcata tortoise. Just this past Sunday I noticed some bubbles coming from his nose, one at a time and a couple of days later I heard him making a clicking sound. I asked a vet online and I got advice on his habitat, including temperature and humidity plus some diet advice. I was told he probably had a respiratory infection and to watch him and get him to a vet. In the meanwhile I changed his substrate, got a stronger basking bulb and UVB light and added a ceramic heat emitter to keep the temperature in his enclosure above 80 at night. I saw some improvement in a couple of days, no more bubbles but I had made a vet appointment, so I took him. The vet took xrays and said she didn't see any pneumonia but she heard clicking sounds so she prescribed Tazicef (ceftazadime) and she gave him the first injection. She gave me 29 pre filled injections, one for each day for a whole month. Is this a normal course of treatment? Has anyone else had this for their tortoise before? I am so nervous about giving these injections. What if I don't get it all in or miss a dose? I need some advice please. Thank you.

I've used that medication before on my tortoises, and none of the vets I work with have ever recommended daily doses for that long. Once mixed, its only good for a few days, unless you are freezing it.

Here is my issue: Tortoises don't get sick for no reason. If a tortoise gets sick, there is a reason. If you fix the problem, the symptoms should go away on their own. On the other hand, if you treat the symptoms with medicine and don't correct the initial CAUSE of the problem, the treatment won't work.

Your tortoise was too cold. RIs are typically caused by col night temps. You had no night heat, so this is the most likely CAUSE of the RI. You added night heat and increased daytime heat. I don't see any reason for antibiotics now, unless the problem were to continue and get worse.

To stop an RI in progress, I would keep ambient temp no lower than 85 day and night. Daytime ambient should climb into the low 90s, with a basking area directly under an incandescent flood bulb of around 100. Soak the tortoise daily and keep these temps up until there have been no sign of any symptoms for at least two weeks.

Here is the correct care info for this species. Most of what you find will be wrong, and most vets learn it from the same wrong sources as everyone else.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Kmouse64]

I've used that medication before on my tortoises, and none of the vets I work with have ever recommended daily doses for that long. Once mixed, its only good for a few days, unless you are freezing it.

Here is my issue: Tortoises don't get sick for no reason. If a tortoise gets sick, there is a reason. If you fix the problem, the symptoms should go away on their own. On the other hand, if you treat the symptoms with medicine and don't correct the initial CAUSE of the problem, the treatment won't work.

Your tortoise was too cold. RIs are typically caused by col night temps. You had no night heat, so this is the most likely CAUSE of the RI. You added night heat and increased daytime heat. I don't see any reason for antibiotics now, unless the problem were to continue and get worse.

To stop an RI in progress, I would keep ambient temp no lower than 85 day and night. Daytime ambient should climb into the low 90s, with a basking area directly under an incandescent flood bulb of around 100. Soak the tortoise daily and keep these temps up until there have been no sign of any symptoms for at least two weeks.

Here is the correct care info for this species. Most of what you find will be wrong, and most vets learn it from the same wrong sources as everyone else.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you Tom. I have made the adjustments and I will keep doing so.

 

[Tom]

Thank you Tom. I have made the adjustments and I will keep doing so.

Good luck to you. I'm sorry that you didn't get the correct care info earlier, but almost everyone goes through what you are going through now. I hope we can help to explain it all and help make it better. Our goal is to keep your tortoise healthy and make you a happy tortoise keeper. Questions are welcome!

 

[TammyJ]

If it was my little tortoise, I would just ensure that all his conditions are correct, especially the temperatures being a bit warmer since he has a RI, and I would not be giving him unnecessary pain and stress of so many injections for so long. Dehydration and stress can quickly kill him. Warm regular soaks are essential.

 

[Maggie3fan]

While you are following Tom's advice, add some strained carrots to the water...baby food like Gerbers...that helps add nutrition to the water...It can't hurt, and I personally stand by it...lol...welcome...