Meds

[Barry]

Ok,
I have a female greek that hid in her outdoor enclosure and it got a little too cold 2 or 3 weeks ago.
That is the cause of the runny nose, I tried heating her up for a week and still nothing. Soooo, today she went to the Dr. and I had to beg for a stool check. I forgot to ask for a smear of the nose.
Here is the dilemma. It is thursday and baytril should be given every 72 hours. The vet said come back on monday for a check and if necessary given another shot. I was under the assumption they needed the shot every 72 hours for 7 days regardless what their signs are after the first shot.
My question is, what do all the other vets out there do??? I have heard without a smear of the discharge you cant even be sure baytril will work. Also, I was told a long time ago not to give the shot in the hind legs only in the front shoulder!! What to do?? There are not reptile savy vets even remotely close to me.
Thanks,
Barry

 

[JustAnja]

Enrofloxacin (Baytril): Dosage: 10 mg/kg intramuscularly every 24 hours for 10 to 14 treatments. May cause discoloration of skin or tissue necrosis in some animals if given subcutaneously. Alleviates the clinical signs of the respiratory syndrome of desert tortoises. May be used as a nasal flush (50 mg/250 ml sterile water or saline); each nostril is flushed with 1 to 3 ml every 24 to 48 hours until no discharge is visible.


I think I would ask him for the syringes and the Baytril and give it yourself.

 

[Laura]

Is she still eating? It can be given orally as well. or get in pill form. There was also a different med mentioned in other posts. Begins with a N think. People were very happy with quick results.

 

[Crazy1]

Barry,
When my torts began blowing bubbles I took them to the vet. They were given a gram + antibiotic (no culture, not the greatest reptile vet). I took them to a different vet, he did a culture that told him exactly what to give them. they had three things going on and they were given Baytril. got better see the story here http://tortoiseforum.org/have-you-used-this-med-t-647-2.html
I used all for legs and just rotated the shots this gave each leg more time to recover. Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[wayne.bob]

when i had to give Bob shots for his RI i used all four legs as well. bob was put on Baytril for 14 days.

 

[terryo]

I will agree with you April, although I never had any experience with a sick tortoise. My Ornate got RI from not being able to hibernate one year, and my Vet. gave me injections of Baytril for 7 days to administer to her. He was very adamant about not injecting her in her hind legs. He has been a Tort, Turt, and wildlife, vet for the zoo here in NY for many years, so I really trust him. I am guessing it would be the same thing for Tortoises. When she was really sick it was pretty easy to give her the injections, but as she got better, she would see me and run the other way. I was so upset as she always ate out of my hand and was very friendly. When I picked her up, she would pull her legs in. I hated doing that.

 

[Crazy1]

April and Terryo, I was cautioned to give the shots sub Q. (not too deep) to keep difficulty with leg problems from happening by the vet. I gave them to both my adult Greeks and they suffered no leg problems from the injections. Mine too would run away when they first saw me coming. But as they began to feel better (I guess I was lucky Terryo.) Mine seemed to bond and get closer to me after the shots. I would talk with them and do their soaks as well as give them a little treat when I was done after they began to feel better.

 

[terryo]

It took a long time...months...before Nora got back to her old self again. It killed me to do that. Her eyes were also swollen and shut. He told me to mix Vitamin A & D ointment with Triple antibiotic ointment and while I soaked her to put it on her eyes. Her eyes opened only after three days. Once she was back outside she began to trust me again and would come over while I was working in the garden and Iwould give her a worm. It was awful though. I had to keep her inside for a whole winter, and she hated it. Poor Nora. That was a few years ago and she has been OK since.

 

[Barry]

thanks for the replies. I will more than likely take her to a different vet if this one doesn't do as I ask monday. I was told by Misty Corton a long time ago to not inject in the rear legs and I really don't see how this would change from 8 years ago. I had a problem with a G. spengleri and she talked me through what I should do, but the vet insisted differently and he ended up dead! I took the Tortoise Trust info sheet with me and the lady vet this time just ran over me!! I wish I lived somewhere that the vets knew more about exotics!

 

[wayne.bob]

Barry i live in Iowa too. i was just wondering what part of Iowa you live in. i am in the Iowa City Area and my vet is very nice and knows exotics. if you would like i can send you information about my vet. Maybe Itort could get you some Vet info too if you live closer to him.

 

[JustAnja]

Here are some Herp Vet listings for IA Barry.

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/iowa.shtml


Also there is one listed at Madison and Verona too on this page. Wasnt sure if those might help or not.
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/wiscon.shtml

 

[Barry]

I live in Cedar Rapids.
Before I get the reply about Iowa City I will just say please please don't say Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails. She already has seen a past animal of mine and really did a terrible job.
Here is the story. When I lived in Iowa City I had a pair of albino Sonoran Gopher snakes. While I was gone the female laid, which she wasn't supposed to do because I had not cycled them or kept them together. Anyway after getting back home I noticed she had retained eggs, how many I couldn't tell for sure. Well, I was told to take her to above said vet.
The lady vet said she could tell how many eggs there were so an x-ray wasn't needed. Ok.
She did the surgery and called to say all was good. I could pick up the snake.
I called back after work and she said the snake had passed and they did an ultrasound to check vitals and no heartbeat.
I said I would come and get her anyway to keep her remains.
I drove out and got the snake, this is when she was on HWY 1 out by Solon. As I was pulling up into my driveway I had to slam on my breaks to catch a very mad 5 foot gopher snake on its way out my open window! Nice for being dead.
That said, my wife had a co-worker at the time she told about this ordeal and she mentioned after the fact to take her to Hills because the vet there worked with her bearded dragons all the time and was really good. I did that and found out that my snake still had 2, yes 2, eggs still inside her. The other vet only removed one, she said that was all was in there!!!
So, after 2 surgeries from 2 vets, my snake was home and died about 2 weeks later. I am blaming the second vet because he had to open her back up to remove 2 eggs. I am blaming the vet at Bright Eyes and Bushy Tails. Why because she is the vet and said no x-ray needed. After I showed her the Hills vets information she wouldn't even refund half my money even after she was told my snake died!

So, long story short. 3rd vet in my overall experience with vets that doesn't really own up to not admitting that they can fix reptilian problems. 3rd vet is a Swedish vet.

 

[Barry]

Anja,
Thanks for the info. I have never seen that link before. I checked the vets and all are more than 1.5 hours away. I will just tell her on monday to give me the entire cure for the RNS. I really don't see why she didn't do that in the first place. Just wanted an extra office visit charge I imagine. And since I am friends with the office manager I will see what she can do for me on the charges.

 

[Barry]

Barry i live in Iowa too. i was just wondering what part of Iowa you live in. i am in the Iowa City Area and my vet is very nice and knows exotics. if you would like i can send you information about my vet. Maybe Itort could get you some Vet info too if you live closer to him.

yeah, send it to me. It cannot hurt. I still need to take a leaf turtle to the vet.

 

[wayne.bob]

Which Vet from bright eyes and bushy tails did the surgery??? i have been there before and they did a nice job with my tortoises. that is terrible what happened to your snake. and they didn't even refund you anything!!!!! well my vet wouldn't do you any good right now because they have shut down due to flood damage. i called them and they said they will not resume operation until everything is safe again. i was told the place in Hills merged with another Vet. if they are still there i should check them out.
I do agree with you Barry, we need more Herp Vets in Iowa