New baby possibly very sick

[Maggie Cummings]

You can use a black light bulb on the cool side to warm it up if you can get them there. Tortoises can't see that color spectrum so they are good for heating at night. Good luck with him, it sounds like he is getting better. Don't forget to give him warm soaks daily...

 

[synspyder]

Thank you!

He was being stubborn today, wouldn't open up for any greens. I thought I'd have to try and grab his head, but he finally opened up for some squash and I got him then X3 He wandered around under the kotatsu for a while after that, now he's back in his bookshelf burying himself.

He's still blowing bubbles, but it doesn't look like he's struggling to breathe quite as much as he did before, and he hasn't been gaping as much. Hopefully a steady increase in temps will prop him up until the meds have a chance to kill the illness.

I'm so happy to have him. He's such a cute little guy!

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You can use a black light bulb on the cool side to warm it up if you can get them there. Tortoises can't see that color spectrum so they are good for heating at night. Good luck with him, it sounds like he is getting better. Don't forget to give him warm soaks daily...

Come next pay day I'm taking a trip to the pet store to see if they sell black lights / CHE. If not, I'll place another order on reptile supply. I'm not sure if they have black lights. They possibly have red lights. Is that too bright for a tort?

 

[SailingMystic]

Came home from work and found him buried under his shredded newspaper in the hot side of the tank. I gave him a little extra warming under the kotatsu (heated table) which got him active and hungry enough to entice him to eat his greens and take his meds. He spent another 15 minutes running (relative turtle speed) back and forth on my lap, nibbling the remaining greens and peering down over my hands. He's got more energy now. He's walking on his toes now, as opposed to just crawling along, and he's extending his neck fully out to look around. He's still blowing a bubbles, but he's looking much better than last night, and he's taking his meds like a trooper. I was so worried about that @.@

It's nice that he's not totally head shy. I can wipe his nose and follow his mouth with a syringe and he's fine with it. He's getting better with me moving around too.

It's great to hear how curious he is and how well he's doing -- but we need those bubbles to go away. It may take a while-- keep sharing! He's lucky to have you looking out for him

 

[synspyder]

Wah~! I feel like such a horrid tortoise mom Punli didn't have much of an appetite tonight (or possibly he's just gotten wise to the fact that when he takes a bite, I give him medicine) so I had to do things the hard way. My girlfriend held his front legs and as I tried to pin his head but he's so little and squirmy! T.T I was terrified I was going to hurt him! I finally got him to open his mouth after much poking and wiggling and he looked so upset and ran away as fast as his little legs could carry him as soon as he was on the ground. He's all tucked into his shell against my leg now under the heated table. v.v It's so hard sometimes, having to medicate animals when you can't communicate how you're doing this not to be mean but to help them get well T.T The betrayal look kills

Hopefully tomorrow is better. This is much easier with bearded dragons. ^^;

 

[lynnedit]

Can you mix the med in a small amount of squash or canned pumpkin rolled in a small leaf? Doesn't matter how the med goes down, in food or straight.
The other way to do it is to drizzle a few drops of apple juice or a few tiny pieces of chopped up apple in the squash (don't make the squash runny, just to sweeten it) and roll it in a leaf. Don't make it a big serving, just enough to mix the med in.
They tend to like red things, so using a piece of a radicchio leave might work, if you have that there. Or if you can get strawberries, mash that up, add med and roll into leaf.
(they shouldn't usually have fruit or sweet things much at all, but in the case of giving meds... all bets are off).
That way, you might be able to avoid having to force him to take it, although ultimately it is necessary of course, however you do it!

 

[Floof]

Ohh, sorry to hear he's started wising up! Yes, it's definitely SO much easier to medicate bearded dragons. They don't have a shell to hide in! Lol!

 

[synspyder]

Ok, I'll try a mashed fruit/veggie and leaf trick today. Is it ok to cook the squash a little to soften it?

 

[Floof]

Ok, I'll try a mashed fruit/veggie and leaf trick today. Is it ok to cook the squash a little to soften it?

Yes, that's perfectly fine. I actually make it a habit of softening squash, since my little Leopard and my dragon have trouble with the hard, raw stuff. Throw it in a bowl of water, put it in the microwave, and cook until it's just soft enough to mash.

Or get something like organic canned pumpkin and use that instead.

 

[synspyder]

Today was a better day than yesterday. I warmed him up under the heated table, then gave him a soak and he was pretty keen on drinking all the water he could (he didn't drink anything yesterday when I soaked him).

Then I dried him off and put him back under the table for another 20 minutes, then brought him out again and left some greens for him, and he didn't hesitate, but ate at once, so I got the meds in him really easy. He then went into 'eat all the things' mode, and cut a path of destruction across the greens I had over my lap.

When he was done, he climbed to the top of the table and nabbed the squash I had there in case he wouldn't eat his greens. Crafty little guy! He's back in his bookshelf now for a nap. Hopefully tonights dose goes just as smoothly.

 

[synspyder]

Punli's gotten so used to having a syringe with his dinner that tonight he tried to eat the syringe before he went for the greens. Maybe he just wanted to get the nastiness out of the way, but it certainly made giving him his meds easier.

As of today, he's still bubbling, bobbing in and out and squeaking, but he's still eating, drinking and active. So we'll keep working.

 

[SailingMystic]

Punli's gotten so used to having a syringe with his dinner that tonight he tried to eat the syringe before he went for the greens. Maybe he just wanted to get the nastiness out of the way, but it certainly made giving him his meds easier.

As of today, he's still bubbling, bobbing in and out and squeaking, but he's still eating, drinking and active. So we'll keep working.

Stay focused. I have lost turtles who seemed to be recovering. ESP when they suddenly appear well. You are doing a great job!! Follow up with a vet soon-- just to check in...

 

[synspyder]

Unfortunately our vet isn't much of a herp vet. The best he could do for us was consult a book and give us the medication. I'll keep medicating him until the end of his run, and if he hasn't shown any improvement by then, I'll go back to the vet and maybe try to translate some of the American medication names with him to see if we can find something more effective in Japan.

 

[SailingMystic]

If you feel stuck or want a good bet to chat with I have one I recommend -- just reach out to me off line. I will say I love reading your updates!! I think your on track for sure.

 

[synspyder]

Thank you so much! That would be a great resource if this doesn't work for me. I'll keep up with the updates until he's healthy again. He seems a little better today. Opened his eyes more quickly than previous day, and he sounds better, less of a wet squeak and more of a drier wheeze. He also had less bubbles while I held him. He's under the heated table warming up now for food and meds. Last night it took him over an hour to find a place where he wanted to finally sleep, so he's certainly keeping more energy through the day!

 

[synspyder]

Tonight, Punli seemed much improved. He wasn't so wet around the nose, wasn't making as many noises, and wasn't bobbing for breath or gaping as much as he has previously. He even had enough energy to run around the room exploring (after he's been under the heated table I let him wander a bit to get some fresh air and work some of the heat out before putting him back in his viv). Hopefully this means the beginning of his recovery. Now the only thing I'll need to stop completely worrying about his health is for the MVB and supplements to ship!

 

[synspyder]

Punli has been wising up to all of my medicine application tricks and has become cautious of food offered by me. To combat this, I've started to wrap the tip of the syringe in a nice, juicy green leaf and when he goes for a bite... BAM! Medicine.

Still bubbling a little, though he seems better today. We'll keeping fighting! >.O

 

[lynnedit]

Hang in there, certainly seems he is going in the right direction! It sounds like it can be a long haul.

 

[blastoise91]

Bobbing for breath? Do they not normally bob so much? My little guy has made a few bubbles over the last few days and a pop noise maybe once a few minutes. Im worries hes getting sick. But he bobs kind of often. Not so often wen he is alone so i figured hes a silly tortoise just lookin around wen he is out but this kinda makes me worry a little..

 

[synspyder]

I'm not qualified to give an informed answer aside from I read that a tortoise laboring for breath can sometimes pull it's head and front legs in and out of it's shell. When I first saw him doing it (along with the bubbles and the wheezes) I didn't think it was a normal activity. It just looked -wrong- like, beyond a tortoise being shy and creeping in and out of its shell. It was like a jerking in and out with head and legs.

Again, not qualified to actually say with certainty it was bad, or what your tort does is the same, just my observation.

Today, though, Punli is looking great! No discharge from his nose or eyes (he used to blink a lot and it looked like he always had mucus on his eyes). He isn't bobbing so much, not a single wheeze, and only a few very faint ticks when I hold him close to my ear. In fact, he was so hungry this morning that he ate some tissue paper before I got him his greens! Last night he spent 5 minutes gulping down water (I've been soaking him in warm water every night and he's gradually taken more and more).

I'm going to take him to the end of his medication run, and hopefully that clears him out for good! I'm sure he'll be happy for it too. I know I'm sure relieved

 

[blastoise91]

Yes i understand but thank u for a better description. I think hes shy. No sharp movements like that. My first tortoise so idk what 'normal' is (to an extent).

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Faint ticks is kinda like what mine does if i hold it very close i can barely hear it. But im very happy to hear The progress. That makes me so happy!! specially being such a turnaround.