respiratory infection

[skuttle]

hi guys. i bought my tortoise for a check up. my vet adviced me to sedate him to check his mouth for possible stuck food or objects becausemy tortoise usually smacks his mouth and makes a sound but the sound is not always there when he smacks his mouth. when my tortoise fell asleep we noticed that his mouth was dripping with what looks like mucus. so my vet adviced to use an aspirator to blow his nostrils to see if something is stuck. then lots of mucus came out of his nostrils and mouth.. very sticky white with yellowish tinge. it came to the point that he was blowing a really big bubble from his nose like a balloon inflating and deflating when he breaths. can i ask what do you think it is upper respiratory infection or lower respiratory infection. by the way before i went to the vet he was eating really well andclean nostrils. all i noticed was there was small bubbles on the edge of his eyes near the nostrils and he smacks his mouth(sometimes with sound but usually none). my vet gave him tetracycline 0.12ml. he weighs 1250 grams by the way and more or less 7 inches. he is still eating the way he use to eat before the administration of the antibiotic but a bit weak. what do you think guys upper or lower respiratory infection? is this hard to cure? thanks

 

[Baoh]

"Smacking of the mouth", as in small intermittent jaw movements, is often normal, but blowing bubbles is not normal at all. Neither is a large amount of colored mucous like that, which is cause for concern.

 

[skuttle]

he didnt blow bubbles before he was checked by the vet. my vet thought that he may have something stuck on the roof of the upper jaw. so he use an aspirator the blow air into my tortoise nostril. to our surprise plenty of sticky mucus was excreted from his mouth and bubbles from his nose. the mucus is white with a tinge of yellow. my vet got a cotton to wipe the mucus. when you look at the mucus its predominantly white but when you look at the cotton that was used to clean the mucus its yellowish.

 

[mikeh]

Could be either lower or upper RI. The fact that there was no discharge from nostrils could point to lower RI with mucus working its self upward into mouth from lower RI track. Sounds like you caught is at earlier stage. Later stage of lower RI progresses to hacking mucus, loud audible breathing with sound of congested lungs, even swollen front legs.
Keep him on antibiotics and watch for the mucus in the urine once infection starts to flush out.

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[skuttle]

Could be either lower or upper RI. The fact that there was no discharge from nostrils could point to lower RI with mucus working its self upward into mouth from lower RI track. Sounds like you caught is at earlier stage. Later stage of lower RI progresses to hacking mucus, loud audible breathing with sound of congested lungs, even swollen front legs.
Keep him on antibiotics and watch for the mucus in the urine once infection starts to flush out.

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how many shots of antibiotics is recommended to be sure that infection fully gone and wont reinfect? how long also to wait till mucus can be seen in urine? thanks

 

[mikeh]

7days. What is the frequency of injections, daily or semi daily? Is it being injected in front or rear legs?

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Injections for seven days. Thick yellowy urine will appear within few days.The amount and thickness depends on severity of infection. If its not severe you may just see yellower and/or thicker urine or nothing at all.

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[skuttle]

My vet injects it in his body below the head and neck. He told
Me its a musclw holdin the carapace. Should
I ask
Hin to unject on the legs. He told
Me injecting in legs in painful.

 

[mikeh]

He is doing it at the correct place. Wanted to make sure he is not injecting in rear legs.

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[sibi]

Injecting in legs can hit a nerve and cause damage. Injections need to be in the muscles. Yellowish color shows the infection was beginning to get bad, but you got it in time. Let the vet administer injections in around neck since it is easier on the tort. What does your vet suggest is the amount of days that he needs to take antibiotics? When my tort had that a lower RI, he was on antibiotics for 10 days. But, then again, his infection was very bad and he had wheezing. So, if he's on antibiotics for 7 days, just keep an eye on him for the next 2 weeks afterwards. Their system works very slow and it will take time to see him return to normal. In the meantime, I would thoroughly clean out his enclosure and sanitized everything in it to prevent re-infection. Keep higher temps in his enclosure especially at night.

 

[AnnV]

I was injecting my poor Indian star every 3 days with Fortaz for his uri. Seven shots total, alternating legs. In the back of his front leg. Vet showed me how with the first in the office. She said I could bring him to her to inject, but that just wasn't feasible every 3 days. He was okay for the first couple, but I imagine the site got sore and he really reacted by pinning his leg in after the injection for the latter ones. I was practically sick to my stomach having to do this! Couldn't do the last one. It was too stressful for both of us. Didn't seem do a thing for him anyway.
After all this, mine is no better. :-( I may have to go back. Are there no oral medications?

Ann from CT

 

[sibi]

There are oral antibiotics that can be administered. Most owners have trouble getting their torts to open their mouths So, it's best to hide the med in some fruit he likes. Did the vet take x-rays of his bladder? If not, I suggest it be done. You want to make sure there's no stone in his bladder.

 

[Sulcata_Sandy]

Hmmmm. Fortaz is the "fancy" name for a class of antibiotics called Cephalosporins. I wonder if Cephalexin would work as well. We have capsules in various mg's. One of my Torts is starting in on a URI (sniffles, runny nose, upper airway sounds). I increased temps and changed/sanitized his habitat and stones. Hoping he will clear it up and not get sick, so I'm watching him like a hawk.


Sandy
.......................................
Oregon Tortoise Rescue

 

[skuttle]

Injecting in legs can hit a nerve and cause damage. Injections need to be in the muscles. Yellowish color shows the infection was beginning to get bad, but you got it in time. Let the vet administer injections in around neck since it is easier on the tort. What does your vet suggest is the amount of days that he needs to take antibiotics? When my tort had that a lower RI, he was on antibiotics for 10 days. But, then again, his infection was very bad and he had wheezing. So, if he's on antibiotics for 7 days, just keep an eye on him for the next 2 weeks afterwards. Their system works very slow and it will take time to see him return to normal. In the meantime, I would thoroughly clean out his enclosure and sanitized everything in it to prevent re-infection. Keep higher temps in his enclosure especially at night.

Thanks ma'am sibi! He told me he wants every other day injection of antibiotics. Its my tortoise second shot today. I noticed since the first shot 2 days ago the syptoms of opening mouth and sound plus clicking in the mouth became worse. But he still eats a lot. But a bit weak a bit. Im using just paper for substrate since im in quarantine and treating his infection. What do you suggest to disinfect his tub? Im just pouring boiling water in the tub to clean it everyday. My vet suggested 3 shots everyother day and see if the antibiotics is working. I soak him twice or thrice a day. Honestly he didnt have any discharge in his nose and mouth since the day i got him5-6 days ago. It was when we sedated and used an aspirator to blow her nose thats when the mucus came out of mouth and nose. Till now there isnt any mucus in his nose or mouth but still hear the croaking noise and mouth opening that became more usual.

 

[HerbsMommy]

DON'T INJECT IN THE LOWER BODY!! My emergency clinic vet told me that antibiotics need to bypass the liver and metabolize. This can only be done by injecting in the upper body. If you inject lower, the antibiotic can go straight to the liver and kill the tort

 

[skuttle]

DON'T INJECT IN THE LOWER BODY!! My emergency clinic vet told me that antibiotics need to bypass the liver and metabolize. This can only be done by injecting in the upper body. If you inject lower, the antibiotic can go straight to the liver and kill the tort

can i ask what do you mean dont inject the lower body? where is the exact location of the lower body you mean? thanks

 

[Dizisdalife]

It probably means the back legs.

 

[mikeh]

Yes, no back legs!!!

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[skuttle]

There are oral antibiotics that can be administered. Most owners have trouble getting their torts to open their mouths So, it's best to hide the med in some fruit he likes. Did the vet take x-rays of his bladder? If not, I suggest it be done. You want to make sure there's no stone in his bladder.

why do you need to know if there is stone in the bladder? will RI make it worse or what? thanks

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guys i remembered that brand of tetracycline mt vet is using has corticosteroid in it? is corticosteroids safe? thanks

 

[HerbsMommy]

I'm not entirely sure which place. My vet did his shot in the thin skin by his neck/shoulder. She said "not the lower body" I'm not sure if legs are included since they aren't part of his resp or digestive system :/

 

[ascott]

I would wonder why the vet did not test the mucus to confirm a diagnosis?

If you are injecting antibiotics it should happen in the soft loose skin located between the neck and the front leg....not into the muscle--this will cause alot of pain that is not necessary....also, when treating a tort with antibiotics you should offer a couple of long warm water soaks each day (at least 30 minutes per warm water soak)....

Understand that the entire process of injections is very stressful for the tort....if your tort was not showing any signs of sickness and the only thing your tort was doing was clicking---I would have simply increased his normal enclosure temp to no less than 85 day and night and also still provided a basking spot at 100....the stress from the trip to the vet....the sedation...the poking and probing around...then injections...then the change of enclosure to a sterile paper towel environment can be way too stressful for the tort...especially since it sounds as though the tort was new to you to begin with....

I would let this tort be back in its regular enclosure....I would set him up with plenty of warm places for it to hide away in to try to get a sense of safety....