Respiritory Infection

LucasBailey

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Joined
Apr 16, 2021
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1
Location (City and/or State)
Herts
Hi Guys.

We have a Horsfield tortoise who is 7 months old, weights 40 grams. He has developed what our vet believes is a respiritory infection. Symptoms are quiet clicking when breathing and occasional bubbles arounf the nose, more prominant in the mornings.
He has been nebulised twice a day 20mins each time with a solution of F10 (0.4ml to 100ml Saline). It seemed to do some good and after 3 weeks we stopped the treatment but pretty quickly the issue has returned.
He has a tort table with hemp substrate, UVA and UVB heat lamp with max peak temp of 32 degrees and a cooler end of the enclousre close to 20 degrees.

He is fairly dosile and we hadnt really had him long enough (only 3 months) to fully understand what his activity level would be, but we think he is less active than he originally was. He likes to be bathed and becomes more active after that. He's eating ok, a mix of pellets and dandilion / rose leaves and occasional kale, tomato and grapes etc.

The vet said due to his size it would be tricky to treat in any other way but we were hoping to see a full recovery by now. Any advice or help in any way would be really appreciated.

From everything we've been told and researched we believe we are doing everything right but would love to hear if anyone else has experienced something similar.

As a side note, his skin around his neck and face and head has become flakey and some patchs have fallen off to reveal new skin beneath. We know this is a normal process but wonder if the salt in the saline is having an effect on the rate this is occuring and he's drying out more than he usually would...

Thanks in advance.
Lucas & Adam
 

wellington

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Basking temp needs to be 95-100 F
Over all temp for a young one also should be warmer, 75-80. For now being under the weather, keep over all temp at 80F.
He should be in a closed chamber with humidity around 50-80%
Do not feed tomato or grapes or any fruit. It's bad for them. Only a few species can eat fruit.
 

zovick

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10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,388
Hi Guys.

We have a Horsfield tortoise who is 7 months old, weights 40 grams. He has developed what our vet believes is a respiritory infection. Symptoms are quiet clicking when breathing and occasional bubbles arounf the nose, more prominant in the mornings.
He has been nebulised twice a day 20mins each time with a solution of F10 (0.4ml to 100ml Saline). It seemed to do some good and after 3 weeks we stopped the treatment but pretty quickly the issue has returned.
He has a tort table with hemp substrate, UVA and UVB heat lamp with max peak temp of 32 degrees and a cooler end of the enclousre close to 20 degrees.

He is fairly dosile and we hadnt really had him long enough (only 3 months) to fully understand what his activity level would be, but we think he is less active than he originally was. He likes to be bathed and becomes more active after that. He's eating ok, a mix of pellets and dandilion / rose leaves and occasional kale, tomato and grapes etc.

The vet said due to his size it would be tricky to treat in any other way but we were hoping to see a full recovery by now. Any advice or help in any way would be really appreciated.

From everything we've been told and researched we believe we are doing everything right but would love to hear if anyone else has experienced something similar.

As a side note, his skin around his neck and face and head has become flakey and some patchs have fallen off to reveal new skin beneath. We know this is a normal process but wonder if the salt in the saline is having an effect on the rate this is occuring and he's drying out more than he usually would...

Thanks in advance.
Lucas & Adam
The tortoise needs to be treated with ceftazidime injections to cure the infection. The dosage is 20 mg per kilo of weight every two to three days for 5 to 6 doses. Your vet should be able to figure out the dose for your tortoise and dispense it to you in 5-6 tuberculin syringes to be kept in your refrigerator until used. Inject in the armpit area of the tortoise, alternating sides with each injection to minimize trauma to the injection sites.
 

Yossarian

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Nov 21, 2015
Messages
813
Location (City and/or State)
Wales
I agree with Wellingtons advice.

Respiratory infections in torts should be treated in part by increasing your temps into the upper part of the range and keeping them there day and night, if your tort is on a table that is a big part of your problem, you say its 20 degrees in the cool end but at what time, because I guarantee it isnt staying 20 degrees there all day, my guess is it is colder than you think. Increased temps will help boost immune response, activity levels and appetite. Dont go supplementing your tort with a bunch of extra vitamins, even if the vet reccomends this.

This would typically be caused by too cold temps, or a combination of humid and too cold.

Horsefields dont handle sugars very well, hence the no fruit. If you really want to treat the tort, an occasional strawberry or some blueberries a couple times a month are ok.
 

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