Urgent Care :: Sick turtle

[darlynn4444]

I was able to get some in the other night...i softened a pellet and put it on the end of the syringe and when he bit it i shot it in...he is due for another dose today so I am hoping it works again.
Thanks!

[marisa]

That's great! Let us know how he does.

[marsspyder]

i have totally been where you are with the oral meds...melissa would squirm and wriggle and try to escape and spit it out etc etc etc, it took about an hour a day to get .1 mL down her...eventually i would put a drop on her "lips" then tickle her throat gently then shed open her mouth to breathe, spit, hiss and it would go in, but youve got a bonus, yours will eat, so you can tempt it to get its mouth open, mine wasnt eating at all...
but she got past her pneumonia/ri and i hope yours will too!!

[darlynn4444]

Tommy is still eating which I am hoping is a good sign. Hopefully I am getting the bulk of the medicine into him but it so hard to tell since he will only go after the syringe with the food on it if it is in the water. I tried to open his mouth other ways and had no success. He would end up retreating into his shell and then would come back out once I stopped...as if he was mocking me. The vet said not to get too optomistic that he would make it past the pneumonia so it was good to hear that it is possible.

[marsspyder]

just have to wait him out start teasing him with a piece of food and try to get him to snap at it, like a carrot sliver or something and if he bites it but doesnt break it, and its sticking out of his mouth, squirt some in while its open. does he hiss at you when youre trying to medicate him? that was my second favorite way to make her take hers. and patience patience patiencem drop by drop itll go down him...or on him, in which case, suck it back up and go for round 2...i have quite a few trials and tribulations about melissa in another post called possible ri???help!!! take a look at that one, were still recovering but were getting there. your little guy can get past this, but its gonna take time, lots and lots and lots of time and aggrevation

[darlynn4444]

thanks for the encouragement. tommy is quite passive and doesn't hiss or snap at me and shows no interest at all towards food until it is in the water. i am not giving up on him though....

[cam722]

thanks for the encouragement. tommy is quite passive and doesn't hiss or snap at me and shows no interest at all towards food until it is in the water. i am not giving up on him though....

Turtles need to be in water in order to eat as they have no saliva and their tongue is fixed. So in order to eat, they need the water to help. You can put food out on their dock but they will only take it back in the water to eat it. Hope this explains why he does that

[vieniebebe]

Well,I wouldn't be as concerned about his shell as his lpsided swimming.It's probably a severe case of RI.I would find a full day(don't plan anything for that day),and take him to the vet.He probably got RI if you don't have a cover,so,if you don't,you need to get it,and keep the water at the same temp.,so the cover and warm water can make warm air.If you say his shell is soft,then it's pretty normal in babies.Still,I would at least call te vet and ask him what medicine is good for his shell.Alo,try some cuttlebone,it helped my turtle.It's amazing.How many hours does she bask a day?

[darlynn4444]

I have taken Tommy to a vet (last week) and was prescribed Baytril for his pneumonia. Only the outer rim of his shell is soft and pliable. He basks for the majority of his day now...I think more than usual because he is not feeling well.

[marsspyder]

hows medicine time going? just watch because melissa got into the habit of taking it then spitting it out in the water...

[darlynn4444]

Tommy took his third dose...I am just hoping he is getting the majority of it into him. He is still eating well which I assume is a good sign. His swimming is still lop-sided and he sleeps alot though.