Urgent Care :: How many antibiotic shot does it take to cure RI

[Justin3344]

Hi, i think my BaoBao (RES) have respiratory infection, I took him to the Vet. He ask me some question and I tell him the symptom and he give him an antibiotic shot.

Well my question is that how many shot does it take to cure it?
And my turtle is only around 2inches I saw from another site say it is not good to give turtle less than 4inches shot..

Btw one more thing, is it Ok for him to bleed after the shot? well it stop after few minute

[Kemul]

Since it's given by injection, probably just one is needed.

Turtle under 4" is not injected because of the size. The needle used is too big,
hence the bleeding you saw. So, instead of injection, usually the antibiotics is
given orally using drops. That method might take a week or two.

[Justin3344]

HI, but the vet I went to he say because he under 4 inch so he have to do injection... and he asking me to go back again tomorrow for another injection.. Should I go or should I ask for orally drops?

If I ask him for orally drop which brand or what is the medicine call? Thank in advance XD

[Kemul]

Well, you should trust your vet. If it's only a little bleeding, it should be alright.
You can ask about the oral drops. The antibiotics should be the same. For RI
treatment, usually the antibiotics is enrofloxacin.

Come to think of it, it's much easier to do the injection compared to force open a
turtle's mouth.

[Justin3344]

Well I went to the vet again on Friday, and he gave him another Injection of Fortaz and today is Sunday already, all he say is keep him at 87 degree and if doesn't recover in 3 day bring him back for another shot. Well it is his second shot already... And after the shot he not eating anything, is there anyway i can force him to eat something or soak him in some thing?

Well I don't think he is recovering or anything he doesn't move and still sit on the basking area, he will only move to drink some water when he feel too hot. and he open his mouth to breath a lot. And he got these white fluid that come out his mouth sometime. Could it be a mouth rot? or?

Should I take him to another Vet? How about the Avian & Exotic vet in nyc?
well the first vet i went to was the urban village Vet..

well I used over $125 already and I really don't got much money left, what should I do?

Thank someone help please.

[gwennie]

One shot of antibiotics won't cure an RI - antibiotics for turtles are like ones for people in the sense that you have to complete the round of antibiotics.

If you're sick and your doctor tells you to take your pills everyday until they're finished, you should do that.

If your vet is telling you that your turtle will need another shot, or even a few more, it's important for your turtle that you get them.

Ask your vet if they can be given orally - my vet cut the sharp end of the needle off a very small syringe for me so i could give mine antibiotics. Maybe yours can do that and then you can just buy the antibiotics and give them to your turtle yourself?

White stuff coming out of his mouth is most likely mucus - runny nose, etc. Sounds like he needs to go back to the vet.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Trust your vet, it's the best you can do. Follow his instructions exactly. However, to supplement the eating, I would recommend doing the following:

Go out and buy this stuff called Pedialyte. It's like Gatorade, but for babies, it'll be in the baby section of the stores. Dilute it 50:50 with water (so for every cup of water, put a cup of Pedialyte) and let your turtle soak/drink that instead of his normal tank water. This has various electrolytes in it that will help him get better.

Also, you need to get him eating, so feel free to feed him all of those restrained foods, tuna, fish, crickets, whatever will get some energy in him. You can continue feeding the good food until he's all better.

[Chunkies]

If you want to see another vet in NYC, I would go to the Animal Medical Center on 62nd and York. I've found the staff to be knowledgeable and thorough. When I took my sister's RES in because of RI, they provided me with the supplies needed to adminster the medicine myself. It will cost a bit though.

[Justin3344]

well when i went to my vet, he say he is too small for orally when i ask him for the orally drop.... and he say the only thing he can do is give him injection... And most of the information i found on the internet say that he is too small for injection and suggest giving it to him orally...

[marisa]

An injection will get the medication into the system more quickly than if it's given orally (and more probably gets in as well, especially if mucus is coming out).

Fortaz is good. If there is bleeding at the injection site (shouldn't be much) apply a little pressure with some gauze.

Aside from the meds, what temp do you have the basking area and water at?

[Justin3344]

well the vet told me to keep it at 87 so mine is around 86-88 and my water i use to keep it at 87, but i think it might be too hot cause he he want to cool off he can go in to the water. so i lowered it to 80.

so basking = 86-90
water =80

and just bought some mealworm for him today but he still refuse to eat...
I also trying the Pedialyte hope he will able to get a little drink when i soak him in there. well i soak him in there for more than 4 hours..

[TheComputerGremlin]

Justin - I know it sounds terrible, but you have really done everything you can do. Right now, you just need to keep an eye on him and hope that he can get better. Keep trying with the food, definitely try some canned/pouched tuna, that stinky stuff usually gets them to notice.

[Justin3344]

should I go back for another injection? well i want to let him go outside to play for a while but the stupid weather is way too cold for that... sigh.. I guess I should go back for another shot... hope it will cure him...

Well my BaoBao never like canned tuna.. cause i try a low sodium caned tuna when he was not sick and he doesn't like it much.. so i guess he wont like it now also.

Anyone know where i can buy Orally drop medicine for them? without the vet? well i can try to ask him again see if he willing to sell me some so i can take care of him at home... or i can try to save up money again and take him to another vet...

[TheComputerGremlin]

If you are located in the US (and many other places), you will need a vet's script to get the prescription medicine. Most antibiotics aren't available over the counter.

I think I understand that you are in the US, around NYC? If that's not true, just determine what I say based on your local weather instead. But at least up here in the northern parts of the US it is WAY TOO COLD for turtles to be outside. In most of the US, turtles stay indoors throughout the whole winter. You want the temps to be at least 75 degrees F before letting them outside. You can let him roam around in the house as long as the house temps are 75 degrees F, but you should wait until he's feeling better so as to not stress him further.

Just because a turtle doesn't eat something once doesn't mean he won't change his opinion of it. Try tuna again, get like Bumblebee, Chicken of the Sea, or StarKist, make sure it is just good old regular tuna in WATER, no oil. You can also try salmon or crab, you can try buying a piece of fresh fish and baking it until cooked, let it cool completely, then feed it to him. It's all about continuing to try and hope for the best.

[Justin3344]

I think he is getting a little bit better, well he started to eat the shrimp and he does go in to the water a little too. And his foam around the mouth are pretty much gone. Hope he continuous to recover XD.