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She's been on Baytril for a week tomorrow & she is breathing so much better. She's not looking or acting sick at all now but....
I do have a problem with her, I can't get her to eat anything at all.
I've offered several different live items, I've tried several different plant items, I even broke down & tried soaked turtle pellets but she won't accept anything.
I did manage to get a bit less than a cc of Gerbers mixed with reptile vitamins & minerals into her yesterday but I only put it in the front of her mouth & waited for her to swallow it. After that she had had enough of me! Fighting me is good, she's not too bad off if she wants to do that.
I suppose as long as she's not dehydrated which she is not then skipping meals isn't that big of a deal.
We'll be going to the vet for her checkup this week, we'll see what the vet thinks about this.
Last year when Janie got sick from sitting outside in cold rain I seem to recall it took a couple of weeks before I got her to eat anything so maybe in a few days Shell E will come around. I hope so!
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PHRatz

She saw the vet yesterday & got her antibiotic switched but we're still going with oral dosing. I hate giving them injections, especially when I have one like her who's easy to get the mouth open.
She is better but still stuffy in the nose somewhat. Darn it makes me mad that this even happened!
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PHRatz

Hey Ratz, I never had the chance to comment on Shell E. I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with this! I know you feel badly about it, but at least she's in capable and caring hands. It happens to the best of us.

I wouldn't worry a bit about her appetite decrease. We both know how Baytril can upset their balance. Luckily, it's usually gone as quickly as it came. Plus, I've seen pics of your turtles and they're "pleasantly plump". She should have very little issue with a few weeks off of feed.

I think that getting her outdoors this coming year will help with her overall health.

Keep the updates coming. Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement Ken.
I should have been more careful about letting them roam the turtle proofed part of the house in winter.
I felt a lot better about her yesterday, I put her in a lukewarm bath & she did the Superman pose, the pose of a comfortable turtle.
Then I got 2 ccs of food into her, she did not fight me over it. I put that food in her mouth only so that she had to either spit it out or swallow it on her own.. she swallowed it.
Today I feel like we are on the road to recovery.
I agree I think they will all be so much better off when they can live outdoors full time.
Hopefully all these girls can stay outside next winter without problems.. just like Hobo does.
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PHRatz

Glad to hear that your girl is doing better.

Thanks Steph.
I felt even better yesterday, I've been hand feeding her because she won't eat on her own & Ken is right.. Baytril can cause them to not want to eat.
Yesterday when she bathed she did void so she's getting some food to make her feel better.
I think she's going to be fine. She never got so sick that her eyes closed or an ear swelled... she just sounded stuffy & went off feed. I think we nipped this in the bud.
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PHRatz

>>I wouldn't worry a bit about her appetite decrease. We both know how Baytril can upset their balance. Luckily, it's usually gone as quickly as it came. Plus, I've seen pics of your turtles and they're "pleasantly plump". She should have very little issue with a few weeks off of feed.

Hey Ken let me ask you..
Do you think they all look pleasantly plump or Shell E especially? Pleasantly plump is ok with me in any case as long as they aren't too fat or too thin.

I thought more about this though because I tend to be a little sensitive about Shell E & that's because I've had so many people tell me she's fat.
I always have to point out to them that we can see more of her than we are supposed to see because the front part of her carapace is missing. Then they always say oooh yeahhh I can see it now. The vet's assistant who used to work for my old vet now works for my new one.. he actually asked me once who shaved off the front of her shell?
I said huh? Nobody did that to her.. no human anyway...

at least not that I know of. She was like that when I picked her up & took her in to be wired back together. Must have been an old injury though because that isn't where she was bleeding from in 2001.

My eyesight is so much worse than it used to be.. I squint a lot these days but when the girls are out roaming around too far away from me & I can't see who is who, I can always pick out Shell E because she has so much skin showing.
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PHRatz

I meant the statement in a good way. Overweight? Eh, it's tough to tell.

I looked at Shell E's pictures again. It definitely appears that she has some old damage to the front of her shell...coyote, fox, dog, who knows? As far as being overweight, I'd have to see her in person to really be able to tell. Can she close her shell completely?

Being outdoors should help with weight issues too.

>> Can she close her shell completely?
>>

No she can't in front because of that missing shell area but in the rear end she can. After all this is over she shouldn't have any weight problems. :-x
She's doing very well right now, still not interested in taking a bite of food on her own just yet. She's improved enough I think it's only a matter of time & she'll be after something that moves.
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PHRatz