Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Its been a long time since I last posted here, but I'm glad I still see familiar names.

Here is my problem. I own 3 Testudo kleinmanni's (Egyptian Tortoises). One I've had since 1997 and I would estimate his age to be around 14-15 years and the other 2 are around 4-5 years of age. The oldest one is a male and the two younger ones are a male and female.

For the last few years, the oldest one dealt with RI (respitary infection). Its been to the vet many times before, where they have done a cultural test to determine the bacteria/virus involved and was given medication. The medication given were Baytril shots into the forearm. Because of this, my tortoise now is scared of being handled and takes time before he decides to peak his head out. The treatment never really fully cured/treated him. Eating habits have not changed, activity was still there.

The same thing is with the younger female.. showing the same signs. The other younger male is more active than the others and does not display any signs of RI. All of them get very active when in the sun. They all have good appetite and eat well.

Now, I don't like the breathing sounds I hear.. the occasional wheezing and the clear, thin mucous coming out of their nostrils. You can hear like a "cough" as well when he's breathing.To make things even more worrying for me, the oldest male's left eye seems to be watery. When awoken, his left eye opens later than his other. I've gently wiped it to see if there's anything in his eye that's causing him to be teary, but there's nothing.

I have an appointment tomorrow with the vet... the same one that deals with tortoises, but I'm very reluctant as I've been to him many times before and have gone no where with his treatment plan. To me, its as if they're still sick with no change. So I would like other expert ideas on what treatment plan I should proceed with my beloved Torts.

Thanks in advance!

I would recommend to your vet that he use Fortaz (ceftazidime) injections rather than Baytril. It is much less harmful to the tissues and less painful at the injection site, and it only needs to be given every three days. 4 or 5 doses usually kills almost any RI. Ask your vet for a 5 cc. bottle of ophthalmic drops (Neomycin, dexamethasone and polymyxin B) to put into the tortoises' eyes and nostrils a couple or more times daily also. That will help kill off more bugs in their nasal passages and tear ducts, etc. which irritate the eyes and throat.

Good luck.

Thank you for your informative reply. I wrote all these things down and will go to my vet in a few hours and let him know what others thought.

ps. Did I read correctly in another thread that you are a dentist? If so, then its nice to see another fellow tooth doc taking care of torts

Guilty!

So, I was at the vet today. I mentioned what you told me and he agreed. We also did a culture test on the younger female and we'll see what that gives us. Currently the older male is getting the antibiotic eye drops. Once the bacteria is known from the culture test, we'll proceed with the right medication.

regards!

OK, Sharif. It sounds as though you are on the right track now. I hope all goes well with the treatment(s).

Are you in private practice? If so, where is your office? I have been practicing in Sharon, CT since 1973.

Zovick - And I thought I was old. Did you keep turtles and tortoises back then?
In the late 60's I was a member in "The International Turtle and Tortoise Society", spent a lot of money with Larry Lantz of "Midwest Reptile Exchange" Fort Wayne Indiana, and was on Ross Allen's "Turtle Trader List".
The 4" Rule pretty much killed my dreams back in '74.
jsc

http://jscrick.com
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I have been keeping turtles and tortoises continuously since 1954 and I still love doing it. Did you read any of my articles in the old IT&TS Journal back in the day? I still have mine in the green binders one could buy from IT&TS to store them. Also have many old price lists: Midwest, Ray Singleton, WC "Bill" Smith, Tarpon Zoo, Thompson's Wild Animal Farm, Blue Ribbon Pet Farm, The Snake Place, and more.

Bought a gorgeous Radiated from Larry Lantz in 1969. He is still producing babies today.

I bought a Radiated from him too. Some from the Leon Leper (sp?) group. I thought LL was dead.
I still have my old ITTS Journals as well.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

To clarify my previous post: the tortoise is the one still producing babies, not Larry. I believe I also have heard that Larry is deceased.

I actually just finished dental school in Europe and will be doing my GPR residency in Ohio next year for 2 years. Afterwards, I do not yet know where I will settle.

Got a call from the Vet. No update with regards to the RI infection, but a stool check on the younger female tortoise shows pinworms :-/ Since the 3 tortoises are kept together, its more than likely the others have it, too.

Doing a bit of online research, it appears to be pretty common. I see that they are parasites that are found in the lower GI tract. But how bad are pin worms for tortoises? What effects can they cause?