Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i took my 1 yr old sulcata to the vet on sat~ he was breathing wierd so i thought he had a uri, vet said she had just got a new stethascope to try just for turtle it picks up the smallest of sounds,anyway the vet said first of all that my he looks more like a she and that "her" lungs sounded great so she did a stool sample and my poor baby has pin worms! vet thinks my tort may be anemic from the overwhelming amnt of worms she found and wants to draw blood... which will require my baby to be sedated, so she wont be in pain, vet will do a dna for me as well so we will know for sure whether we have a tiny or a tina lol vet says her wieght and shell look awsome and that other than the worms she is very helthy~ went from 56 grams to 320 grams in 13 months is that normal? im very worried about the sedation will she be ok? anyone elses baby have to go under? also the vet will start antibiotics on mon too after the blood work~ vet says she has to order a special kind, some nontoxic stuff, dunno anyways any info would be appriciated plse!!

I am a little confused. Your tortoise shouldn't have to be sedated to obtain a blood sample and an intestinal parasite like pinworms will not cause anemia ,which is a decreased number of red blood cells which can be caused by blood sucking parasites like fleas, ticks, mites , etc. Also, why, if your tortoise is healthy except for the pinworms, would your vet be putting your tortoise on antibiotics? Is this veterinarian experienced with reptiles, specifically tortoises? Because some of this sounds a little fishy.
-----
Stacey

ok my vet is def qulified ive seen her credentials ..but even if she wasnt (she is)she is the only vet in our area that will take on reptiles and she owns many of her own, she did say my torts lungs were very clear and even on both sides the antibiotics are a just in case thing , she is also getting somthing to get rid of the pinworms but i cant remember the name of it the blood work is to check for anemia because her lungs were clear she is looking for the reason my tort is breathing so deeply.The anastesia is so that when the blood is drawn she wont wiggle as much and also so it wont hurt her as badly...she will be asleep am i wrong? does it not do this? what questions should i be asking?how do you get rid of pinworms?why wouldnt they cause a anemia?they are a parasite right?help guys!!!

I would ask the vet to draw the blood without putting your
tortoise under. It will be much easier on her than to give
her sedation.

Please don't take offense to the posts. Many vets say they
have experience when in fact they do not. Ask how many
tortoises she has treated and if she does not have a history
get on the internet and find someone who does.

I learned the hard way with so called "exotic vets" who
had experience. My pet is dead due to their mistake!

Just trying to protect your tort

Linda

ok i called the vet we are now going to get x rays of the lungs do blood work {she still wants to give the tort a lil gas to help put her out as we are doing a whole range of tests) we are doin x rays deworming blood work (its to make sure all is ok infection and iron wise)and yes she has other turtles on her pt list but no sulcatas russians and asians ple plse if ya know anything else i should check let me know im not getting offended just worried!

I would still insist she try to draw blood without putting
the turtle under. Reptiles are known to die very quickly
under anesthesia. If your turt is anemic that will add to
the problem. Try this way first and only if extremely
necessary resort to the anesthetic. If she ends up giving
gas, ask her if it is Isofluorine. This is the safest and
any exotic vet should have it and use it.

Hope this helps. Remember, you have the right to ask
necessary questions as you are paying for the services.

Good luck to you and your tortoise
Linda

You really need xrays to rule out an upper repiratory infection. I don't know what his "new special" stethoscope is but I haven't heard of one that can ascult a tortoise's lungs through the shell. If you heard strange breating noises I would ask for xrays to make sure.
-----
Stacey

n/m

ok i will any idea how muh x rays would run? im already lookin at 200 for the other stuff tell me if this sounds right 90 bloodwork 30 anastesia 40 dna 20 antibiotics oh and she said the only place to take blood is the forarms or tail is she right ? ima ask lota more qustions today!

i made a mistake on here i acidentally said pin worm its hookworm not pinworm my tort has i dont know if that make any diff but ...also you all said no anastesia for blood work where does your vet take blood from? my vat said forarm or tail and that its painful is that right? and i will get x rays for her lungs anything else? help!

When you look for advice on the net be aware that you are going to get a great amount of opinion (including this)... Be careful of this. We are not seeing your pet, we do not know you or your vet. Those are some very important unknowns. It might be a good idea to consider this information but I wouldn’t recommend that you act on this alone.
You really don’t have a choice but to trust the vet you are using and don’t be afraid to go with your gut feeling. Don’t be intimidated buy the vet and do ask any questions you might have. All good vets are more than willing to answer any questions you have and will act on what you are comfortable with... if not, do your best to find another vet.
Now here is my 2 cents...
I believe that any internal parasite has the potential for causing anemia via various mechanisms. I would think they could attack the organs responsible for blood production or they can use the resources needed for blood production or they might even use the blood itself.
There are very experienced vets that will not work up a turtle/tortoise unless it is anesthetized because of the idea that they will do less harm and in the case of an x-ray, get a clearer picture. I don’t agree with this. It adds risk and cost that does not outweigh the benefit.
Blood can be drawn from the any of the legs, neck, or tail. I’ve seen it drawn most often from the neck. That seems to be the easiest vein to find.
It would seem like the vet you are using is doing a bunch of unnecessary tests. If there are no obvious signs of respiratory problems (labored breathing, snotty nose, gaping...) I would go no further. If there are signs of parasites (a fecal should be enough to show this), have the vet treat it for that and see if there is improvement.
Finally, make sure the environment is good with water available and a good temperature gradient of 85 to 100 F.
(this is a little more than 2 cents worth but I was feeling chatty today)
-----
Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

First, I would like to say I did not intend to offend or upset anyone. I have been a registered veterinary technician for 12 years and have done a great deal of work on and study into the medicine of reptiles so, I was just trying to offer some advice so you could get the best possible care for your tortoise. With that said, in regards to your vet " giving a little gas" to your tortoise it is VERY impractical to try to anesthetize a tortoise (or most reptiles for that matter) using isofluorane (which as Linda stated is along with Sevofluorane the safest gas) anesthetic alone, because tortioses can hold their breath for a very long time and breathe very slowly. Isofluorane is an inhalant anesthetic so it could take HOURS for your tortoise to get even a little sleepy. In order to take blood from a foreleg on a tortoise you would most likely have to do a cut down which is where you cut through the extremely thick skin to find the vessel. This seems silly when there is a perfectly good jugular vein that is easily accessible on a good sized tortiose such as yours. Hookworms are intestinal parasites and can cause abnormalities in the bloodwork but unless your tortoise has such a HUGE parasite load that it has started to cause intestinal bleeding, anemia is not one of them. I think that a blood panel is always a good idea in pets because it can uncover underlying disease that is just starting or if everything is normal it can give you a baseline for when your pet is sick.

Now I mean absolutely no offense again, but just from what you said it really does not sound like your vet has experience treating tortoises. She may own them but I do not think she has treated them. Now, I do not know this vet and am going only on what you have saif so I could be completely wrong, but if it were my tortoise I would look into another reptile vet. You can go to www.arav.org and see if there is a reptile vet near you. Even if you have to drive a couple of hours it would be worthwhile. This is just my opinion so you can take it or leave it. I just hang around the forum because I love to talk and learn about tortoises and I have two California desert tortoises that I adore . (As far as cost for xrays, in CA it would cost about $100 for the xrays alone)
-----
Stacey

thanks ill keep this in mind i agree about the unnessasary testing and i think ill not go w anastesia everyone thinks its a bad idea everyone ive talked to about it i mean the bloodwork is gonna be 90 alone and antibiotics 20 and xray 40 wormer 20 so im lookin at a hefty vet bill! as for forgoing the x rays to wait and see id rather do it to be safe she is breathing deeply not so much wheezing as just deep breathing but i wanna be safe

ok im taking up the whole forum!!
lol
i called around to herp vets in my area and they are saing that yes the turtle should have anastesia to get the jugular vien as it will relax the tort enough that the vet can get at the neck vien,and keep it from squirming this vet is VERY experinced i got her off of the website on one of the previous posts all she does is herps anyways i am sooo confused about what to do as she doesnt have any open appt till jan and i need to get my tort seen this vet says that it sounds like my vet knows what she is doing! now i dont know what to do i just want my tort better HELP!!!!!!!

If that is the case then I would follow the advice of your veterinarian. She will have the best interests of your tortoise in mind. Good luck. Your tortoise is lucky to have such a committed owner
-----
Stacey