Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So here's the update... I have a 6-7 month old leopard tort. Anyway, my mom brought Herman to the vet for me today. The vet said it was hard to tell if Herman had an upper respiratory infection or a vitamin A deficiency... He gave him an injection of Baytril and told me to come back for another on Thursday if he still shows symptoms. He didn't see anything except for Herman breathing slightly heavy... No runny nose, no watery eyes, no bubbles... All things that I saw this morning... I kept him warm all day in a smaller enclosure and maybe that might have been the reason he was feeling better?? I wanted to be safe than sorry. Anyway, he didn't ask what species it was and told my mom that the temps in the tank would be fine at 70... I found that a little strange because my thoughts are that my tort was too cold and that is why he's not feeling well. I have quarantined him to a smaller & warmer area and he ate more than I've ever seen him eat and was more active than I've seen him be since I brought him home... I think I am going to take the warmer route because he's seeming to like it... What do you guys think?
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Lisa

1 Mali Uro - Matilda
1 Leopard Tort - Herman
1 Shih Tzu - Jake

lisasmith@optonline.net

Some herp vets would get upset over the logic of giving one shot of an antibiotic and then waiting to see what happens but Baytril is such a powerful antibiotic that I don't know if this should be a concern or not. I've seen it do some amazing things with other herps with only one dose given.
I'd suggest keeping it really warm and continue the soakings and see what happens then. If it has a strong apatite and it is coming out the other end in a normal fashion, I wouldn't think you would have anything to worry about but do keep an eye out for anything else unusual.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care