Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

One of my female eastern box turtles has, what I’m guessing is, a respiratory infection. She has a clear, semi-thick, bubbly, mucus-type liquid coming from her nostrils and/or mouth (not quite sure which one(s)). A couple weeks ago I noticed a sound that sounded like a mix between the regular "hiss" box turtles usually make when they quickly pull their heads into their shells and someone gently blowing their nose. I wasn’t sure what the sound was or which turtle was making it. Today is the first day I noticed the mucus type liquid coming from her nose/mouth and saw that the sound came from when she pulled her head into her shell. She doesn’t make the strange noise every time she pulls her head in, and there isn’t always mucus coming from her nose/mouth. My vet isn’t very experienced with reptiles; I live in a small town, and he is the only vet around that has any experience with reptiles. A couple years ago one of my other eastern females had something similar, and people on this forum told me she had a respiratory infection. They told me the treatment and medications she needed. I then told my vet what they had said, and he gave me the correct medications for me to give her. I was hoping somebody could do the same thing this time. You can either post the answers on here or e-mail me. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Steven

Vets will usually give them Baytril, injectable.

HEAT--get a heat source and make sure she is very warm all day long. This is the most important factor when dealing with these things.

Also, make sure she soaks at least once a day. Even if you have a water source in her enclosure, assume that she is not soaking/drinking enough.

you will need to get to a vet asap. in the meantime the most important thing is humidity. make sure theres good moisture in the substrate and soak the turtle everyday. if you rase the heat make sure it doesnt get to hot because that can kill the turtle quiker than the infection. but you gotta get to a vet soon

Hi,

Thanks for the info everyone. I won't be able to get her to the vet until Monday afternoon. In the meantime, I will make she she stays warm and give her long daily soaks. I forgot to mention in my first message, but she is still eating the same and is just as active as she's always been. I don't know if this is a factor for anything, but I just thought I would let you know. As far as the treatment goes, should shots of baytril every other day for a week clear it up? If I'm not mistaken, I think that is what we did last time with my other turtle. Again, thanks for your help. It is greatly appreciated.

Steven

I had a group of box turtles that I kept inside, because they didn't look that good at hibernation time. They eventually developed symptoms of respiratory infection and I took them to a herp vet. The vet had me keep them in temps in the high 80s and she prescribed what I think was the injectible baytril and had me give it to them by mouth. I can get the dose per weight if you need it. But it worked very well that way. They are all out in their pen now and doing very well.
I made sure they got a good soak at least twice a day.

I have cleared up what appeared to be respiratory infections with heat and force feeding a baby food chicken mixture that included vitamins, calcium, gatorade or pedialyte and a little cod liver oil. But if your turtle has a lot of mucous and you can go to a vet and get an antibiotic, I would do that.