This is quite long, if you don't want to read it all then just skip to the last paragraph.
My case is a bit of an odd one. I live in a poor country in the Middle East, pets aren't popular here. If someone has a pet it's most likely a dog, cat or a bird... Reptiles as pets are almost unheard of, and I can't find a vet who has experience with turtles, and even if I found one his medical info would likely be either wrong or terribly outdated...
One of my baby RES is sick, about a week ago he couldn't swim properly anymore, he was swimming in circles around himself and doing backflips and floating on his back... I took him out of the water and have been keeping him a heated box (around 85 to 90 degrees) and I put him in shallow warm water a few times every day to drink and eat... I started reading online on turtle illness and I narrowed down the possibilities of him having either parasites in his stomach that caused gasses that made him to be unable to swim, or a respiratory infection that filled his lungs with fluid... At first I thought that the parasites theory was more likely, because he didn't show any other signs of a respiratory infection aside from his swimming; he had a great appetite, nothing was coming out of his nose, and he didn't gasp for breath... But in the last few days his condition got much worse and I'm pretty sure he has a respiratory infection now... His eyes got puffy and he keeps them closed most of the time and he rubs them several times with his arms before opening them, he's very lethargic and sleeps all the time except when I put him in water. I heard him sneeze a couple of times, and in one occasion I saw liquid coming out of his nose and he was breathing from his mouth (I didn't see him do that again). Other really strange symptoms include occasionally becoming extremely irritated in water and starts doing all kinds of weird behaviors, and although his appetite is still strong, he has a lot of difficulty catching floating food with his mouth, he keeps biting at water just above or beside the food again and again without success, he only manages to catch something after many tries. I'm not sure if this has to do with his impaired vision or if it's something else... He also tilts his head sideways and upwards a lot. When I put him in the water he doesn't sink, he floats lopsided even while sleeping and without filling his neck with air.
I got him a solution of 3% boric acid and 97% distilled water for his eyes, and I decided to give him an antibiotic for his respiratory infection... I first read about Baytril Enrofloxacin), but when I asked about it in pharmacies they told me that it doesn't exist in this country. Next up I read about Amikacin, and today I managed to get him that along with the finest syringe available... I understand that injecting him with Amikacin by myself is risky since it's highly toxic and I need to get the dosage just right, that's why I still haven't done it... Also today I read about Ceftazidime and it seems to be a better choice than Amikacin, since it's supposedly safer and far less toxic with no side effects like Amikacin (check http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=67...72659&key=2004) So now I'm thinking of going tomorrow morning and see if I can find it, and maybe return the Amikacin I bought and get Ceftazidime instead. Or should I stick to Amikacin? Or maybe both?
According to the info I gathered Amikacin should be given at 2.5mg to 5mg per kg of body weight (does that include the shellt?) every 48 hours.
As for Ceftazidime it's 20mg/kg every 72 hours.
I read that it should be injected in the loose skin between the front legs, but I find that a little vague, if you can give me a more accurate explanation on where to insert the needle it would be great.
The problem is, I don't have access to an accurate electronic scale to measure the turtle's weight. Can you help me estimate his weight based on his size? His bottom shell is 1.5 inches long and 1 inch wide, while his upper shell is 1.5 inches in diameter. He's not overweight, my friend has a similar sized RES that's fatter and feels a bit heavier than mine when carried... Any ideas on how to get my turtle's weight measured? Or can you estimate how much it would be based on the info I provided? Please help me, I need this info ASAP to save him 
