Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, Today I took my two boxies into the vet for a respiratory infection and so now I have to give them injections every other day. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to due this. the vet already told me the basics but I just want to know if there are any secerts to avoid getting bitten and put less stress on them.

Hi,

I am a veterinary technician for a reptile veterinarian. The best and least painful place to give the injection is in the "shoulder" of a front leg. It usually takes two people to get this done. One has to hold the legs out so the other person can give the shot in the correct place. Another good idea is to alternate legs when you have to give the shots (left leg one day, right leg the next day).

We had to give our redfoot several series of shots after he developed a bad LRI. A freak incident happened where we managed to hit a nerve in his right front leg - he limped for a couple of months because he couldn't turn his front foot over properly! This is pretty uncommon, but our vet recommended injecting in the soft area around the upper portion of the back legs after that. We alternated legs with each shot - and he never saw us coming, so he never lashed out at anything. I found following the shot up with a treat helped him forget that anything hurt (although he doesn't bite anyway, so maybe we're just lucky).

What I'm guessing Egoman was trying to point out is that oral equivalents of the many drugs you have to administer is just as effective without the pain of a needle.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

If you give an injection in a back leg, the antibiotic will go directly to the liver and it can kill the tortoise.

Just curious - I've never heard that before, and we've had this tortoise seen by three different herp vets (including a specialist with a zoological background). Could you send me the paper/source of that info? Also, more details about how/why it goes to the liver? I'd really like to show it to my vets! Thanks

I'm going to offer my 2 centavos here.

Amikacin has been suspect in causing kidney failure when administered in the hind quarters. Maybe that is what he was thinking of.

>>Just curious - I've never heard that before, and we've had this tortoise seen by three different herp vets (including a specialist with a zoological background). Could you send me the paper/source of that info? Also, more details about how/why it goes to the liver? I'd really like to show it to my vets! Thanks
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Sned I think you are mis-interpreting the renal portal system. The problem with this is that the drug is carried in the blood stream to the kidneys prior to usage and metabolization and excreted. The gent who suggested that Amikacin has a problem with this is because of course, amikacin is nephrotoxic and can cause problems, esp. in dehydrated animals.

However:

Recent studies are questioning this theory and have shown drug blood levels to be similar post injection whether the shot was given posteriorly or anteriorly. Does your vet have a vin subscription? There is crazy amount of information and CE available on the site...www.vin.com.