Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I took my Ornate Box Turtle to a vet (he specializes in reptiles) and after taking X-rays he thinks she may have pneumonia. He prescribed oral antibiotics (Baytril) to be administered with a syringe every other day.

Torti knows me very well so she will not open her mouth for me. The vet and technicians annoy her so she takes bites at them which makes it easy for them to give her her dosage. I wrap her loosely in a towel, turn her up and patiently try to get her to open her mouth with the syringe with no luck. She hasn't eaten in 2 weeks so food is not an enticing method in getting her to open her mouth for me.

Does anyone have any tips to share? I'd hate to have to result to giving her injections.

Many thanks in advance,

Gabriela
The Critters

Good job in taking your turtle to the vet in the first place.

You face a very difficult problem. A unique problem, and one that hasn't been consistently solved. The menace response that your vet and tech's used is probably the best bet for animals that will take the bait. I suggest you attempt to do this.

Another method that works less well is to take the cotton off the end of a wooden Q-tip and try to gently pry open the mouth. Credit cards may also work, but I find they are next to useless in a turtle.

Your turtle hasn't eaten in 2 weeks? Is the weight loss getting substantial (keep good records on this, you'll need it later). Perhaps ask the vet if a esophagosteal feeding tube would be an option. They are handled nicely by turtles, and this would solve the medication adminstering and feeding problems together. The only difficulty in this case would be that your box turtle is a rather small species and the tube may be too small to be beneficial. Like I said, talk to your DVM on this one

Good luck and keep us posted k?
Ian

Hi Ian,

Thank you for your tip. Today is the day I have to "try" to administer her next dosage so your Q-Tip/Credit Card tip is most helpful.

Torti weighed 1 lb when I took her in last week, and she'll be weighed again when she goes back to the vet next Friday. I can report that yesterday she ate a small piece of a strawberry, a small piece of raspberry and a small portion of kitten, canned catfood. I was pleased about that. We'll see how she does today.

I've been keeping her in the garage, where it's warmer, with a heating lamp at night. During the day, I take her out when it's warm to bathe in her water bowl and I place her in the spot she likes to hang out during the day.

I can see why people wouldn't rush out to take their ailing reptiles to a Vet. This one visit cost me $300.00, and while I think it's worth it, and I can afford it, it could be a problem for those that don't have the funds to spend. I inherited these turtles (I have 2 Central American Wood Turtles and 1 male Western Ornate) from the previous home owner who didn't bother to tell us that he left them behind, so I guess I deserve credit for taking this sweet critter to the vet.

I'll keep you posted on her condition. I'll report back after next Friday, after her next Vet visit. In the meantime, thank you so much for your help/support.

Gabriela

It's good to here that you may be making some progress with "Torti".
Ideally reptiles would never need to be taken to see a vet. They don't need vaccines, and in general, are very hardy.

As you had found out when it came to paying the vet, it is still a very valid consideration before getting any pet. Granted the emergency clinic I work at see's mostly dogs and cats, each night during the summer we have at least one client going home less two grand. Most of these cases see the animals recover nicely and it wouldn't have been fair to euthanize them over cost consideration. Unfortunately this is the number one reason why animals are euthanized...

As for the wood turtles, take care of them, they are a threatened species. Perhaps look into your local laws and see if breeding them is okay. This may take a little edge off of the wild collecting. I recently returned from Wisconsin and found one to photograph. It was actually my first ever wild turtle and a exciting find