Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a sulcata that is approx fifteen inches-with an upper respitory infection- she is still eating, still soaking(i have been soaking daily), still drinking, still active.
She wasnt- I went on vacation and when I returned she was sneezing mucous from her nostrils, not active, not eating.I got her baytril from work, I dosed her with that a couple times and she got better-or so I thought. Became active again, eating, etc. No more sneezing, no more mucous.
This was about two weeks ago- but its back again. The sneezing- so far, no mucous.
What I need to know is how I should proceed? More baytril? I injected her doses into her cactus, which she ate up, before- but now she smells the cactus (at least I THINK she is smelling it), and wont take a bite, but she will eat untreated cactus. I would like to give baytril injections, but do not know how to calculate the correct dosage. Because it is offlabel use, there is no listing on the vial, and my herpvet boss is out of town for the rest of the month with no way to contact her.
I have her warm- she has free run of my livingroom (unpredictable weather!) with her heat lamp attached to a table leg- she has been camping out there....wanders to eat, eats then returns to her lamp.
I also have calcium gluconate which I started using because it was easier to put it inside cactus than to dust the yard when she is grazing, but when she was soaking she passed chalky urates (alot-but then everything that comes out of her is alot), and I didnt know if that was bad or good- so I havent used it again.
I did a search on the forum, and I THINK I learned that urates are good, but maybe not. lol.
advice, please, on how to proceed.

>>but when she was soaking she passed chalky urates (alot-but then everything that comes out of her is alot), and I didnt know if that was bad or good- so I havent used it again.
>>I did a search on the forum, and I THINK I learned that urates are good, but maybe not. lol.
>>advice, please, on how to proceed.

Urates are just reptile urine, the moister they are for a sulcata the better. The drier they are the more apt they are to cause calculi to build up & cause a problem. Getting them out is a good thing dry or not.
What type of diet does your tortoise eat?

As for the URI, if Baytril hasn't helped my first thought would be look at the humidity levels. If it's too much or too little either way they can exhibit resp. symptoms. So raising or lowering the humidity can be of some help.
However IMO if this is an infection then the next step should be a tracheal wash then have samples sent to a lab for cultures to find out what pathogen is causing this problem.
If Baytril isn't helping then it'd be best to find out exactly what would help through lab testing.
Another thought, has this tortoise been parasite tested? Certain parasites can cause respiratory symptoms that won't go away with antibiotic treatment.
Try to have a few tests run as soon as you can, then take it from there.
Good luck with this one & let us know if we can help in any way.
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PHRatz

It is a ninety percent grazer on the grasses and weeds in the yard. I planted my entire yard with the different grass/weed seeds that I ordered from turtlestuff.com- with a regular grass seed mixed in. I have a freaking salad buffet back there. There is also a variety of edible flowers an occasional squash, I offer mazuri also- but she wont eat it. I have her hidebox stuffed with orchard grass hay, and also various piles of it located strategically through the yard. Now and then I give her a pepper, which is a nice snack. It has been definitely easier to feed this one than my badluck attempts at hatchlings.

>>It is a ninety percent grazer on the grasses and weeds in the yard. I planted my entire yard with the different grass/weed seeds that I ordered from turtlestuff.com- with a regular grass seed mixed in. I have a freaking salad buffet back there. There is also a variety of edible flowers an occasional squash, I offer mazuri also- but she wont eat it. I have her hidebox stuffed with orchard grass hay, and also various piles of it located strategically through the yard. Now and then I give her a pepper, which is a nice snack. It has been definitely easier to feed this one than my badluck attempts at hatchlings.

Great! Sounds like you're doing good with what you have for diet. Mine has the same sort of set up outside but I have noticed in the heat of summer when the lawn is dry I must add some sopping wet grocery store greens to her diet 1-2 times a week because if I don't her urates get too dry & she's even gotten constipated one time because she wasn't injesting enough moisture.
After that episode I've made it a habit to make sure she gets enough this time of year.
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PHRatz

I got her baytril from work, I dosed her with that a couple times and she got better-or so I thought. Became active again, eating, etc. No more sneezing, no more mucous.
>>This was about two weeks ago- but its back again. The sneezing- so far, no mucous.

I just reread this part of your post. That could be part of the problem, not being medicated for a long enough period of time.
When you begin a course of medication it has to be given for a long enough period of time to kill the infection or else it will come back & often it'll be worse.
That's why human medications always say finish all the medication, don't stop just because you feel better.
For a reptile though, you'd have to have a vet determine the length of time needed for the meds. It often varies so much for reptiles as opposed to dogs. Too bad your vet is out of town, is there another vet filling in? Maybe that vet could decide how long to give the meds.
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PHRatz

a. once her nose cleared, she wouldnt eat the cactus that I put the medicine in

b. I worried about hurting her kidneys with Baytril, not sure if it was truly okay to use or not

No, we have other vets, but they have absolutely no idea what to do with any exotics.

>>a. once her nose cleared, she wouldnt eat the cactus that I put the medicine in
>>

That's one reason why I like Baytril tabs, stuff them into s flower & they eat it without a clue lol.

>>b. I worried about hurting her kidneys with Baytril, not sure if it was truly okay to use or not
>>
It is an ok drug to use with them for 7 days or so without harm as long as they are properly hydrated but like I said I'd want some tests run to find out what's causing the problem.
I understand you're kind of stuck right now with the vet being out of town.
What about a parasite test though? When you see their parasites it's really no different than looking at a positive fecal on a dog. If there are parasites there, they can be seen same as a dog's so I wonder if while the vet is gone could someone at your clinic run a fecal? It'd be nice to rule that in or out so then you'd know if an antiparasitic is needed rather than the antibiotic.
I feel for you, if I were in your shoes I'd be a little frustrated about now with that vet out of town for so long.
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PHRatz

Im a licensed veterinary technician- I can run the fecal,
it was negative before- doesnt mean it still is. What do you recommend deworming with?

I know one herp vet who won't call a tortoise parasite free until three fecals have come up clear.
What to deworm with would of course depend on what parasite is found if any. Sometimes it's protozoans that show up instead of worms so you know how that goes have to use something completely different.
Of course we never use ivermectin in tortoises ever.
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PHRatz

I meant to ask: how do you figure the dosages? I know its one cc per ten pounds in dogs, one cc per five pounds in cats...how does it work in torts?

Can't discuss dosages for prescription drugs because then that's delving into practicing medicine without a license.
Best thing to do there is consult a veterinarian, any veterinarian can get that info if they'll try. :-x
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PHRatz

AAARRRGGHHHH! I will look it up myself. I just didnt feel like dragging out the dosage books and searching til I found it.
Thanks anyway.