Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have injectable vitamin A to give my my Russian Tortoises but it does not state how much to administer! I need help!

How do you know it needs vitamin A?
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

I'm speaking from relative ignorance here (as usual <g>, but unless your tortoise has acute vitamin A deficiency, I would not give the injection, as I've heard that Vitamin A injections can be dangerous for tortoises that don't have an acute deficiency. My understanding is that because it is a fat soluble vitamin, it is easy to overdose. Can you not give him foods that are rich in Vitamin A?

Nina

Ditto Nina's ignorance but I have read that some torts injected with Vitamin A can lose their skin. It sort of peels off. Did your vet prescribe after seeing puffy eyes?
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Julia
Sulcatas Echo and Tank

Yes, but also weepiness and a nasal discharge couple with weight loss and appetite loss and I knwo that he was a wild caught tortoise and that the quiality of care before I received him was not so good. They were only feeding him iceberg lettuce and apples!

I am actually already feeding my tortoise a diet of Critical Care with calcium powder mixed in because it refuses to eat on it's own at this point, so an injection is needed unfortunately!

Vit A overdose,The skin falls off,its the worst picture in F.Frye's Med. book.Try Cod Liver oil in the mouth,a little dab i'll do ya.A Vet could do a Vit A inj correctly if thats what it needs.Is it twitching? Page 335 Atlas of diseases and treatments Vo.II

It is the most likely scenario because his symptoms are:
-Swollen eyelids
-Loss of appetite and weight
-Raw skin with secondary bacterial infections
-Nasal discharge
and I do not think that the quality of care before I received him was good at all.

In my experience vitamin “A” injections are most often fatal. I have seen tortoises a few days after an injection and their skin just sloughs off. I sell lots of my captive hatched tortoises, which are completely healthy and too many well-meaning buyers immediately take their tortoise to their local vet for a “Vet Check”. The vet says the tortoise is fine but gives a vitamin “A” injection for good measure and a few days later the tortoise is dead. If you are going to give a vitamin “A” injection you need to have a very qualified tortoise veterinarian do it as the slightest overdose will probably kill your tortoise.