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upper respiratory tract **please help

bab310

bab310

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I want to thank everyone in advance for any help you can give.

Here is the situation I've had my sulcata for about 2 years with no trouble... good eater plenty of room to roam the usual. Yesterday when i picked her up I heard the infamous clicking or popping sound you always hear about when people talk about RNS or a upper respiratory tract infection. I watched her for a while and there is no runny nose but i did notice one little bubble come out of her nostril. Here is where the help is needed....I was let go from my job a few months ago and have no money (may even lose the house) but i want to treat my tortoises infection. Is there any antibiotic or treatment I can give without having to take her to the vet (cant afford it)? If there is how do I dose her and where can I buy it? from a website or store??

Again thank you so much for the help.
 
I have had snakes with the same symptoms (I know nothing about sulcatas).

Prescribed first method (for BCI's or Balls) is to get them warm, crank the heat a bit, keep it a little dry. (This will kill an arboreal boa or python, but will be ok for the not-so-sensitive ones).

Give it the ability to get away from the heat as well, but keep it warmer than normal.

I have no idea if this is good for sulcatas as well, but that's a good first step for BCI's and BP's.

GL
 
My big male sulcata developed an upper repiratory infection once. I kept him dry and warm for a while. This worked and after a week of this he was fine.
 
bab310 said:
I want to thank everyone in advance for any help you can give.

Here is the situation I've had my sulcata for about 2 years with no trouble... good eater plenty of room to roam the usual. Yesterday when i picked her up I heard the infamous clicking or popping sound you always hear about when people talk about RNS or a upper respiratory tract infection. I watched her for a while and there is no runny nose but i did notice one little bubble come out of her nostril. Here is where the help is needed....I was let go from my job a few months ago and have no money (may even lose the house) but i want to treat my tortoises infection. Is there any antibiotic or treatment I can give without having to take her to the vet (cant afford it)? If there is how do I dose her and where can I buy it? from a website or store??

Again thank you so much for the help.
Click to expand...

"Taken from the book SULCATAS by Russ Gurley"

-Respiratory Ailments-

Respiratory problems occur when a tortoise gets chilled or is kept in sub-optimal conditions. Minor problems can be corrected with heat and a drop in humidity. If not corrected, minor problems can progress to more serious conditions such as pneumonia. Signs of a respiratory problem include labored breathing, a nasal discharge, a gaping mouth, puffy eyes, lethargy, and a loss of appetite.

To correct minor respiratory problems, increase the warmth of the enclosure with an extra heat source such as a fixture with an incandescent bulb and /or a heating pad under the enclosure. Keep the enclosure hot and dry. Bump up the temperature from 80* to 90* and increase the hot spot from 90* to 100* range.

More severe cases or tortoises that do not respond to added heat will typically require a course of antibiotics. We have found Baytril (Enrofloxacin) and Garamycin (Gentomycin) to be effectivce for treating respiratory ailments in turtles and tortoises. (You will need to consult a veterinarian for treatment or to obtain antibiotic drugs)

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So pretty much just a rerun of what everyone else said.
I will add though that it would be a good idea to give her an infra red heat lamp to sleep under at night, put her somewhere where there is no air draft, and keep her as clean as possible to reduce bacteria. Go to your local grocery store and get her some Mixed Baby Greens and make her a salad with reptile vitamins added. And in the meantime figure out what caused the sickness. The easiest way to solve a problem is to find the cause. Temp drops, dusty air, bacteria in the air, could be lots of things but if it's a respiratory infection that should give you a good lead.
 
Great info!!! I have her in a room now that is very dry and i have the heat cranked so it's around 90 just like you said. She has been in there since Friday so i will give it about a week and see how things are.
it appears she is already doing better though.......i have not seen any nasal discharge and she is eating very well.

I had her in the basement with multiple heat lights but her enclosure is so big she may not have had enough sustained heat....I'm going to do a few test and see if i need to add more heat to the enclosure.


Again thanks for all the help.
 
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