Urgent Care :: Sick turtle would like opinions...

[Hoooneylynn]

I dont really trust pet stores... I have been lied to and was told the wrong care to give them.... those people will try to sell you vitashell and tell you to rub it on their skin... NOT a good idea!

[ravanger]

Took Diego to the vet and am not satisfied with that vet... she's the only vet I can find that deals with hatchlings so I have to deal with her to get any meds, but I have a question. If Diego doesn't have RI (she didn't do any tests on my turt... just looked at him and poked at him with her pen) will he be okay if I give baytril to him? What I mean is if he's healthy will giving the antibiotic do any harm to him? He's showing signs of getting healthy by himself... jumps in the water now and swims under the water when I try to grab him

Also most of his blisters have fallen off and new skin looks healthy underneath and no new blisters have appeared anywhere... very happy turtle mommy!!!

[SpotsMama]

How's his appetite? Is he getting plenty to eat?

[ravanger]

Yeah he eats all the food I give him (as much as his head size, plus a tad of treats). I am going to inject the meds into a worm today for his first treatment, but I want to make sure that it will be okay to give him the meds if he doesn't need it. I'd like to give him the meds as just a precautionary measure, but don't want to accidentally make a healthy turtle sickly again if that would be the case.

**EDIT** After reading this I've decided not to give my turt Baytril and wait it out, if he shows signs of regression then I will resort to it. I've come to a conclusion that vets push Baytril in the case of turtles and don't properly let unknowing pet owners know the full consequences of using this drug and how to properly administer it. Link to site I found http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Medica ... mation.htm

[SpotsMama]

I agree with you on this. Shouldn't give antibiotics to a turtle that isn't sick. Just keep a close eye on him and if he starts going downhill you'll be prepared to deal with it.

Keep an eye on his weight too. He did look pretty thin in the earlier pictures like he needs to gain some weight. Maybe it was just camera angles or something.

[ravanger]

Yeah, SpotsMama, he only weighed 7 grams when they weighed him yesterday, but she didn't say anything about it. I've been feeding him treats (after his regular feeding of course) everyday in small amounts to try and fatten him up a little, but I want to do it slowly

[iac637]

WOW only 7 grams how old is he??? When we went to the Vet our smallest one Columbus and the reason we sent was because we felt he wasn't growing he still weighed 17 grams and our vet was worried about that. We used baytril but we had a perisite problem(because of where we bought them). WE are also now haveing to give him a Calcium Supplament besides just our normal Reptocal ( He receives the supplement from the Vet everyday). I can't beleive that she didn't say anything about him being only 7 grams.

[SpotsMama]

Wow iac637, I sure am glad you mentioned the parasites. That's a pretty common problem with turtles but I had forgotten about it. Ravanger, can you find someone to test for parasites? I strongly urge you to do so. Parasites could account for Diego's thinness and lack of energy. Baytril is an antibiotic so I don't think it would help with a parasite problem. You'll need something different.

iac647, what did you use for the parasites?

Also, ravanger, you should give your turtle some vitamin and calcium supplements. Here's a link on some good OTC ones if you don't already have them:

http://www.redearslider.com/supplements.html

[airgetsthinner]

I dont really trust pet stores... I have been lied to and was told the wrong care to give them.... those people will try to sell you vitashell and tell you to rub it on their skin... NOT a good idea!

well all the employees at the pet store in my town are either in school or went or are going to a school for vetrinary care, its like one of those if you go to our school we'll get you a job at this place in the mean time kind of thing. idk my best friend works there shes going to be a vetrinary assistant. im proud, .

[DavidY]

Nice! I wish I had a pet store like that nearby. You have a very rare treasure there!

[airgetsthinner]

yes i love my 88 pet world, :D

[Hoooneylynn]

Thats awesome! I too would love to go to your store, geesh.... I have gotten BAD advise about everything... they told me only feed 2 pellets a day nothing else, (and that one can of reptomin would last me a year) didnt need a heater or uvb light, they told me to just put cool water, just enough to cover the shell, and no more than that, no filter, nothing. Worse advise EVER. Yeah, and that vitashell comment? They told me that too, although they told me to use that for shedding... thank god I looked for the CORRECT information, even before I found this site, I knew something was up cause Ive read about uvb rays. they should train these people... they should know what they are selling.