Urgent Care :: Help - Antibiotic caused allergic swelling

[Casio]

Hello, I just found your group while trying to find a solution to a problem I have. It is a difficult situation and I don’t know if any of you had experienced it but here is it:

On Saturday I took my turtle to the veterinarian for a possible eye/ general infection and he was injected with a dose of Vitamin A and an antibiotic called Amik. I was to give this antibiotic for 5 consecutive days starting on Sunday and then some more between days after it.

Today I found my aquatic turtle with his right arm very swollen and unable to move. He is hardly moving at all and looking extremely weak. I search the internet and found out that antibiotics like Baytril and Amikacin could have allergic reactions like swelling and other side effects.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1451&articleid=1373


Today is Sunday and I was unable to contact my veterinarian and I’m afraid that my turtle could die tonight if I don’t do anything. I didn’t give him the antibiotic because the information I read suggested to stop using it.

Anyone knows if the swelling will go away or if there is anything that I could do to alleviate his swelling? Thanks


PS - My turtle is an adult terrapin and he is warm and spending 50% in shallow water and 50% dry. Following my vet directions.

[SpotsMama]

Poor guy. I haven't had this experience but hopefully someone else on here has and can help. What I have heard of is terrapins that have had bad reactions to vitamin A shots. It's sort of like they go into shock. Sometimes they pull out of it and sometimes not.

Probably the best you can do is what you're already doing - keep him warm, avoid stress, and keep him in shallow water if any at all so he won't have to spend energy swimming.

Good luck. I'll be pulling for you and your turtle.

[steve]

Sorry to hear about this. Was he injected on his right arm? Swelling could be a side effect and Vitamin A can be toxic if overdosed.

I don't know what would help with the swelling, but I would keep him warm, comfortable and stress-free. In the meanwhile, you might want to look for any emergency vet that might be available if the situation continues to deteriorate.

[Casio]

Thanks SpotsMama and Steve,

I had no idea about the Vitamin A having bad reactions, so it could be the antibiotic, the vit A, or the combination of both having this reaction on my turtle. I already found out that Baytril and Amikacin (Amik) could cause the swelling I didnt know that before. This is something new to me.

I'm still searching the internet for clues of what to do. I found a lot of references for people and very few for animals. Every site says to run to the doctor but they don't provide any first aid advice or hint of what to do during the night or Sundays when everything is closed. Very frustrating.

I read that with people they had to try to move their arms and keep the head and arm high but I don't know if it applies to turtles as well. My turtle is very weak so what I'm doing is every hour I place him in the container with water for him to move a little and not to get dehydrated. As soon as he gets uncomfortable I place him in his dry container. The vet told me that when they are sick they dehydrated fast.

I don't if any of you have experienced trying to find a vet that treats turtles and lots of them refusing. It is very hard to find vets willing to treat them. I was able to find one but it is far away from me. I'm really afraid of taking him to an emergency center because of previously bad experiences. If everything goes well tonight, tomorrow I will call my vet to
see what can be done.

I knew my problem will be a tricky one but it is good that you all are aware that these type of things could happen.

Thanks for trying to help me

[RunninWideOpen]

I experienced trouble finding a vet that treated turtles awhile back! I finally found one about an hour away but got there to find she knew NOTHING about turtles. She kept poking Spike in the face and eventually he bit her, and she freaked out and threw him across the room. He bounced of the wall and then she started dancing around and almost stepped on him. Then she told me she had no idea what was wrong with him. I had to tell her I thought it was RI and I wanted Baytril for him.

Moral of the story.....don't just try to find a vet who WILL treat turtles, find one who is TRAINED to, a herp vet.

Good luck with your terrapin!! I wish I had some sort of other helpful advice for you.