General Care Discussion :: adult res possibility sick?

[aon]

i heard a popping sound from her last night and before taking her to the vet i would like to know if she can get a shot of something instead of antibiotics since shes an adult? by the way last time i took my other res there all the vet did was look at it, is there a certain thing the vet was supposed to do? like a full checkup?

[megcornell]

Have you only heard the sound once?
If that's the case, I'd wait and see if it were a fluke or not. You can boost the water temp a bit to be safe, and then see if there are any other symptoms.
If she is sick with an infection like an RI, the only effective course of action is antibiotics. Is there a reason you don't want to use them? If you're not comfortable with the shots, you can get oral meds, or bring the turtle in for each injection to the vets.
As for what should happen in the visit, I'd expect the vet to give her a physical, maybe swab for some cultures (they can be expensive though), and test a stool sample if needed. Depending on what you think is wrong, and what her symptoms are will determine what the vet needs to do in terms of diagnostics. Whenever I've had my turtles at the vet, I'm always adamant about what I want and what I don't want. I also ask as many questions as I can. If you don't feel comfortable with your herp vet you can always look into a new one.

[aon]

thanks meg..i guess im paranoid from the last time when i gave my baby turtle antibiotics, and he ended up dying, i thought since this turtle is an adult i can give her shots instead, and im also concerned about cant get her mouth to open to take the antibiotics.

would the vet know if my turtle has RI from looking at her? what if im sure she does? yes i've been hearing the popping sound alot more now, not a whole lot thought.

[megcornell]

Are you seeing a herp vet? A trained herp vet should easily identify an RI or other common ailment.
I'm sorry to hear that things didn't go as well with your hatchling. Rest assured, adults are usually much hardier. But, don't be afraid to question the vet and ask about other courses of treatment etc.

[aon]

^ what do you mean adults are usually much hardier? and im so worried about not finding a herb vet asap, the last one was just horrible

[imderanged]

Aon, I think she means the adults are stonger and can pull through an illness better than the delicate hatchlings can. Where do you live? Do you know other people in the area with reptiles or any exotics? The doctor I use for my birds also see reptiles and I plan to use for my turtle since I liked how he handled my bird. If you have a dog/ cat vet for other pets they might know a good reptile vet as well. Also, in my experience the large specialtly/emergency hospitals usually have an exotics vet.

[aon]

i live in socal, i found a vet in the city alhambra which is near where i live, but that vet was inexperience now im really paranoid, i dont know if it was too late for my hatchling or there was something wrong wtih the antibiotics cause before giving me the antibiotics they were discussing which antibiotic was right.

[yterron]

Sorry about your turtle... someone mentioned to me that I should go to my nearest zoo, there they may have a more specialized vet. I live in Guatemala, so I'm dealing with the same problems you are... it really sucks!!