General Care Discussion :: WRETCHED VET

[SpotsMama]

What a experience! Like a bad dream! One of the vets I went to advertised as a herp vet. Turned out the vet business was jointly run by a woman and her husband, both vets. The husband knew about herps but he was no where around - they had a second office and that's where he worked. She didn't know anything about turtles but didn't admit it, thought my Spot's shell problem might be part of his normal pattern. That set us back several months with my thinking his problem wasn't a problem at all.

Marisa on here has said she can get oral antibiotics into her turtles by injecting them into a wiggly worm. Apparently a wiggly worm is so irrisistable all but the sickest turtles will go for it.

If you keep having trouble though it might be best to see if you can find a vet who will give injections and teach you how to do it at home.

[iac637]

With ours because they are small as well I just had to make them mad enough to try and bite me it doesn't hurt that much if they do then I dripped the meds in their mouth. It will take a while though they can close their mouths fast. Just keep trying

[RunninWideOpen]

Hey Pumkin-

My vet in Tehachapi doesn't take turtles, but maybe if I go up there and tell them what happened they'll give me a needle. Where do you inject into the turtle?

I'm definitely going to hunt down that thread for where to find herp vets. thanks!

[RunninWideOpen]

Spotsmama-
thanks, i will give the worm thing a shot. so, after injecting the worm you can still put it in the water for them to eat? the meds won't leak out?

Hi iac- i tried and tried and tried to make Donny mad at me, but he just wouldn't bite! I guess that's good for most situations, but not for giving him his meds. I tried pushing his head back and forth, tuggin on his legs, pullin his tail out, etc...... no such luck. did this for a couple hours. all my other turts HATE when you touch there legs.....but not Donny

[SpotsMama]

Marisa was the one with the idea about injecting a worm, but I think she was putting the worm in the water for the turtle to eat after it had been "loaded". I remember she said if the worm was too big for the turtle to just cut it in pieces and the pieces would still wiggle.

Something to do before not after your lunch.

I suppose if you don't have a worm handy you could try injecting a piece of shrimp or something. The advantage of a worm is that it wiggles.

[N4784N R4613]

You can try this site for a list of herp vets in CA...
http://www.tortoise.org/general/vetlist.html

[RunninWideOpen]

Thanks N4784N R4613!!! I found one in bakersfield actually! Definitelly will take the turts there next time.

So far they seem to be improving rather quickly. They are both eating better today. I picked up Reptomin Baby last night and they wolf those down. They're a little hard for them to bite, so they have to be in the water to soften up for awhile before they can actually get them down. So far Spike hasn't been eating the worms/shrimp, but Donny has.

Thanks Spotsmama. I'm going to try injecting a mealworm and see if Donny will eat it. That's the only kinda worm I've got right now and he seems to like those more than the shrimp.


I have another question. The feeding section says to feed hatchlings everyday with pellets / meats / veggies for the first year. Spike and Donny are over a year old, but still very very small. Should I be feeding them like a hatchling until they grow a little bit, or every other day like an adult?

[pumpkinsherbet]

Hey Pumkin-

My vet in Tehachapi doesn't take turtles, but maybe if I go up there and tell them what happened they'll give me a needle. Where do you inject into the turtle?

I'm definitely going to hunt down that thread for where to find herp vets. thanks!

there's that small fold of skin right above their plastron. front feet. it doesn't have anything vital so you don't have to worry about further injuring your turtle. be careful, though. the first couple of shots are easy but once the meds really start kicking in they will fight you.

i'll try to get a picture so i can SHOW you the area i mean. i'm afraid i'm not too fantastic with giving directions =Þ

[pumpkinsherbet]

here is a link that describes it a bit better:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... ommon.html

i forgot to say that i was told to give the shots once every 48 hours, alternating sides.

[SpotsMama]

If they're tiny like hatchlings I'd continue to feed them like hatchlings until they get bigger. They need the calories!

[RunninWideOpen]

Just wanted to let ya'll know both the little ones seem to be doing really well now! I got Donny to take his meds. I wasn't able to get a needle over the weekend, so it was just persistence in trying to make him mad enough to open his mouth.

They're not sleeping on the basking dock anymore, they're swimming a lot and eating EVERYTHING!

[SpotsMama]

What a relief! Sounds like you're doing a great job!

[pumpkinsherbet]

it's actually probably better that you didn't get the needle. i think it would've been the greater benefit to all involved to have a demonstration rather than read how to do it. i don't learn well by reading, i learn by seeing and doing =Þ

i'm glad little one's feeling better

[KalinaBallerina]

Agreeing with pumpkin here - it probably is best that you got Donny to take the medication by mouth. In humans, many medications can be given either orally or via shots, but they are often different formulations or strengths depending on which "route" they are intended for. So, assuming that our metabolisms are SORT of similar, there would be a possibility of either over-medicating or under-medicating your turtle if you gave a solution that was meant to be oral via injection. Hope that helps. Best wishes!

[RunninWideOpen]

Ya, I agree Pumkin! Actually my wife figured out how to tick him off enough to bite the syringe, lol. She's good at making them mad.