Hi all,
We haven't posted about this yet because the story has just had too many ups and downs, and been emotional enough as it is without writing about it. But now things seem to have stalled and we could use some suggestions. The short version is that our baby RES (just under 1") got severe RI several weeks ago. Luckily we had amoxicillin on hand and were able to save her in the nick of time. Here in Amman there aren't any vets to speak of with aquatic turtle experience (RES are new here, and not native), but the one vet we did consult said she was too small for a shot. So in the few weeks since then she's been through three different oral antibiotics (luckily they are cheap and non-prescription here) and been on the edge of death a couple of times -- meaning with head down on her rock and hardly able to move. Finally ciprofloxacin (Baytril)--in large human-sized doses--kicked the worst of it, and she's been stable for a while now. She's active, she eats, she basks, and doesn't mouth breathe. BUT she still coughs up mucus from her mouth and can't submerge at all, only float, usually level but sometimes tilted to one side or the other. She opens her mouth in the water often and spits out mucus and bubbles, especially right after her medicine, which we're still giving her.
It's been more than a week without much change now, and we sort of sensed a downturn coming if we didn't do something different, since that's been the pattern. Knowing the problem was fluid in her lungs, we tried holding her tilted downward for a minute and pumping her legs, and sure enough she started coughing up drop after drop of water. Turns out if you look closely, whenever she blows bubbles she's also letting water flow into her mouth. So after some research we decided to try dry tanking her (not quite--we left her a little water (82 deg), but not enough to submerge her head and drink). Apparently some owners say dry tanking doesn't help with RI, and maybe they're right, but there's really no other way to prevent her swallowing water--assuming that's a problem and not something that helps her. After an initial panic in the "dry" tank, she settled down in a spot with about 88 deg air temp and just sat and slept a little, keeping her mouth shut. Later we gave her a 1 hour soak and she ate some, took her medicine, then went back to the dry tank without complaint. Now she pumps her throat as if trying to clear mucus, but doesn't open her mouth.
That's where it stands, but we really don't know where to go from here, especially if she has another relapse. Will keeping her dry help? Is the main problem still the last, indestructible bacteria, or are the oral antibiotics part of the problem now by getting into her lungs? I notice she tends to gape right after taking medicine (by eyedropper), which I assume means she's inhaling some of it. This has been a long fight, and very, very stressful, but we're not about to give up. In the worst case (second worst, really), we'll just try to keep her on "life support" like this as long as it takes, until she's big enough to try injections. But we'd obviously prefer to just clear it up. SO... any advice?--preferably from those who've had experience with pneumonia, inability to submerge, and dry-tanking. No need to review the basics -- we know all the general care and "sick turtle" tips, especially after having exhausted Google on the subject lately.
Thanks in advance.
