General Care Discussion :: Force turtle to open mouth for medicine??? (HEEELP)

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 2:19 pm   Force turtle to open mouth for medicine??? (HEEELP)

Hi every one,

I have one small RES size of about 1.8" , it has RI and I have antibiotic that is oral ,I hardly managed to get it since in the country where I reside currently there are totally no Herp vet , my only question is there a specific way or technique to get it to open mouth for me to inject the liquid into it ? ,

Facts:
- the turtle isn't eating since ot got sick so food tricks won't work at all.
- I have the medicine inside a baby injection without the needle (just plastic tip) that I would use to push the liquid into the turtle open mouth)
- I have no other way to help this turtle , so it's either this way or it will die , thats why I have to do it myself so please help me , I already lost my other turtle 2 weeks ago with RI , but looks that before I separate them this one caught the infection.

-My turtle still kind of active but not eating , it is basking normally , and can submerge and swim 90% normal (with slight lopsided) , now there is white thing (like spit) coming out from mouth rarely , thats how I diagnosed RI . so just help me open her mouth.

I have all necessary setup (20 GAL , heater , Plants , basking area , UV ,....etc)

please advice on mouth opening only not all the other things except mouth opening , this is essential and URGENT before she dies !!!
heatpump
 
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Post Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 3:06 pm   

Last edited by LilTurtSquirt on Sun May 23, 2010 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
LilTurtSquirt
 
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Post Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 3:08 pm   

Last edited by LilTurtSquirt on Sun May 23, 2010 1:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
LilTurtSquirt
 
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Post Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 4:51 pm   

LilTurtSquirt wrote:Also, if you did not get the antibiotics from a vet, please make sure that you are giving the correct dose. Underdosing will not cure an RI but will make him immune to that antibiotic and make it useless in the future. Overdosing, especially in a hatchling can cause organ damage and can be deadly.

I use amoxicillin , the dose is 10mg/Kg , I scaled it for my 10 grams baby . and it's equal to 0.1mg only ! , to create the accurate dose I used lab equipment and a precession syringe with steps of 1/2 ml ...... after all that effort I hope it'll work fine ! , if it works I may post a topic on how to do that at home , but I need some one to tell me that a RES had survived RI based on antibiotics !?
heatpump
 
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Post Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 6:20 pm   

Last edited by LilTurtSquirt on Sun May 23, 2010 1:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
LilTurtSquirt
 
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Post Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 7:35 am   

LilTurtSquirt wrote:My Squirt survived a respiratory infection with antibiotics. Mine were Baytril drops from the vet.

Sorry for annoying , but I would like to know the dosage for reference....

for how many days ? 3- 5 - 7 Days ???
and every how much hours ? 6 -8 -12 -24 Hrs ???

I would be thankful
heatpump
 
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Post Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:19 am   

Last edited by LilTurtSquirt on Sun May 23, 2010 1:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
LilTurtSquirt
 
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Post Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 10:05 am   

heatpump,

If you know the dosage for amoxicillin, you may want to try administering the
medicine daily for about a week. I used Baytril (enrofloxacin) for about that long.

How to open my turtle's mouth? I'd suggest getting help from one other person.
You can do the mouth opening part, because putting the medicine in is easier.
I used a toothpick to gently and slowly open the mouth by inserting from the gap
at the front of the beak. You have to bravely hold the head, otherwise the
turtle will tuck it in. Once the mouth is open, administer the liquid.

Next steps are to maintain warm water temperature (around 80°F), entice
eating, and keep the tank very clean. I hope everything works out. Good luck!
RES - Ramen <f> (51/4")
RES - Heine <f> (43/4")
Asian Leaf Turtle - unnamed <m> (53/4")
measured at Nov 24, 2012
< my turtles' pics >
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Kemul
 
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Location: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 1:45 pm   

I used Baytril oral med for my RES when she had a RI. I opened her mouth with a metal hair barrette (I know that it sounds weird, but it really worked to gently pry her mouth open from the corner) and once I had her mouth open I put the syringe in and slowly injected the fluid. Another thing that made it easier to give the medication was to hold the turtle down. I did this by sitting down on my knees and placing the turtle between my knees on the floor and gently holding her still there so I could open her mouth without being scratched and without her trying to run away. I use the techniques with all my turtles when I give them weekly calcium supplements as recommended by the vet.
turtleluv
 
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Location: kitchener/waterloo

Post Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 1:49 pm   

I was also told by the vet to "dry dock" the turtle for 2 weeks, only allowing her to be in the water for up to 15 minutes three times a day with supervision. I set up an area for her in my spare room to stay while she was sick.

Hope this helps.
turtleluv
 
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Location: kitchener/waterloo

Post Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 9:24 am   

Well Thanks every one for the tips , I currently prepared the amoxicilline dosage and started giving it to my turtle for three days now (once per day every 24Hr) , the turtle is showing a little more activity now eats very little (she didn't eat at all earlier) , but the only thing worries me is that there is mucus from her mouth in the water I keep changing the water and disinfecting tank like three or four times daily (thats killing me) , but I'm really doing my best to save her I hope she will make it , I keep tempratures high (82F) I put varaity of food she selects what she wants and eats little quantity.

But please tell me is it normal to have mucus after three shots of antiboitic ? should I worry or should I wait till I finish the 7 days dosage ?
---------------------------------------------
2" RES - Poopy [ Now sick :( ]
1" RES - Activia
heatpump
 
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Post Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 9:29 am   I can open it, this is how :)

Kemul wrote:heatpump,

If you know the dosage for amoxicillin, you may want to try administering the
medicine daily for about a week. I used Baytril (enrofloxacin) for about that long.

How to open my turtle's mouth? I'd suggest getting help from one other person.
You can do the mouth opening part, because putting the medicine in is easier.
I used a toothpick to gently and slowly open the mouth by inserting from the gap
at the front of the beak. You have to bravely hold the head, otherwise the
turtle will tuck it in. Once the mouth is open, administer the liquid.

Next steps are to maintain warm water temperature (around 80°F), entice
eating, and keep the tank very clean. I hope everything works out. Good luck!


Thanks a lot for your tips , I used the trick of holding head , she turns agressive and opens mouth after I hold head then tap slowly on the side of lower jaw , afterwards she opens mouth and I can shoot the medicine , the tricky part is the technique of holding head without hurting it , I figured out a smart way , I normally wait for it to have its head extended bout side , the I only narrow the path back into the shell by my finger , then she can't go inside again :) , so I don't really hold the head in my finger (Thats svary I may hurt her) , so thats it works , u may try it and tell me what u think .

Please tell me if it's normal to still see mucus even after 3 days of antibiotic treatment ? so should I worry or wait for complete 7 days ?
heatpump
 
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Joined: Apr 27, 2010

Post Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 8:51 am   

Ah, whatever works to open the turtle's mouth. I'm not going to try opening my
turtle's mouth again, now that it's healthy. My sick turtle turned out to be calm,
so it won't open its mouth unless for food.

Anyway, the mucus could be normal. Just keep giving the antibiotics until the
seventh day. That's what I think anyway, I'm not a vet... :P
RES - Ramen <f> (51/4")
RES - Heine <f> (43/4")
Asian Leaf Turtle - unnamed <m> (53/4")
measured at Nov 24, 2012
< my turtles' pics >
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Kemul
 
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Location: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:25 pm   Re: Force turtle to open mouth for medicine??? (HEEELP)

Hello!

How is your turtle now? I am in the same situation as you.
Here where I live there are no Vets. I have a pharmacy and my pharmacist gave me something that is called: aviomycine
I asked for Baytril but he said that it is the same. He said to drop to the turtle s tank 5 drops a day for one week.
She still doesnt eat. I have two Res. I have seperated them.
What to do please help....
Ola
 
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Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 2:22 pm   Re: Force turtle to open mouth for medicine??? (HEEELP)

What symptoms does your turtle have? Dropping something like Baytril in the water won't do anything.
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steve
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