Poorly baby Hermanns

Kath3kidz · 23-03-2017, 01:24 PM

Hello. I am new to this forum. I am in UK and have been a breeder of Hermanni Boetgerri and F. Whitei tortoises for 30 years. *I am looking for advice regarding my 18 month old Hermann hatchling who has become ill. Toddy has been slow to thrive since hatching, but now weighs 64g. *I was away recently for 3 weeks and on my return found that while in the care of a friend he had become extremely dehydrated through having been too weak to get into his water with the other baby torts. *My friend realised and had started daily soaks where he was drinking copiously. *I found that he was so weak he had stopped eating altogether and was not able to drag himself very far. He was also mouth breathing every few seconds. *I guessed it was a respiratory infection and got him to the vet strtaight away. *She diagnosed Upper RI infection and agreed with me that Baytril could work. *She prescribed 0.02ml of Baytril in a solution of diluted blackcurrant juice to make it up to a total of 0.2ml fluid. I am giving this orally once daily. I raised the temperature in his tray to help the antibiotics to work. *I continued daily soaks with some Critical Care formula in the water, plus began feeding tiny pieces of pear to begin with (to increase his energy levels) then 2 days in I moved on to chopped weeds. *He is now on day 10 of the Baytril dose, looks very much better, is much more active, is eating chopped up weeds with enthusiasm. He is able to walk much more easily although he still drags his shell. *He has passed several grainy lots of uric acid and this is getting more creamy. *He has passed normal poo. *His eyes are bright and his shell and skin look much better and more rehydrated. *He is alert and interested. Although he has managed to bite off some pieces of dandelion, he clearly has not got much strength for this and still needs the weeds chopped small so that he can eat them. *He is obviously making very good progress. *...BUT HE IS STILL MOUTH BREATHING EVERY SO OFTEN...MAYBE EVERY 10-15 SECONDS.

What I am asking is this.... how long should I keep the Baytril dose going? The vet seemed a bit unsure about this... she sort of said" well bring him back in a week or so..." but I didn't think that she was too sure about the next step. What do other people on here suggest please?

23-03-2017, 01:24 PM	#1
Kath3kidz Junior Member Egg Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 6	Poorly baby Hermanns Hello. I am new to this forum. I am in UK and have been a breeder of Hermanni Boetgerri and F. Whitei tortoises for 30 years. I am looking for advice regarding my 18 month old Hermann hatchling who has become ill. Toddy has been slow to thrive since hatching, but now weighs 64g. I was away recently for 3 weeks and on my return found that while in the care of a friend he had become extremely dehydrated through having been too weak to get into his water with the other baby torts. My friend realised and had started daily soaks where he was drinking copiously. I found that he was so weak he had stopped eating altogether and was not able to drag himself very far. He was also mouth breathing every few seconds. I guessed it was a respiratory infection and got him to the vet strtaight away. She diagnosed Upper RI infection and agreed with me that Baytril could work. She prescribed 0.02ml of Baytril in a solution of diluted blackcurrant juice to make it up to a total of 0.2ml fluid. I am giving this orally once daily. I raised the temperature in his tray to help the antibiotics to work. I continued daily soaks with some Critical Care formula in the water, plus began feeding tiny pieces of pear to begin with (to increase his energy levels) then 2 days in I moved on to chopped weeds. He is now on day 10 of the Baytril dose, looks very much better, is much more active, is eating chopped up weeds with enthusiasm. He is able to walk much more easily although he still drags his shell. He has passed several grainy lots of uric acid and this is getting more creamy. He has passed normal poo. His eyes are bright and his shell and skin look much better and more rehydrated. He is alert and interested. Although he has managed to bite off some pieces of dandelion, he clearly has not got much strength for this and still needs the weeds chopped small so that he can eat them. He is obviously making very good progress. *...BUT HE IS STILL MOUTH BREATHING EVERY SO OFTEN...MAYBE EVERY 10-15 SECONDS. What I am asking is this.... how long should I keep the Baytril dose going? The vet seemed a bit unsure about this... she sort of said" well bring him back in a week or so..." but I didn't think that she was too sure about the next step. What do other people on here suggest please?

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