Posts tagged turtle

So…she’s still sniffling. 
After antibiotic shots she is STILL sniffling!! D:
WHY!!! It’s so frustrating!
Also her stool is runny…but I think it’s because of the cactus pads…apparently too much makes the stool runny.  It’s supposed to be really nutritional so I didn’t check for possible problems T_T Oops. But that’s the only part of her diet that changed so fixing that will probably fix her stool problem. (only problem is she absolutely LOVES cactus pad. That’s the reason why she greets me when I come home hahahaha. She knows I will give her cactus pad for snacks)

I called the hospital today to see if I should bring her back in. Vet called me back and he was super nice and gave me all these suggestions on how to make things better for her.  

So the good news is that it’s probably not an infection since antibiotic didn’t do anything and there’s no runny nose or bubbles on the nose.  Her eyes are fine too. Also her fecal sample was clean so no worms there. He says maybe bacterial problem but since she’s eating fine and playing fine, there might be nothing wrong with her.

So there’s something odd about my tortoise but she’s not really sick. (yay?!)

I’m going to try changing some things for her as the vet suggested to see if it helps in any way.

I’m a little less worried now after talking to the vet.

I had to go in for an extra class this morning from 9-12 so I gave her her food and left. The food bowl was empty when I came back. She also stood up on her legs and tried to get out so I let her out. She explored around the kitchen and the living room while I cleaned her cage. I’m just really sad how law school is keeping me so busy that I don’t have time to stare at her and give her all the love she deserves. We had much more interactions when I wasn’t in law school. Also she gets scared when I handle her now because I’ve giving her antibiotic shots. : ( hopefully she will get over it soon. I liked it when she didn’t hide…



 

Dr. Horrible was angry that I woke her up for the painful injection of antibiotic. 
She didn’t even like me patting her. My sorrys didn’t do justice : (
But then I gave her some cactus pads to snack on and all is now well in her little world :D Hooray!! 

I’m so glad she’s still eating well and active even though she’s sick.  Hope her sniffles get all cleared up by end of this week. Her stools yesterday were mucous-y so i was really worried but we know she has no worms so it must be because of the cold or the antibiotic messing with her gut flora…I hope that goes away soon too. Or else off to the vet again. 

Trouble started eating as well : ) yay!! I guess he’d rather eat whatever is around in the cage then be tube fed at the vet’s office again. Good choice Trouble :D don’t be picky again!!

On a side note, I read Baytril (antibiotic vet gave me) shots hurt like crazy for turtles and tortoises because the medicine itself causes pain. Dr. Horrible doesn’t seem to care (no wincing and no running). She just doesn’t like me poking her with the needle. When I took her to be dewormed before, I watched her vet force open her mouth (wasn’t that hard with her either) and stick in a syringe to give the med. She didn’t even squirm. And afterward she just sat there with a confused look on her face for a minute and then continue to walk around like nothing happened…what a weird tortoise I have hahaha. Trouble on the other hand took the vet 20 minutes to feed the same medicine and he didn’t come out of his shell for an hour after that. 

Also, I got a 5$ discount on a vet visit once because Dr. Horrible’s check up took less than three minutes. I guess the vet felt bad charging me a regular fee since Dr. Horrible was super easy to check up on. She doesn’t even hide in her shell unless you physically hurt her or you surprised her (and that hiding only lasts a few seconds at best). You can grab her limbs and pull on them for all she cares and she will happily comply with your efforts to open her mouth. She’s a funny one : ) 

We drove 40 minutes to an exotic pet vet in Beaverton today.

Trouble was on a hunger strike (only eats carrots and nothing else. There’s no carrot in the meal? He will just starve.) and Dr. Horrible was sniffling. I thought she may have something stuck in her nose so I gave her bath twice last week and that didn’t help. She wasn’t bubbling from the nose and still had an incredible appetite so I wasn’t too worried but it seemed like a bad idea to prolong her sniffling. So off to the vet’s we went. 

Vet recommended Trouble and Dr. Horrible both get a shot of vitamin B (helps with appetite and immune system). Trouble was also tube fed since he lost 5g in past two weeks. Dr. Horrible seemed fine and healthy, but since she was sniffling the vet thought it was a good idea for her to be on antibiotics. I think moving from California to Oregon was really stressful for both, and this drop in temperature and rise in humidity are really messing with them. 

: ( I kind of assumed that antibiotics were pills but I guess I’m in charge of giving my dear Dr. Horrible shots every day for next two weeks. The nurse showed me how to do it but I’m a little afraid to try it on my own. Dr. Horrible definitely didn’t like getting shots T_T she squirmed her head in…poor baby!! 
She stared at me with her trusting eyes and seemed to say ‘What are you doing to me! I thought you loved me ;_; ‘. She sat real quiet after that : ( but I think she forgave me since she seemed to like getting patted while I cooed to her how sorry I was. 

She’s now sleeping at a corner she usually doesn’t sleep in with her limbs and head in. Hopefully she will perk up tomorrow when I give her food. 

: ( I hope Trouble starts eating tomorrow and Dr. Horrible’s sniffling goes away so I can quit giving her the antibiotic shots. 

But in a happier note, Dr. Horrible’s stool was clear of worms :D which means Trouble should be too (he didn’t poop since he didn’t eat). The vet also said I’m feeding them pretty healthy so I’m glad. She told me how most calcium powders are bad/toxic for them so it’s good that I switched to providing cuttlebones. She recommended  a tortoise pallet food  made by a company called Pretty Pets that have balanced nutrients. I got some samples from her so I’m going to try it on Trouble to see if he would eat. I think Dr. Horrible is better off with her current diet since she’s eating fine.

Hopefully both will be happy and healthy soon~ 
I think all three of us miss the California weather hahaha