Tortoise help needed!

[Archer76]

Anyone into keeping reptiles, specifically tortoise ? I need help!!!

Im in some need of help regarding my tortoise (Mediterranean spur thighed). He's been in the family many many years but been with me for the last 8yrs. The problem I have is he sustained quite a nasty soft tissue injury during his last hibernation (rodent damage) and had surgery yesterday to repair the damage which is between his spur and tail :( I now have him back home and he's comfortable sitting on his heat pad or under his basking lamp. He's thermo-regulating well and showing interest in food and drinking when placed in shallow luke warm water. My main concern is getting him to take his medicine :banghead: He's been prescribed (Baytril 2.5 % oral solution 1ml daily by mouth). I was shown by the vet how to administer the medicine but in practice I'm finding it impossible :eek: Does anyone have any idea how to give medicine via syringe to a happy sociable but currently grumpy tortoise ?
Just incase you need his size he's around 10 inches long or 26cm.
Thanks
Brett
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[pgkevet]

It really is a combination of patience and an art form to dose tortoises. The patience comes in getting a grip on the head - some of the little devils just keep pulling back faster than you can grab it. All the texts glibly tell you that sitting them on their bottoms and the head will pop out.. or suggest pushing in the tail and back legs to increase intra-shell pressure; again hardly ideal if you have a wound around there. Mostly I found it was a case of waiting patiently with hand poised just over the top of the shell at the head end and snagging finger and thumb each side when the head is out...once you get a grip behind/below the back of the head they can't pull back. - easier to demonstrate than describe.

Once the head is trapped then opening the beak may be possible with a finger but often needs a stiff bit of something plastic that isn't hard enough to damage worked in from the side. For the really difficult tortoise then wedging a piece of plastic tube in the front of the beak allows you to pass a feeding tube through it and tube dose. Again you need some practice or common sense and a measurement/mark on that tube so that you know it's far enough down but not too far and you need to be aware of how it was swallowed to avoid dosing into lung.

I don't think I ever had a client I would trust to do that themselves unless they'd seen me do it many times. We'd usually get the owner back every 2 days and dose while they waited. Or if it was a really awkward tortoise about having the head snagged then we'd admit it and have several goes during the day when time allowed until we'd managed the day's dose.

[Archer76]

Re: Tortoise help needed!

Thanks for the reply :thumbup:
I have no problems with him sticking his head its just that he seems to pull back so hard once I have a grip! Im scared he's going to damage himself so I let go. Where should I be grabbing and how firm ? Also will he realise he's pulling to hard and relax or will he pull to the point of damaging himself ?
Thanks

[pgkevet]

The trick is to wedge your finger/thumb behind the head so that it's not so much you pulling his head out as him pulling his head back agaisnt your grip: he controls the force

[pgkevet]

also:
[url=http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/]British Chelonia Group | For tortoise, terrapin and turtle care and conservation[/url]

[Archer76]

Re: Tortoise help needed!

[QUOTE=pgkevet;1009518]The trick is to wedge your finger/thumb behind the head so that it's not so much you pulling his head out as him pulling his head back agaisnt your grip: he controls the force[/QUOTE]

So if I do as you've suggested he wont do any damage to himself ?
He did actually take meds on his food today so hopefully this will carry on and I wont need to use the force:thumbup:

[pgkevet]

[QUOTE=Archer76;1009574]So if I do as you've suggested he wont do any damage to himself ? [/QUOTE]

All i can say is that that is the way i do it and I didn't damage any.

[Archer76]

Re: Tortoise help needed!

Good news!!! Took him outside in the sun and put his food down with a medicine dose on the leaves and he ate the lot :) He's clearly not happy being stuck indoors but at least I know I can take him out to dose him. Would it be worth leaving him out during the day or am I best keeping him indoors till he's fully healed ?

[pgkevet]

[QUOTE=Archer76;1009721]Good news!!! Took him outside in the sun and put his food down with a medicine dose on the leaves and he ate the lot :) He's clearly not happy being stuck indoors but at least I know I can take him out to dose him. Would it be worth leaving him out during the day or am I best keeping him indoors till he's fully healed ?[/QUOTE]

Depends on ambiet temperatures outside..need to keep that metabolic rate up for healing and drug metabolism but happiness counts too and there's no flies about at the moment (maggots on wounds are bad news)

[Archer76]

Re: Tortoise help needed!

[QUOTE=pgkevet;1009748]Depends on ambiet temperatures outside..need to keep that metabolic rate up for healing and drug metabolism but happiness counts too and there's no flies about at the moment (maggots on wounds are bad news)[/QUOTE]

Yeah its not hot but its warm-ish. I have a brick outhouse so I could provide a basking area and buy another heatpad for him to sit on if he needs to warm up. Im only talking a few hours per day anyway to start with, if it improves his happiness then its gotta be worth a shot.

[Geek]

Tortoise help needed!

I didn't think Tortoise where supposed to go on heat pads? Aren't they unable to regulate properly from underneath ?

Very interesting thread

[Archer76]

Re: Tortoise help needed!

[QUOTE=Geek;1009783]I didn't think Tortoise where supposed to go on heat pads? Aren't they unable to regulate properly from underneath ?

Very interesting thread[/QUOTE]

He regulates his temperature really well, He gets off when too warm but also the heatpad is only set to 72º I suppose thats down to his old age and experience. He also switches bétween different heat sources.

[pgkevet]

[url=http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/heating.html]Tortoise Trust Web - Understanding reptile heating systems[/url]

I suppose the ideal is outdoors with heat...perhaps a cloche/low poly- tunnel he can find his way into and out of?

I had a client once who was very worried about his tortoise..full of eggs and no way of knowing how long and whether to interfer with drugs. Slightly tongue in cheek i suggested he recreate a greek landscape for her. Turned out the guy was a builder so he emptied an old shed, transparent roof, made a nice sandy base, added some big rocks and a few scrubby mediterranean plants and heated the thing to late spring in greece - 3 days later she dug a hole and laid the clutch. Coincidence?