MY tortoise just had bubbles come out of his nose this has never happend!! what do i do? it has been warm in there and he did eat some yesterday. He was fine yesterday but last night it got down to 60 degrees becuase his night time light broke. i aredy went out and got him a new one. does this have anything to do with it? please anyone help!
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This is an emergency!!!
- Thread starter baybay
- Start date
MY tortoise just had bubbles come out of his nose this has never happend!! what do i do? it has been warm in there and he did eat some yesterday. He was fine yesterday but last night it got down to 60 degrees becuase his night time light broke. i aredy went out and got him a new one. does this have anything to do with it? please anyone help!
Cat_72
Back from exile :)
I am not a tortoise expert by ANY stretch of the term....but I wouldn't think his light going out just for last night would cause him to come down with an illness already by this morning.
Hopefully someone with more tort knowledge will step in soon to give you better advice, but for now I would say to simply make sure he is nice and warm, and make a vet appointment first thing Monday morning. As long as he is still eating and active, he'll probably be fine until tomorrow.
Depending on what kind of enclosure you have him in, I'm guessing that since you are in Ohio, it may have been getting a bit cooler than normal in his enclosure, I know I've had to "up" my heaters a bit in a couple of enclosures, the Iowa winter has been kicking in here. Double check to make sure he's got proper warm temps, with an accurate thermometer.
Good luck.
Hopefully someone with more tort knowledge will step in soon to give you better advice, but for now I would say to simply make sure he is nice and warm, and make a vet appointment first thing Monday morning. As long as he is still eating and active, he'll probably be fine until tomorrow.
Depending on what kind of enclosure you have him in, I'm guessing that since you are in Ohio, it may have been getting a bit cooler than normal in his enclosure, I know I've had to "up" my heaters a bit in a couple of enclosures, the Iowa winter has been kicking in here. Double check to make sure he's got proper warm temps, with an accurate thermometer.
Good luck.
monkeywrench133
zealously apathetic
Sounds like a respritory infection, and he's probably had it for a while if he's got mucus bubbles coming out of his nose. You need to get him to a vet as soon as possible.
What are the temps in the cage normally? and what type of tortoise is it?
What are the temps in the cage normally? and what type of tortoise is it?
He is a cherry head red foot tortoise. His temps should be around 80-85 degrees in his warm area.Those are his noramal temps during the day. But at night i try to keep it around 75. i have had a heater in there at night since late october to keep it warm to prevent this. i took him out of his tank and just misted him, then the bubbles started. thanks everyone for there fast replies.
Serafim
Well-known member
after a little reading online and some experience with redfoot torts it recommended to give them a basking spot of about 90 degrees. I housed ours outside this summer when the temps were warmer and they were kept at about 88-90 degrees in the day and low 80's high 70's at night with no respitory issues. Hope all works out for you.
Drache613
New member
Hello
Hello,
Great thanks for helping her. Yes, the basking of 90 is much better than 85. Especially if he has a respiratory infection. Did you get him to the vet today?
I hope he gets to feeling better soon.
Tracie
Hello,
Great thanks for helping her. Yes, the basking of 90 is much better than 85. Especially if he has a respiratory infection. Did you get him to the vet today?
I hope he gets to feeling better soon.
Tracie
Cat_72
Back from exile :)
Please let us know what the vet has to say, good luck!
Here's a really good link to some tort info that you may find helpful as well:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/vivarium.htm
Here's a really good link to some tort info that you may find helpful as well:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/vivarium.htm
I guess the vets appointment was good. He has got a bad respitory infection, so they have to keep him at the hospital for atleast 7 days . Well now that i got the bad news over with the good news is the vet said he more than doubled in weight, has strong muscle mass, great shell, and is happy and responsive. She said that wen she saw him about a year ago he was weak and malnuturist. So besides this dumb respitory infection it is a clean bill of health 
Thanks for everyones help through this stressing situation.
. Well now that i got the bad news over with the good news is the vet said he more than doubled in weight, has strong muscle mass, great shell, and is happy and responsive. She said that wen she saw him about a year ago he was weak and malnuturist. So besides this dumb respitory infection it is a clean bill of health Thanks for everyones help through this stressing situation.
deborahbroadus
HARD CANDY
Yah for Lucy! I am glad she is going to be alright!
j306062
New member
i had that problem with my tortoise i forgot the name but my tortoise died of it i found out that it was because of dehidration keep your tortoise well hydrated and bring it to the vet
mateomasfeo
New member
Deb, you are thinking of my tort Lucy. His is named Mate.deborahbroadus said:Yah for Lucy!
How is yours doing?
deborahbroadus
HARD CANDY
Mine is doing great! (sorry for the late reply)
Samwise has put on SO much weight and is so healthy. I have had to move him outside.
I moved him from here (there was barely enough room to turn around any more)
To here:
The set up is not finished (I work full time and get home around 8pm). I plan to have a Kane Pig heater on the floor covered with dirt substrate and Aspen substrate. On the roof inside there will be a hanging heat lamp (thanks Harald for the suggestion) and over the door a tarp will keep out the drafts. Over all of this, I plan to put some netting so that they will be safe from birds and UFOs. The yard is fenced in, so if he succeeds in getting out of his pen..he'll still be in the yard..just difficult to find.
Samwise has put on SO much weight and is so healthy. I have had to move him outside.
I moved him from here (there was barely enough room to turn around any more)
To here:
The set up is not finished (I work full time and get home around 8pm). I plan to have a Kane Pig heater on the floor covered with dirt substrate and Aspen substrate. On the roof inside there will be a hanging heat lamp (thanks Harald for the suggestion) and over the door a tarp will keep out the drafts. Over all of this, I plan to put some netting so that they will be safe from birds and UFOs. The yard is fenced in, so if he succeeds in getting out of his pen..he'll still be in the yard..just difficult to find.
Critterfarm
miscreant
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deborahbroadus said:Mine is doing great! (sorry for the late reply)
Samwise has put on SO much weight and is so healthy. I have had to move him outside.
I moved him from here (there was barely enough room to turn around any more)
To here:
The set up is not finished (I work full time and get home around 8pm). I plan to have a Kane Pig heater on the floor covered with dirt substrate and Aspen substrate. On the roof inside there will be a hanging heat lamp (thanks Harald for the suggestion) and over the door a tarp will keep out the drafts. Over all of this, I plan to put some netting so that they will be safe from birds and UFOs. The yard is fenced in, so if he succeeds in getting out of his pen..he'll still be in the yard..just difficult to find.
First, sorry to hijack the thread, and I'm very glad you got your tort to the vet and things are looking up baybay.
Second - that's a lovely (and I do mean loveeeely) tort pen Deborah, if only the walls were higher. Your lil fellow will climb right out of there. And believe it or not, he/she will climb a chain link fence like a monkey if given enough time, so don't count on your fenced yard keeping him/her in. But big kudo's for getting the lil guy outside. A steamy Maryland summer will be redfoot heaven!
Running the walls one board's width higher and put a lip on the inside edge will fix it up easily. Whether or not torts are intelligent animals (I happen to think they are) he/she has all day and all night to push dirt against the walls to build a ramp to reach the top with their front claws. Up and over will eventually follow.
I know you said you weren't finished, so I'm throwing this at you while you're still working on it.
One more thing (god I feel horrible nit-picking like this, I really do love your pen, especially the house!) if the walls are resting on the ground it would take less than one evening for him/her to dig right under them. Redfoots and Yellowfoots are amazing escape artists!
deborahbroadus
HARD CANDY
Thanks so much for the feedback. Samwise is INTELLIGENT. Not only does he eat from my hands and let me rub his head, he comes BACK when he gets out. The first few times..I stressed, but after the second time of him coming back..I stopped "overly" stressing.
However, you are correct and I will see right away (asap) about making adjustments in the pen.
However:
Don't worry about "nitpicking" I am still learning about torts and of course I want mine to have what they need, so that they can stay healthy. But what do you mean about "walls resting on the ground?"
The feet of the doghouse are buried into the ground (and it has a wooden floor, it's not open bottom), so that he would be able to walk right into the house without the need for a ramp. If the feet were on the ground then I would worry about the digging because there would be space for the digging. So tell me what's wrong with the set up?
Thanks
p.s Samwise is more of a climber. He loves trying to climb..I don't think he's discovered digging yet.
However, you are correct and I will see right away (asap) about making adjustments in the pen.
However:
Don't worry about "nitpicking" I am still learning about torts and of course I want mine to have what they need, so that they can stay healthy. But what do you mean about "walls resting on the ground?"
The feet of the doghouse are buried into the ground (and it has a wooden floor, it's not open bottom), so that he would be able to walk right into the house without the need for a ramp. If the feet were on the ground then I would worry about the digging because there would be space for the digging. So tell me what's wrong with the set up?
Thanks
p.s Samwise is more of a climber. He loves trying to climb..I don't think he's discovered digging yet.
Drache613
New member
Hello
Hello Deb!
That is so awesome that Samwise is doing SO well now. All of the lighting & everything has really helped out alot. The pen looks great, but I agree, the sides should be higher or he will climb right out!
He looks very healthy now. You are doing a great job!
Tracie
Hello Deb!
That is so awesome that Samwise is doing SO well now. All of the lighting & everything has really helped out alot. The pen looks great, but I agree, the sides should be higher or he will climb right out!
He looks very healthy now. You are doing a great job!
Tracie