Does he have RNS or does his substrate just need to be changed??

Rorschach287

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So my boyfriend and I are brand new tortoise owners! We just got our 5 year old Dalmatian Hermann a couple days ago and we already love him to bits! He's the coolest! We got him from a breeder in Florida but seeing as we live in Southern California I was already worried about the little guy being shipped from so far and the amount of stress that would put on him. We had his table all set up when he arrived and at temp so that he wouldn't have to wait any longer than necessary to relax and get accustomed. We researched before hand what type of substrate we should use and eventually decided on organic topsoil, but I very quickly noticed our little guy had a runny nose and he's sneezing plus he hasn't eaten at all for the past 2 days except a tiny nibble of a hibiscus leaf and a dandelion green (literally one bite out of each) =.( I was worried because of what I had read on the internet about runny nose syndrome and when we contacted the breeder to let him know our concerns he told us that topsoil was too dusty and we needed to use cypress mulch and thats what he used for them. So we plan on switching over to that soon even though our little guy seems to like the topsoil and buries himself all the time. We are scheduled to go see the vet tomorrow morning to find out for sure if he has an infection but I guess what I'd like to know is if anyone on here would know whether this discharge from his nose could just be caused from the stress of his travel or if it is indeed the topsoil causing it? We try to keep it at the right humidity so that it's not too dry but I don't want him burrowing and sleeping in mud! If it is an infection which antibiotics should we use and how should we treat him? I feel so badly that we only just got him and already he seems sick!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Beth
 

ascott

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So my boyfriend and I are brand new tortoise owners! We just got our 5 year old Dalmatian Hermann a couple days ago and we already love him to bits! He's the coolest! We got him from a breeder in Florida but seeing as we live in Southern California I was already worried about the little guy being shipped from so far and the amount of stress that would put on him. We had his table all set up when he arrived and at temp so that he wouldn't have to wait any longer than necessary to relax and get accustomed. We researched before hand what type of substrate we should use and eventually decided on organic topsoil, but I very quickly noticed our little guy had a runny nose and he's sneezing plus he hasn't eaten at all for the past 2 days except a tiny nibble of a hibiscus leaf and a dandelion green (literally one bite out of each) =.( I was worried because of what I had read on the internet about runny nose syndrome and when we contacted the breeder to let him know our concerns he told us that topsoil was too dusty and we needed to use cypress mulch and thats what he used for them. So we plan on switching over to that soon even though our little guy seems to like the topsoil and buries himself all the time. We are scheduled to go see the vet tomorrow morning to find out for sure if he has an infection but I guess what I'd like to know is if anyone on here would know whether this discharge from his nose could just be caused from the stress of his travel or if it is indeed the topsoil causing it? We try to keep it at the right humidity so that it's not too dry but I don't want him burrowing and sleeping in mud! If it is an infection which antibiotics should we use and how should we treat him? I feel so badly that we only just got him and already he seems sick!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Beth

What are your day and night temps? What humidity are you running day and night? It is not uncommon for clear liquid ..Clear runny nose eyes in dry environment or in new environment...A clear discharge does not automatically equate to illness...And it is good that in such a short time there is appetite at all...If I were you I would give the new one a few weeks to settle in and would not further stress by taking to the vet just yet....I would also be sure to check temps to assure day and night temps are acceptable...Have you offered quiet hiding places in the enclosure? Have you left the new one alone a bit and not constantly staring and messing with?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Beth, and welcome to the Forum!

You need to contact the seller and find out what the tortoise is used to eating.

Like Ascott said, I don't think you need to rush to the vet just yet. Take a look at our care sheet:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

This was written by a very experienced Hermanni keeper, Chris Leone, and he has bred and raised hundreds of Hermanni tortoises. You can trust everything he has in his care sheet.

Make changes as shown in the care sheet, but do it all at once to get it over with to minimize the amount of stress put on the new baby.

I doubt a runny nose equates to a R.I. It is just caused by the stress of moving from one habitat to a new one.
 

Rorschach287

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What are your day and night temps? What humidity are you running day and night? It is not uncommon for clear liquid ..Clear runny nose eyes in dry environment or in new environment...A clear discharge does not automatically equate to illness...And it is good that in such a short time there is appetite at all...If I were you I would give the new one a few weeks to settle in and would not further stress by taking to the vet just yet....I would also be sure to check temps to assure day and night temps are acceptable...Have you offered quiet hiding places in the enclosure? Have you left the new one alone a bit and not constantly staring and messing with?

I'll start off by listing the temps we've been keeping him at
Day: basking area is kept around 90 degrees F and there are a few cooler areas around 75 and then another warmer area around 80
Night: with a couple ceramic heaters we try to keep it around 75-80
We've been measuring his temps with a thermal temperature gun and the humidity has been varying around 50 to 60.
Unfortunately I posted this forum late last Friday, but we have already brought him in to see the vet and she checked him out and ended up prescribing him with antibiotics for a respiratory infection. He received his first shot at the vet on Saturday and he's due for another one tomorrow as it's supposed to be administered every 3 days. There are two hides for him to go into and he finally used one last night to sleep in! We have been giving him a luke warm bath daily so I suppose yes we've been handling him, but it has been helping him go to the bathroom and his urates look healthy like soft paste. We also both work so we haven't been at home fiddling with him all day but could we stare at him less...yes I'm sure we could. :oops: Also we give him the baths to keep him hydrated as he has never touched his water in his enclosure. At the vet he was given fluids, vitamins, and a feeding as well. I understand that he needs to get used to his environment but I didn't feel comfortable watching him sneeze, rub his eyes, and have a runny nose. I hope I didn't do the wrong thing by taking him in :( his symptoms are all still present this morning and he's just been sitting under his basking area for a while now. I put some food out but he doesn't seem interested.
 

Rorschach287

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Hi Beth, and welcome to the Forum!

You need to contact the seller and find out what the tortoise is used to eating.

Like Ascott said, I don't think you need to rush to the vet just yet. Take a look at our care sheet:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

This was written by a very experienced Hermanni keeper, Chris Leone, and he has bred and raised hundreds of Hermanni tortoises. You can trust everything he has in his care sheet.

Make changes as shown in the care sheet, but do it all at once to get it over with to minimize the amount of stress put on the new baby.

I doubt a runny nose equates to a R.I. It is just caused by the stress of moving from one habitat to a new one.

Thank you for the welcome! :tort: As I told Ascott we did end up taking our little guy to the vet the day after my first post, which I'm now concerned might not have been the right thing to do. We did however contact our seller and he told us he had been feeding him grasses, squash, various greens, and the zoo med natural grassland tortoise pellets. We told our vet about it and we also read the care sheet before we got him and gathered various weeds that are recommended on here. While I've also read that it's not uncommon for them to not have much of an appetite in a new home our vet suggested we try to use some of the foods offered by the seller mixed with the weeds to try and coerce him to eat the more appropriate foods. If his runny nose is really just a symptom of stress and a new environment then should I not continue administering the antibiotics our vet prescribed?
 

ascott

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Thank you for the welcome! :tort: As I told Ascott we did end up taking our little guy to the vet the day after my first post, which I'm now concerned might not have been the right thing to do. We did however contact our seller and he told us he had been feeding him grasses, squash, various greens, and the zoo med natural grassland tortoise pellets. We told our vet about it and we also read the care sheet before we got him and gathered various weeds that are recommended on here. While I've also read that it's not uncommon for them to not have much of an appetite in a new home our vet suggested we try to use some of the foods offered by the seller mixed with the weeds to try and coerce him to eat the more appropriate foods. If his runny nose is really just a symptom of stress and a new environment then should I not continue administering the antibiotics our vet prescribed?

Hi. How is the tortoise?
 

Rorschach287

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Hi. How is the tortoise?

Well he has been on his antibiotics for the past week now and has 2 more shots to go. I think they actually are working! He seems to be doing a lot better! He'll still have a sneeze here and there, but overall he has become more active and recently his appetite has really picked up! He loves to graze on the different weeds in our yard and has been soaking up lots of sunshine! I think he is definitely getting more comfortable in his new home :) A big thank you to everyones advise and suggestions! :<3: We love our little guy!
 

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