Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on coco coir substrate and respiratory infections for my Russian tortoise.
My tortoise is about 17 years old and I recently used coco coir for his house, I've never used it before but I saw recommendations for it. Initially he seemed fine with it but a few weeks ago I saw him holding his mouth open for a minute or so(only saw him doing this twice for a minute each time and haven’t seen it for 4 weeks now) and I thought he was making a whistling noise when he breathed. He does make a whistle noise occasionally, especially when he sleeps but I thought it seemed more pronounced. I assumed it may be the beginning of a respiratory infection and received antibiotics from the vets. He has no other symptoms - eating well, no discharge from nose, walking around and sunbathing and he has never had an infection before.
I realised the coco coir was quite dry and have taken it all out of his house a few days ago thinking it may have dried up too much and aggravated his respiratory system. He is still whistling occasionally but still acting normal so I’m wondering could the coco coir have caused the aggravated whistle and it wasn’t a respiratory infection? If anyone knows the answer to this - how long would it take to clear out of his body if he has breathed it in? Or can tortoises still act normal and have a respiratory infection and should I get a nebuliser to help clear it as his antibiotics course is finished now?
Thanks in advance if anyone has any ideas!
My tortoise is about 17 years old and I recently used coco coir for his house, I've never used it before but I saw recommendations for it. Initially he seemed fine with it but a few weeks ago I saw him holding his mouth open for a minute or so(only saw him doing this twice for a minute each time and haven’t seen it for 4 weeks now) and I thought he was making a whistling noise when he breathed. He does make a whistle noise occasionally, especially when he sleeps but I thought it seemed more pronounced. I assumed it may be the beginning of a respiratory infection and received antibiotics from the vets. He has no other symptoms - eating well, no discharge from nose, walking around and sunbathing and he has never had an infection before.
I realised the coco coir was quite dry and have taken it all out of his house a few days ago thinking it may have dried up too much and aggravated his respiratory system. He is still whistling occasionally but still acting normal so I’m wondering could the coco coir have caused the aggravated whistle and it wasn’t a respiratory infection? If anyone knows the answer to this - how long would it take to clear out of his body if he has breathed it in? Or can tortoises still act normal and have a respiratory infection and should I get a nebuliser to help clear it as his antibiotics course is finished now?
Thanks in advance if anyone has any ideas!