Coughing Russian tortoise

[davewallace]

Hi I'm new at this so please be gentle,

So here's the back story, my wife bought me a Russian tortoise a couple weeks back along
with a vivarium (90l x 38w x 46h cm) and basking lamp (60w) and uv and straw pellets for
sub.

Got it all set up and noticed not to long after that the temps were far too high. Nearly 45c so changed basking lamp to a 40w and got rid of the glass doors completely and now have a steady 35c at hot end and 24c at cool end.

Couple weeks later he started coughing and stopped eating, being new at this I panicked and took him straight to the vet where it was confirmed he has a respiratory infection :-(.

After a bit of digging found out that it may have been the substrate that caused this so out with the evil straw pellets and in with a 50-50 mix of topsoil and play pit sand.

Now on 2nd day of the new substrate and antibiotics, still coughing but not all the time. He did have a few bites of romaine lettuce earlier so i take this as a good sign even though he just sleeps all day.

Is there anything else I can do to help the poor wee fella?

Thanks in advance on any advice giving.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Dave, and welcome to the Forum!

It would be a good idea to moisten the substrate to keep down the dust.

Can we see a picture of your tortoise inside of his habitat so we can get an idea of what's going on with him?

 

[dmmj]

I seriously doubt the substrate caused the RI, it may have aggravated it. Keep him 5 or so degrees warmer while he is on his med cycle. Is he on meds for the RI?
Oh and by the way, salutations.

 

[davewallace]

Thanks Yvonne, feel bad for the fella. If had know he was coming I would have been better prepared.

 

[davewallace]

Set up. It is a work in progress.....so be gentle

 

[davewallace]

I seriously doubt the substrate caused the RI, it may have aggravated it. Keep him 5 or so degrees warmer while he is on his med cycle. Is he on meds for the RI?
Oh and by the way, salutations.

Yeah, that's right.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, for the size of the tortoise, the habitat is an ok size. I'd add more dirt to the dirt/sand mixture...and moisten it. I'm not a fan of sand substrate. Also, bury the dishes so they're flush with the substrate. What kind of light is that?

 

[davewallace]

Yeah, that's right.

Well, for the size of the tortoise, the habitat is an ok size. I'd add more dirt to the dirt/sand mixture...and moisten it. I'm not a fan of sand substrate. Also, bury the dishes so they're flush with the substrate. What kind of light is that?

Okay, thanks. First thing I will do tomorrow. The light, I have no idea. Came from the pet shop also. It's got exo terra 2054 on it. Is this an inadequate hood/reflector?

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not sure, but I THINK 2054 is the style of the fixture. I want to know what kind of bulb you have inside the fixture.

 

[davewallace]

Of course, I'm an idiot. lol my internet is down just now so using my phone and can't up load a photo. I can tell though it is a bell r64 reflector spot. Bought from swell reptiles online. Does that help any?

 

[davewallace]

Sorry, looks like I can send an image.

 

[Yvonne G]

That's not a UVB bulb. Does your tortoise ever get real sunshine? If not, he'll need a UVB bulb to provide him with the beneficial UVB to make vitamin d3 for his calcium to work.

 

[davewallace]

I'm confused I thought that this was a uv bulb? Situated on the roof of the enclosure. He does get out sometimes, but here in Scotland we don't see sunshine much. The lamp in the picture is a repti glow 10.0 25 watt

 

[davewallace]

So little update on turbo. Got his antibiotic injection this morning. Let him have a run about the livingroom in the hope a bit of exercise would spur on an appetite while I added more topsoil and adjusted lamp to get more heat.

Put him back in his house and he had maybe a dozen bites of romaine lettuce. Still a couple coughs though :-( . Still I remain slightly more upbeat than yesterday now he has started to eat. Hopefully starting to turn a corner now.

 

[davewallace]

.

 

[davewallace]

Hi, is the uv lamp i have too low a wattage at 25w?

 

[Shakudo]

Set up. It is a work in progress.....so be gentle

It isn't bad, its quite fine actually, for now... You might want to go for another mix though, try a mix of coco coir/fiber with some cruder coco fiber, you can get those blocks very cheap at a pound land sort of shop.

It will expand with water and get you around 5/6 liters of substrate.... It will be quite wet so make sure you wring it out.
What I did was I put in in, and let it dry out completely , because they live in arid areas and keeping them in humid substrate will cause problems. However in the wild they do burrow, and those burrows can have a higher humidity.

What you can do to is make micro climates to let the tortoise choose where it wants to be.

I personally only mist the hide infrequently so my Russian can choose to get her humidity when she wants it.
I also bath her 2 a week so that helps too.

Of course, I'm an idiot. lol my internet is down just now so using my phone and can't up load a photo. I can tell though it is a bell r64 reflector spot. Bought from swell reptiles online. Does that help any?

Yes that is the heat lamp it has a coating so it creates an appointed direction where the beam goes. It's a heat spot.

I'm confused I thought that this was a uv bulb? Situated on the roof of the enclosure. He does get out sometimes, but here in Scotland we don't see sunshine much. The lamp in the picture is a repti glow 10.0 25 watt

It is from exo terra correct?
That is just fine, it's a desert linear tube with high UVB output.

So far you're not doing a bad job at all.
Just make sure the tortoise is checked for RI and has medication and/or care for it properly.


Take care,

Joey

 

[davewallace]

It isn't bad, its quite fine actually, for now... You might want to go for another mix though, try a mix of coco coir/fiber with some cruder coco fiber, you can get those blocks very cheap at a pound land sort of shop.

It will expand with water and get you around 5/6 liters of substrate.... It will be quite wet so make sure you wring it out.
What I did was I put in in, and let it dry out completely , because they live in arid areas and keeping them in humid substrate will cause problems. However in the wild they do burrow, and those burrows can have a higher humidity.

What you can do to is make micro climates to let the tortoise choose where it wants to be.

I personally only mist the hide infrequently so my Russian can choose to get her humidity when she wants it.
I also bath her 2 a week so that helps too.




Yes that is the heat lamp it has a coating so it creates an appointed direction where the beam goes. It's a heat spot.




It is from exo terra correct?
That is just fine, it's a desert linear tube with high UVB output.

So far you're not doing a bad job at all.
Just make sure the tortoise is checked for RI and has medication and/or care for it properly.


Take care,

Joey

Thanks Joey, I'm going to get some coco coir over the weekend and put that in one half of the viv. See how Turbo takes to it.
I assume once it completely dries out, just to mist it a bit to maintain humidity at surface level rather than a complete soak?

Sorry if its a stupid question, just want to make sure i do things correctly.

Dave

 

[WillTort2]

Mist the coco coir daily especially under the basking light. I like to pour water into one side of the enclosure and mix it into the top soil/coco coir blend about once a week so my Russian has a choice of substrate moisture levels. I also base the need to mix and add water on the humidity level in the room.

Good luck.

 

[davewallace]

I've actually just noticed.... See attached photo.

The lamp forms like a ring of where the heat is going. Now temps at the edge are away up to 41- 45. when directly under the centre of the lamp it's 35c . Should I lower the temp till I get cooler at the edge since that's where he likes to borrow down and sleep. I'm thinking this could have been the problem from the start? But then if it was too hot for him surely he would wake and go somewhere cooler?